Dave Allen’s Unexpected Australian Film Detour in the 1970 Comedy Squeeze A Flower

Dave Allen, one of Britain’s most distinctive comedians, made only a single venture into feature films, and that moment arrived in 1970 with the light Australian–U.S. co-production Squeeze A Flower. He was already rising fast on British television with his developing sit-down stand-up style on the BBC, backed strongly by producer Ernest Maxin and entertainment chief Bill Cotton, yet friends urged him to keep film opportunities open.

During the 1960s, Australia had become especially important to Allen after he gained national attention as host of TCN9’s Tonight show, where his unpredictable humour reshaped TV variety. His strong bond with the country dated back to 1963, boosted by public affection, professional friendships and even his marriage in Sydney to English actor Judith Stott in 1964.

Allen returned to Australia for cabaret and stand-up tours in 1967 and 1968, receiving enthusiastic welcomes that reminded him how deeply he was still connected to audiences there. It was during these visits that producer George Willoughby invited him to join a new feature film backed by NLT Productions and the U.S.-based Group W Films, a partnership intended to create two movies a year for five years.

With estimated financing between $500,000–$750,000 and a seven-week shoot planned, the production aimed to revive Australia’s struggling film industry. The project cast Italian-American actor Walter Chiari, already well known for They’re A Weird Mob, alongside Academy Award–nominated Jack Albertson, with Allen brought in as the key British-Australian draw.

When Allen returned to Australia in February 1969 for filming, his excitement had cooled because his career back home was accelerating and reports suggested dissatisfaction with the script. He joked to reporters that this might be his first and last movie, treating the project more as a relaxed working holiday.

The film’s director, American TV veteran Marc Daniels, approached the shoot intensely while Chiari, Albertson and Allen maintained a more laid-back attitude, often relaxing together between scenes. Daniels enforced rigorous rehearsals at what he grandly called The Rehearsal Table, though many supporting actors, including local TV personalities, appeared under-prepared on screen.

Filming took place around Sydney, Tamarama Beach, Rose Bay, Wahroonga, and the Hunter Valley, with one location doubling as an Italian monastery. The movie followed Brother George (Chiari), the sole keeper of a monastery’s secret liqueur recipe, who travels to Australia and collaborates with the Brazzi wine family, including Allen’s character Tim O’Mahoney, while sending profits home anonymously.

The production emphasized colourful landscapes and travelogue-style visuals, though technical issues such as heavy post-dubbed audio and inconsistent performances affected the final product. Despite moments where Allen showed natural timing, Chiari’s role was widely considered too sentimental and underwritten.

Squeeze A Flower premiered on 12 February 1970 but failed to make an impression in the U.S., U.K., or Australia. Reviews ranged from mildly positive—such as The Age calling it “gently likeable”—to notably harsh, including The Canberra Times, which criticised it as a disappointing start for Australia’s hopes of a stronger film industry.

The NLT–Group W partnership collapsed after producing just one more film, the now-acclaimed Wake In Fright. Allen returned to television, where he thrived through the 1970s with Dave Allen at Large, later showing his dramatic ability in Alan Bennett’s One Fine Day in 1979.

Allen revisited Australia in 1971 to compère Channel 9’s 15th-anniversary event, but a chaotic live broadcast involving Peter Cook and Dudley Moore led to him being banned from all Australian live television by the Australian Broadcasting Control Board, later lifted when demand for his BBC work grew. His relationship with the country remained affectionate but permanently changed.

Readers can find more background on Allen’s Australian years through resources such as the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and information on the NLT/Group W productions through Australian film history archives.