The 12 essential crime fiction screen adaptations (Part One)

Summary

This episode explores the 12 essential Australian crime novel adaptations for TV and film, highlighting their impact, production insights, and cultural significance. Hosted by Helen and Leigh, it features in-depth discussions on adaptations like Silver (Scrublands 2), Stiff, Les Norton, and more.

Keywords

Australian crime fiction, TV adaptations, film adaptations, Australian literature, crime novels, screen adaptations, Australian crime series, Peter Temple, Shane Maloney, Jane Harper

Key Topics

• Impact of Australian crime novels on screen
• Production insights of adaptations
• Cultural significance of Australian crime stories

Films and TV adaptations we discussed 

• Stiff 
• Black Tide
• Force of Nature
• Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears
• Silver
• Les Norton

Chapters

• Introduction to Australian Crime Adaptations
• Exploring 'Silver' and Chris Hammer's Universe
• The Miss Fisher Phenomenon
• Les Norton: A Controversial Legacy
• Force of Nature: The Rugged Australian Landscape
• Stiff: A Political Satire in Crime Fiction
• Deadpoint: The Dark Side of Jack Irish

Resources

• Chris Hammer's Silver
• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
• Jane Harper's Force of Nature
• Peter Temple's Jack Irish series
• Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan series

Disclaimer

The episode transcripts are auto-generated, and while all efforts are made to ensure their accuracy, there may be some instance of incorrect spelling and/or errors in the accuracy.

Disclaimer

The episode transcripts are auto-generated, and while all efforts are made to ensure their accuracy, there may be some instance of incorrect spelling and/or errors in the accuracy.

www.killcitypodcast.com.au

Transcript

Helen 0:00

The Kill City podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands we're on. Here in Melbourne, that's the Wurrundjeri Woi Worong people of the Kulin Nation. We honour their deep connection to storytelling, a tradition carried across more than 2,000 generations. Pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging, and we extend that acknowledgement to First Nations people listening today. My name is Helen, and I'm joined by Leigh, and as always, we're here to shine a light on all things Australian crime fiction related. This week we're talking about the 12 essential TV or film adaptations of Australian crime novels, and there's some absolutely fabulous books that have been adapted for TV and cinema. Leigh, firstly, how are you? And what are you looking forward to most about this episode?

Leigh 1:18

I am very well, thanks. It's been a long weekend, but I'm very well. And as we sit down to record this one, I've got to say, even though you're definitely our resident film expert, I'm really looking forward to talking through all these great adaptations. Um, or at least the twelve we reckon, uh the essential Australian crime and mystery novel adaptations.

Helen 1:39

Me too. And before we jump in, we'd actually love to hear your thoughts on what you consider to be the Essential Australian Crime adaptations. You can text us about that or about anything else, really. Uh just click on the fan mail link in the show notes because we always love hearing from you. Uh but Leigh, I've got one question. Why did you pick 12?

Leigh 2:00

That is an excellent question. It did start as a top ten, but I kept finding more gems that I couldn't leave out. And then I thought, well, twelve feels nicely symbolic. Twelve jurors, twelve picks, it just it just worked. Um and yes, definitely we do want to hear from you. Uh maybe there's something you want us to cover on the show, or maybe there's a new Aussie crime release that you think we should know about.

Helen 2:26

Absolutely. We actually love hearing from our our listeners. All right, shall we jump in?

Leigh 2:32

Sounds good to me.

Helen 2:33

So before we get into the titles, how did you actually put the list together?

Leigh 2:37

I tried to look at this from a few angles. The impact of the author and the book, how successful or influential the adaptation was, and the timing. Um and let's be honest, a little bit of it comes down to our taste as well.

Helen 2:52

So Yeah, I have to admit, when you first ran them past me, I we we sort of there was a bit of discussion about oh, where does it fit, who does what, but I think on the whole, I actually not so well surprisingly, not surprisingly, I don't know. I kind of agreed with you on most of these ones, which was made it a lot easier. Is it time to fire away?

Leigh 3:12

I think it is, yeah, I think it is. Okay, so coming in at number 12 is Silver, the second of Chris Hammer's Martin Skarsden novels, and one of your absolute favourites, Helen. Um and of course, this one's been adapted for TV as the second season of the Scrubland series.

Helen 3:30

Yes, I did approve this one, thank you, Leigh. I'm a big Chris Hammer fan, and I especially love his Martin Skarsden character. There's something just about him that, oh look, he just finds trouble without even trying. Oh, but I really enjoy how Hammer keeps him drifting around the edges of other his other books as well. And he's built up this whole little universe where the stories overlap and the characters kind of pop up in the periphery, and it just makes his world really properly lived in.

