Director Sandy Harbutt
Starring Ken Shorter, Helen Morse, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Sandy Harbutt, Vincent Gil
Rated R
Score 4/6

Police officer Stone goes undercover with the Gravediggers outlaw motorcycle gang, to find out who is murdering their members, one by one.

Apparently during the filming of Stone Australian stuntman Peter Armstrong set a then-world record for riding a motorcycle off an 80-foot cliff to fall headfirst into the sea. On a side note several cast members went on to appear in Mad Max (1979), including Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Vincent Gil, David Bracks and Reg Evans. It should also be noted that this was Gary McDonald’s second feature film after Avengers of the Reef (1973). Importantly it should be noted that Stone is supposedly considered to be Australia’s first ever bikie / motor-cycle gang movie.
While watching I was immediately struck by how Stone appeared not to be heavily influenced by America and considering that this was released in 1974 by more modern standards the action can come across as a little dated, especially the sequence in the graveyard towards the end of the movie. Director Sandy Harbutt chose some interesting areas around Sydney to shoot. Its always great to get opportunities to see how cities have changed via the medium. Stone’s soundtrack came across as a little experimental, especially towards the beginning of the movie.
I will admit that I have not reviewed a lot of Australian movies from the 70’s (perhaps I need to look at a few more_. I couldn’t shake the feeling that a lot of the actors cast as Grave Diggers came across as a little awkward at times. It took me a little while to warm up to Ken Shorter’s performance as Stone, though I did love the moment when the Grave Digger’s philosophy clicked for him. It was very interesting to see Gary McDonald cast in a more serious role especially considering he is known primarily for his more comedic work. Helen Morse’s performance as Amanda offered an interesting contrast to the rest of the movie.
My biggest complaint about the movie is that even though it didn’t waste any time to get to the action the filmmakers seemed to give the stakes of the movie any real weight and there needed to be more time given to Stone’s investigation, though I did think that Stone’s conversation with the club performer was hilarious.




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