A gun emplacement at Middle Head on Sydney Harbour, used in one of the scenes in the movie. In the scene an under cover police officer (Stone) was initiated into the bikie gang
Stone is a 1974 Australian outlaw biker film written, directed and produced by Sandy Harbutt. It is a low budget film by company Hedon Productions.
Police officer Stone goes undercover with the Gravediggers outlaw motorcycle gang, to find out who is murdering their members, one by one.
The promotional trailer video features narration by radio and media personality John Laws. The film was featured in the documentary, Not Quite Hollywood, in which Quentin Tarantino enthuses about his admiration for the film.
Australian stuntman Peter Armstrong set a then-world record for riding a motorcycle off an 80-foot cliff to fall headfirst into the sea.
Plot
When several members of the GraveDiggers outlaw motorcycle club are murdered, Sydney detective Stone (Ken Shorter) is sent to investigate. Led by the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt), a Vietnam war veteran, the GraveDiggers allow Stone to pose as a gang member. Leaving behind society girlfriend Amanda (Helen Morse), Stone begins to identify with the Undertaker and his comrades Hooks (Roger Ward), Toad (Hugh Keays-Byrne), Dr Death (Vincent Gil), Captain Midnight (Bindi Williams), Septic (Dewey Hungerford) and Vanessa (Rebecca Gilling), the Undertaker’s girlfriend. Amid violent confrontations with the Black Hawks, a rival gang the GraveDiggers hold responsible, Stone uncovers a political conspiracy behind the killings. When the truth is revealed, Stone must choose between his job and his loyalty to the GraveDiggers.
Sandy Harbutt got the idea in 1970 when he wrote a script for an episode of the TV police series The Long Arm in which he was appearing.[1]
Filmink magazine said "The biker movie was the modern day Western of choice in the 1960s" but argued this was one of the few Australian films to "embrace it as a story option."[2]
The Australian Film Development Corporation invested $154,000 in the film. The remainder of the budget and most of the technical facilities were provided by Ross Wood Productions in Sydney. The movie was shot in late 1973.[1]
The Hells Angels club (Sydney) provided assistance during production.
Release
Although Stone was given an "R" rating it grossed $1,572,000 at the box office in Australia,[3] which is equivalent to $10,611,000 in 2009 dollars. It made a profit to its investors within 18 months.[1]
Charts
The soundtrack was released by Warner Bros. (600002)
Stone Forever is a 1999 documentary about Stone. Richard Kuipers was contacted by David Hannay and Sandy Harbutt to film a bike ride commemorating the film's 25th anniversary, which led to a full documentary about the impact of the film and the fate of the people who made it.[6]