Leigh 3:58

Yeah, no, I really like that as well, that he's always sort of on the periphery, and you know, it might not be the focus of uh other um Chris Hammer novels, but you know he's always around lurking somewhere in the subplot or the plot. Um in the TV adaptation, you know, technically titled Scrubland Silver, um, this is season two, based on the second Skarzen novel. So Luke Arnold is back as Martin, and Bella Heathcote returns as Mandalay Bond, who, if memory serves, is actually called Mandalay Blonde in the books. Uh and they're both fantastic. Um they're both fantastic in this one. Um so for anyone not familiar with Silver by Chris Hammer, he is the back cover blurb. Um for half a lifetime, journalist Martin Skarsden has been on the run from his past, but now there is no escaping. He'd vowed never to return to his hometown, Port Silver, and its traumatic memories. But now his new partner, Mandy Blonde, has inherited an old house in the seaside town, and Martin knows their chance of a new life together won't come again. Martin arrives to find his best friend from school days, has been brutally murdered, and Mandy is the chief suspect. With the police curiously reluctant to pursue other suspects, Martin goes searching for the killer and finds the past waiting for him. He's making little progress when a terrible new crime starts to reveal the truth. The media descend on Port Silver, attracted by a story that has it all sex, drugs, celebrity, and religion. Once again Martin finds himself in the front line of reporting. Yet the demands of deadlines and his desire to clear Mandy and not enough the past is ever present. But this is just an unrelenting story from the start, and both the book and the TV adaptation do a great job of just continually increasing the tension and upping the stakes. And while Silver wasn't necessarily my favourite Chris Hammer book, given he's written so many great books, I did really enjoy how this translated to the screen. Um and I will say, with all these, it's just pleasing again to see Australian novels being able to make that leap to the screen and attract a different audience.

Helen 6:00

Yeah, absolutely. Look, and I agree, not my favourite um Chris Hammer, but look, I think just the work to have it um segue so beautifully from the book to the screen and also following on from the first one, Scrabble Lands, I think I think they did just such a good job.

Leigh 6:18

Um, okay, what do we have at number 11?

Helen 6:20

Oh, can we do a drum roll? Alright, well, it's the telemovie Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. Now that isn't actually an adaptation of any particular Miss Fisher novel, but it's I think we snuck it in because it's a continuation of the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries television series, and it was written to directly lead on from the final TV series, Series 3, I think. And the screenwriter Deb Cox was actually nominated for Best Feature Film adaptation at the 52nd Annual Augie Awards, which is actually sponsored by the Australian Writers Guild back in 2019. So I think technically it does count. Now we did talk more in depth about the work of Carrie Greenwood in a previous episode. So if you would like to know more about her incredible career, we'll leave that link back in the episode in our show notes. Now, of course, the idea for the Tally movie came from, as I mentioned, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, but it actually needed a push from passionate fans, and there was a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that actually raised more than $700,000 to support it. And then Screen Sound Australia and Film Victoria chipped in and they actually contributed because I think it had like an $8 million budget, which I'm guessing is probably quite small compared to a Hollywood blockbuster. Um, but they did film both in Melbourne and Morocco, and I think that contributed to the costs. Now it aired on the ABC as a two-parter, and you can still watch it on ABC IV. And while the fans loved it, it did unfortunately get mixed reviews in the press. And I think from what I read, I'm guessing it may be for people particularly who weren't familiar with the characters or the TV series, and I guess if you were coming to it new and you you weren't enamoured with Frione as much of us true fans were. So without giving anything away, the basic setup was this Frione frees a young girl who's been unjustly imprisoned in Jerusalem, and then once they're back home, that rescue sets off a much bigger mystery. It involves missing emeralds, old curses, the truth of what really happened to Sharon's long-forgotten tribe. And look, without giving anything away in terms of what else is on our list of top 12, I'll be honest, my main motivation for watching the film was just to see Ezie Davis back as Fryani Fisher because she's just so good in that role. And um, yeah, can't honestly imagine anyone else playing her, and um, she was just the perfect Friani. And the film, I think the supporting cast is just as good. Everyone reprised their original roles from the TV series. So Nathan Page is back as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. Oh look, he's just still cool, calm. Um, you know, there's still that great UST. Um, Miriam Margaleese appears, she's just a delight as Art Prudence, and then Jacqueline Mackenzie shows up as Lady Loft House. Um, then we have John Waters, who's just a storeward of Australian Stage and Screen, and he just brings real gravitas to his character, Professor Linnaeus. And then also Nicole Shamoon is um wonderful as Sharon's mother. Look, I think, as I said before, I think it is one for the fans, but as an Uber fan, I just loved it. Now, what's next on the list?

