The 10-year-old Hubert Finn, known as "Fatty", lived in poor conditions in Australia in the 1930s. He and his friends stick together as they often have to defend themselves against the villain Bomer and his gang. Fatty wants a detector radio, but can't afford it. He has to raise money for it within a week, otherwise he won't get the radio ...
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I'm not going to give a review of the plot, except that Finn has money . . . that a big bad bully steals. This review is not about the story, it's mainly about how surprisingly dirty this film is. The film contain lots of male (boy) nudity and even little kids making out. When the bully's gang steals Finn's money they take off his pants (his buttocks completely shown) and draw on him. Later four more boys' bare butts are seen when they go swimming and are attacked by Finn's gang. Those boys are seen running naked around town. It's good . . . just pretty dirty.
Hugely popular Australian children's comic strip dating from the 1920s was shrewdly made into a BUGSY MALONE style feature set in 20's style Sydney and filmed in the early 80s. Well directed and with a great cast of well known Oz TV favourites FATTY FINN became a big hit on cinema screens across Australia. Colourful and rude and silly and with all the classic Our Gang style antics that speak to kids of any language, it deserves a DVD release worldwide..perhaps together on one disc or release along with its almost-sequel the movie version of GINGER MEGGS who was the mirror image comic strip in a rival newspaper for decades. GINGER MEGGS was a good idea, filmed to follow up FATTY FINN and equally as successful. Not seen on moviescreens since the 80s and not on TV for 15 years, they would be big hit films all over again today if the effort was put in to them. Internationally on DVD too. Fatty Finn lead actor the cute blond Ben Oxenbould has grown into a skinhead monster with tattoos and can be seen in the recent criminal caper comedy GET RICH QUICK, which just won an award at an indie fest in in Oklahoma of all places!
What an excellent movie. The acting, writing, costumes to name but a few things were fantastic. Interesting to note that Alison Barrett who did the casting is still around and has many fine casting credits up her sleeve including "Pricilla Queen of the Desert" and "Muriels Wedding". Some of the children who starred in the film have managed to continue with their acting careers - BEN OXENBOULD, REBECCA RIGG and BRYAN WISEMAN...keep your eye out for these talented professionals! Although it's a pity we haven't seen more films directed by Maurice Murphy. He's a fine director.
Never in my life have I heard of FATTY FINN, which was based on a comic strip feature. Maybe because I wasn't around when its popularity existed. This is another rare find for the entire family, despite this one coming from Australia. The nifty costumes, props, and characters are magnificent, and the acting is decent. But I must clarify something to all loving parents before trying to find this one for their little ones. There are a couple of scenes of nudity within the first 30 minutes, including one where bullies do a paint job on Fatty's behind for a couple of seconds. It may be offending to those who have children, so please view along with them! Other than the sudden inconvenience, the rest of FATTY FINN has the usual delightful moments as with other "family" movies, with added classic flavor to make it interesting. Sort of like 1930 all over again, only more colorful. It comes up a bit short on humor when compared to THE LITTLE RASCALS / OUR GANG, but it has lots of mischievous comedy to keep you fully enjoyed. And there's plenty of it! I feel this one is too overrated for my tastes, but after all, the young and old alike will appreciate it.
