make films but it hadn't occurred to them that they had no one to make them. I said, "I don't think they've thought about that but if we whip back to Australia with a script, with you starring in it and we're all set to go, we have a good chance of getting the money. There wouldn't be all that many going for it." And that's more or less what happened. The film was entirely funded by the Australian Film Development Corporation. Shooting started in London in January 1972, with the unit moving to Australia in February. Local unions complained about the presence of British technicians in the crew, but a compromise was reached where Australian technicians joined the crew. Filming ended in March. Phillip Adams wanted to cast Paul Hogan as Curly but he turned down the role. "I suspect he was concerned over his ability to work with professional actors," says Adams. Release Phillip Adams initially insisted on distributing the film himself, as had been done with an earlier film Adams had co-produced, The Naked Bunyip. Barry McKenzie was very popular at the box office in Australia and London, and the production company repaid the government most of its money within three months of release. Beresford went on to direct Barry McKenzie Holds His Own again to great commercial success in 1974. Beresford said in a 1999 interview that both films were detrimental to his career: Personally, it was a massive mistake for me to do it, a massive mistake, because the film was so badly received critically. Instead of getting me work, even though it was successful commercially, it put me out of work... I couldn't find anything else to make because the films were so reviled critically that I thought that, with these two films, I'll never work again. He added that 'Luckily Phillip Adams saved my life by offering me Don's Party. But that was a couple of years later.' Don's Party and Breaker Morant restored Beresford's reputation. Box office This was the first Australian film to surpass $1 million at the national box office, and it led the Australian box office in 1972. The film recovered its $250,000 budget within a few months of release. Themes The film explores the cultural distance between Australian popular culture and the manners and mores of England, both nations presented in hyperbolically satirical manner. Barry is the extreme