Leigh 9:43

So interestingly, similar to Miss Fisher and The Crypt of Tears, the next one we're looking at is Les Norton, the 2019 TV adaptation from a series of fiction books written by Australian author, uh, the late Robert G. Barrett, portraying the Larrican protagonist Les Norton.

Helen 10:02

Oh, I'm not super familiar with this one. Tell me more.

Leigh 10:05

Well, that's probably understandable. So I am I look forward to having a longer conversation about Robert G. Barrett one day and where he sits in the broader landscape of Australian crime writers. It's probably a complicated legacy that he's left behind given his constant desire to stir the pot and essentially insult every minority and subset of the population. Um, I wonder how he would fare in 2026 or in the world of cancel culture. So, for those unfamiliar with Robert G. Barrett's work, he was the author of 25 novels, 20 of them featured Larrican protagonist Les Norton. His books sold more than one million copies, and at one point he was one of Australia's biggest selling authors. And I know he was very much the sort of um almost the golden goose for his publishers, and I think he he did switch publishers at one point. So, and then after almost two decades of rumours, because Barrett had sold the TV and film rights ages ago, the ABC finally went ahead and made the series. Just once just one season, but still it actually sort of finally happened. Um the series kicks off in 1995 with Liz, a country bloke from outback Queensland, trying to outrun a bit of trouble from his past. He lands in Sydney, stumbles into a job as a bouncer at an illegal casino, and before he knows it, he's knees deep in the city's underbelly. He keeps telling himself he wants to go home, but Sydney's dodgy charm keeps pulling him in. In some ways, it was a much tamer Les Norton on the screen compared to the bloke tearing around Bondi and half of Australia in the books, um, and a few overseas spots as well. But audiences really embraced the show and it helped that the cast was genuinely fantastic. Um Alexander Bertrand made a great Les, and he was surrounded by this really strong ensemble: David Wenham, Rebel Wilson, Reese Muldoon, Hunter Page Lockhart, Steve Lamarquon, Kate Box, Millie Elcock, and they all brought a really fun, slightly chaotic energy to the world. Overall, although I hadn't read a Barrett book in more than 20 years, I was intrigued to watch this and was pleasantly surprised. It was a ten-parter, um, peaked with 695,000 viewers for episode one, but it'd fallen to 380, 387,000 by the tenth. So obviously people sort of cooled the longer it went. But after waiting nearly 30 years, I I'm glad that I actually got to see it.

Helen 12:46

Oh, okay. Sounds interesting. And um, yeah, definitely um I think we need to circle back to Robert G. Barrett. Sounds controversial, but just definitely a lot to talk about.

Leigh 12:56

I I think so, but um possibly for another time. Uh what's next?

Helen 13:01

Okay, now we've got the film adaptation of Force of Nature, which is the second of Jane Harper's books, and it was also the second to feature the main character Aaron Falk, who was brought to life so wonderfully by Eric Banner. And now this novel, for those who haven't read it, is set in the rugged bush land and it focuses on a team bonding experience in the bush that goes terribly awry. And Aaron Falk and Co. have to come in and find out what happened and find the missing team members.

Leigh 13:30

Um, look, let's be honest, I think the phrase team bonding exercise puts the fear into most people, doesn't it?

Helen 13:35

I know it does. It's and I have to admit the way they do it, yeah. I think when I read the book originally, it I was, yes, a bit bit scared, and then they um they translate that into the actual um film very, very well. Yeah. Look at that.

Leigh 13:50

They do definitely scarier than most horror films, though, I think.

Helen 13:54

I know. Especially, yeah, outdoors. If I want to go to a teen bonding thing, I want to be somewhere in a nice hotel somewhere with you know good food and drink and creature comforts. All right, well, one of the things I really love about Jane Harper is the way she writes about the Australian environment. She really puts it into their story, and each of her books is completely different, and that the landscape she brings into her stories kind of brings its own danger. So the dry, of course, which I know we'll talk more about at other times, you get that really suffocating drought stricken heat of Kawara, which is a tiny little fictional farming town in regional Victoria, somewhere in that, I think that Mallee meets Wimera harshness. Then in Force of Nature, which is this one, she kind of swings the other way entirely and kind of into the rugged sort of Victorian rainforest, which is a lot harsher than I would have thought. And then she flips it because we're in the survivors, she actually takes us to a windswept Tasmanian coastline. So really good diversity. And all of her books use the landscape kind of almost like another character, I reckon, and that's what makes it feel so distinct. And um, in particular, I just really can't think about the dry or the lost man without instantly feeling hot. There's just that heavy, sweltering heat. And in Force of Nature, this is where we see Eric Banner step back into the role of Aaron Falk for the second time. And I actually think it's a really interesting casting choice, um, how they picked Eric in the first place, because in the books, Falk is actually a fair haired, slightly awkward blonde guy, I think almost albino. Like I just did not have that picture of him in my head. Um, and that's not Eric Banner. I mean, we we think of Eric Banner, I don't know, he was Chopper, he was the jaggy guy in the castle, and then to play this character was just yeah. But I don't know about you, Leigh. I don't think it really mattered the fact that he didn't look like the book, but he just nailed the energy of him.

