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 Ralph Hotere
 The Greatest Run on Earth
 One of those Blighters
 Came a Hot Friday
 Death Warmed Up
 Crooked Earth

Synopsis

Praising novel The Scarecrow, one critic argued that author Ronald Hugh Morrieson had melded genres together into “a brilliant, hallucinatory mixture distinctively his own". The movie adaptation is another unusual melding; a coming of age tale awash with comedy, nostalgia, and a touch of the gothic. Taranaki teen Ned (Jono Smith) is worried that the mysterious arrival in town (US legend John Carradine) has murderous designs on his sister. The masterful narration is by Martyn Sanderson. The result: the first Kiwi film to win official selection at Cannes.

Credits (37)

 Sam Pillsbury

Sam Pillsbury
Writer, Director, Associate Producer

 Jono Smith

Jono Smith
Actor

 Martyn Sanderson

Martyn Sanderson
Actor

See all credits ›

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Related Titles (8)

 Crooked Earth

Crooked Earth

Film, 2001 (Trailer and Excerpts)

Also directed by Sam Pillsbury

 Came a Hot Friday

Came a Hot Friday

Film, 1984 (Excerpts)

Another Morrieson adaptation

 One of those Blighters

One of those Blighters

Television, 1982 (Full Length)

Drama about writer Ronald Hugh Morrieson

 The Greatest Run on Earth

The Greatest Run on Earth

Television, 1980 (Full Length)

Also directed by Pillsbury

 Death Warmed Up

Death Warmed Up

Film, 1984 (Trailer, Excerpts, and Extras)

Another dark classic co-written by Michael Heath

 Ralph Hotere

Ralph Hotere

Short Film, 1974 (Full Length)

Also directed by Pillsbury

 Putting our Town on the Map

Putting our Town on the Map

Television, 1995 (Excerpts)

Doco about small towns

 Moonrise (aka Grampire)

Moonrise (aka Grampire)

Film, 1992 (Excerpts)

Another childhood tale scripted by Michael Heath

Collections.   See all collections ›  

Included in:

 NZ Book Month Collection

NZ Book Month Collection

Curated by NZ On Screen Team
Added 04 March 2011

ScreenTalk.  See all interviews › 

Related interviews:

 Sam Pillsbury - Quiet and Crooked Earth

Sam Pillsbury - Quiet and Crooked Earth

Sam Pillsbury is a self-described American-Kiwi who has made films in both New Zealand and the US. He began his prolific career at the National Film...

Quotes

The same night our fowls were stolen, Daphne Moran had her throat cut. 

– Martyn Sanderson, narrating Ronald Hugh Morrieson's infamous opening line

The story he (Morrieson) wrote was about my childhood, and the country I live in: tedious, comic, bizarre; amazing, frightening, silly. I knew the places, the characters and the events, and I wanted to make them come alive. 

– Director Sam Pillsbury on reading The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow enters deep into the Gothic mood only to cheerfully reject it.... The Scarecrow is often downright grotesque, but ultimately it regards small towns with an impartial affection. 

– Nicholas Reid, in A Decade of New Zealand Film - Sleeping Dogs to Came a Hot Friday

Awards

1982 Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection - Director’s Fortnight Section (out of competition)

1982 Mystfest (Cattolica, Italy)
Best Artistic Contribution (Acting award, to the whole cast)