In 1986, the same year that Crocodile Dundee stormed the US box office, a much quirkier film was also making international waves. Cascade Films’ Malcolm (1986) follows a shy man (Colin Friels) with a genius for invention. After being sacked from the tram depot for building his own locomotive, he meets Judy (Lindy Davies) and Frank (John Hargreaves), two would-be bank robbers. The trio use Malcolm’s gadgets to pull off the heist of the century, forming an unlikely family in the process.
The first film from director/writer duo Nadia Tass and David Parker, Malcolm was followed by many more films by the pair, including Rikky and Pete (1988), The Big Steal (1990), and Amy (1997).
Malcolm won eight AFI awards and received international acclaim.
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Not in ACMI's collection
On display until
22 November 2025
ACMI: Gallery 1
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
193238
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Australia → MA-02. New Wave → MA-02-C01
Object Types
Film and television props and memorabilia
Film Production Props