Leigh 15:49

I I agree totally, and it's funny, I actually had him I thought he was a redhead from the book. So if I got the uh I don't know where I maybe I've got that wrong.

Helen 16:00

I think maybe we read too many books. We've got too many main characters that we admire to keep up with. They might they might blend into each other a bit.

Leigh 16:09

Every chance of that.

Helen 16:11

Yeah, well look, I think I think in this film the rest of the cast are really great too. You know, we've got Eric and um Anna Torve leading it. Um it also features Deborah Leigh Furness, Robin McLeavy, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Briggs, Richard Roxborough, who of course is just being Richard Roxborough. Oh, such a good actor. Uh look, I think it was just a really solid um ensemble.

Leigh 16:35

Yeah, I agree. And I remember seeing the preview for this and being genuinely rapt that it was coming out. It felt symbolic like the success of The Dry had opened the door for more from this world, um, you know, and more from Australian crime fiction on the screen.

Helen 16:49

Totally. And look, it is just so good seeing Australian stories on the big screen, not just here, but also overseas. But I do have to say that for some people, Force of Nature I think was a bit harder to connect with. It probably didn't do as well in the box office. I think maybe because the story is sort of that bit more contained, it's got a bit of a darker setting. Um, it's actually quite claustrophobic, even though they're out in the bush. Um, and that mystery that kind of is the kind of key to the story leans really heavily on the group dynamics and the shifting alliances of those characters. So I think that maybe that was a bit tricky to translate, sort of both for the film and and um and the and the novel. Look, I think it's still a solid story, but I just felt that it sort of unfolded in a bit more of a restrained way. But one thing that I thought did shine though was the direction. So Force of Nature and the Dry were both directed by Robert Connolly. Now he's behind so many great Australian films and series. Oh, things like Balibo, The Slap, $3, and a very underappreciated The Bank, which I think is one of your faves, Leigh.

Leigh 18:00

Yeah, look, I really enjoyed that, and I Bellabo is a wonderful film, and I was fortunate enough when it first came out to see where was it? It must have been down at Cinema Nova in Carlton, I think. And I saw him on stage introducing the film and taking questions, and um obviously it's it's not the crime genre, but Bellabo is a wonderful film, and you know, all of those actually The Slap, Three Dollars, and the Bank, those ones we've just talked about there, all really, really good films, um, if not quite underrated as well, to be honest.

Helen 18:34

Yeah, no, that's a good point. Alrighty, we better kick on. So what's next on the list?

Leigh 18:41

We've got the TV adaptation of Stiff, which was the first of Shane Maloney's novels featuring his main character, Murray Wheelan. Now Stiff was released in 1994, and the rest of the book series were released up until 2007's Sucked In. Um Stiff was adapted for the screen in 2004. The six title series starts with Stiff and then The Brush Off, which were both adapted for TV, followed by Nice Try, The Big Ask, Something Fishy, and the final book Sucked In. They all feature Murray Whelan, who we meet as a Labour Party staffer who provides support to a Victorian state government minister, and then later as a member of the Victorian State Parliament. Um the films are ordered chronologically and follow Wheelan's progression through the Labour Party ranks during the late 80s and early 90s at a time when the Labour Party was in power in both federal and state level. Um I re-watched this recently and was quickly reminded of why I really enjoyed Shane Maloney's work so much. Um, his books have a really sharp wit that translated really well to the screen. David Wenham, um wonderful actor, plays Murray Wheelan, and Mick Malloy plays Angelo Agnelli, the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, which is actually was different. I think the the novels, it was a female MP from memory, and it wasn't that portfolio, it was something something different. But um there's a fantastic supporting cast in this one, Sam Neill, the late Alan Hopgood, as well as a collection of highly recognizable actors, including Alan Brough from Spicks and Specs, Robin Butler, Deborah Kennedy. Um and what I loved about this was how instantly Melbourne it was with the familiar sight um of the green and yellow trams running into the city from the north. Um the screenplay for this, uh which I learnt recently, interestingly, was written by the late John Clark, which after I learnt that when I was doing my research, it kind of I realised how well it fit. Um, and he was probably just the perfect writer for this as well. Um we'll leave a link to this and other adaptations in the show notes, but you can actually watch Stiff for free on YouTube.

Helen 20:59

Oh, that's a bonus, because you know I've got too many streaming services to to catch up with these days anyway. Uh now, to be honest, I have to admit I wasn't really familiar with Shea Maloney or the Stiff books before we started planning this episode, so I had to do a bit of homework, um, so at least I could pretend to keep up with you. But I'm really glad I did because he's got such an interesting footprint in Australian crime writing. Now, for starters, he actually received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers Association of Australia back in 2009, and that kind of I think tells you exactly how respected he is in the genre. And then his second novel, Brush Off, won the Ned Kelly Award in 1997, and it was actually even shortlisted for the Premier's Literary Award. Plus, it ended up being set as an English text for Victorian secondary students, which I had no idea about. Definitely wasn't on the VCE list recently, which neither of my kids would have mentioned to me. And then here's a fun one Shane Maloney was actually. The subject of a 2005 Archibald Prize portrait by Rick Amore. So he's actually not just a crime writer, he's literally hanging on a gallery wall somewhere.

Leigh 22:09

Well, there you go. I've learnt something new today. Um the school text one is is quite baffling, I've got to say. I mean, I'm a long way out of high school, so um and I don't remember uh contemporary books being very present back then, but um what a fantastic edition. So what's next?

Helen 22:30

So we're looking at something that I know will be close to your heart, and that's Deadpoint, the TV adaptation of Peter Teppel's novel of the same name from the year 2000.

Leigh 22:40

I do love this one.

Helen 22:42

Now Deadpoint was actually the third Jack Irish adaptation following Bad Death and Black Tide, and as we've talked about before, it meant that White Dog, which was the final Jack Irish novel from 2003, ended up being the only one that actually didn't make it to the screen.

Leigh 22:59

Yeah, now I know I've talked about this briefly in one of our earlier episodes, and I did commit to trying to find out some more on that. So I actually fired off a couple of query emails to see what I can find out. So watch this space. Um as I did it, it dawned on me that it probably there was quite possibly absolutely no reason other than they just did the three and then they got a difference of funding. But anyway, um, so it may have just been a completely commercial or opportunity-driven decision to create a standalone series. But we'll see um what comes back from the producers and share what we find out.

Helen 23:32

Alrighty, well, stay tuned for that one too. I are we going to be good at solving mysteries? All right, well, back to Deadpoint, and there's actually a darkness to this one. Uh, I think the plot twists and turns just really keep tangling to the end. And essentially, Jack is tasked with locating the missing Robbie Colburn, who later shows up dead in the morgue. And Irish actually has to solve various mysteries that occur along the way. Um, there's some other subplots that actually make this really engaging, and there's wonderful appearances by Deborah Melman, um, also Barry Humphreys, Kat Stewart, Vince Colossimo, John Jarrett, and Kate Bean. And of course, Guy Pierce is back. He's um surrounded by his usual brilliant crew. So Martha Dusseldorf is back as Linda Hillier, Aaron Pederson as Cam Delray, Boy Billing as Harry Strang, Shane Jacobson pops up as Barry Tregair, Damien Richardson as Drew Greer, and Damien Garvey as Stan. And they kind of just slot back into that world like they've never left or so effortless. Plus, there's actually a lovely full circle moment when Jack and Linda attend the christening of Jack's niece, and that's all part of the backstory relating to the death of Jack's wife, Isabel. So that ends part one of our look into the 12 essential Australian crime novel adaptations for TV and screen, and you can tune in next time for part two. And we'd love to hear from you. So remember you can get in touch via email at info at killcitypodcast.com.au or by clicking the send us fan mail link in the show notes. And of course, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Any final words from you, Leigh?

Leigh 25:20

Keep an eye out for news on Dustfall, which is the adaptation of Vicky Petraidus's novel The Unbelieved. It's had its international premiere at Ceres Mania in Lille, France in March, and it's set to be shown on the ABC later this year. It stars Anna Torve and Kate Box, who we've talked about previously in this episode, along with Martin Sachs and Ling Kupertang.

Helen 25:41

Oh, I'm looking forward to that one. But till next time, we're putting the bookmark back in the book.

Leigh 25:48

See ya.

Helen 25:50

Bye.