Film Facts:

Cast:

Cast: Russell Crowe, Aden Young, Craig Adams, Rhondda Findleton, Martin Sachs, Maya Stange

Director: David Elfick
Producer: Nina Stevenson & John Winters
Written by: John Cundill
Production Company: Palm Beach Pictures (WA) Pty. Ltd
Australian Distributor: Beyond Films Ltd.
United States Distributor: Miramax Films

Shooting Schedule: June 10, 1991 – July 30, 1991
Release Date: March 7, 1992 (1993?) - Working Title – “The Great Pretender” - Also released as “Just One Night” in the US

Location: Cottesloe, Kalgoorlie and Perth, WA

Awards:

1992 34th Australian Film Institute Awards (nominations)

Best Costume Design
Black Robe - Renee April, John Hay
Love in Limbo - Clarissa Patterson
Romper Stomper - Anna Borghesi
Strictly Ballroom - Angus Strathie

Best Sound
Black Robe - Phil Judd, Penn Robinson, Gary Wilkins
Love in Limbo - Phil Judd, Guntis Sics, Karin Whittington
Romper Stomper - Steve Burgess, David Lee, Frank Lipson
Strictly Ballroom - Bruce Brown, Ben Osmo, Roger Savage

Best Production Design
The Last Days of Chez Nous - Janet Patterson
Love in Limbo - David McKay
Romper Stomper - Steven Jones-Evan
Strictly Ballroom - Catherine Martin

Plot Summary:

In Perth in 1957, teen-aged Ken seems like the nearest thing to an expert on sex that even his uncle (who was given the task of delivering a "birds-and-the-bees" speech to him) has seen. It goes without saying that he's never actually engaged in any sexual activity with a woman. His much vaunted exertise is based solely on his being very interested in the subject.

He lives with his single mother and a twin sister, and goes to school until he is expelled for selling girlie pictures to his classmates. After that, he is put to work at his uncle's garment factory. He makes a bunch of pals, and while is mother is experiencing a romantic interlude of her own, the guys head off to find a whorehouse in a mining town so that the virgins of the group can surpass that obstacle, and the rest can have a bit of fun.

They accomplish their objectives without much ado; in this case getting there is most of the fun.

Trivia:

Love In Limbo was the first Western Australian feature film to receive funding from the Australian Film Finance Corporation (AU$4.3 million).

Producer David Elfick was executive producer for Rabbit Proof Fence (2002).

Love In Limbo was presented at the 1993 Berlin Film Festival.

Russell sings a soulful rendition of Amazing Grace a cappella in the film.

1993 Box Office -- Australia
http://www.moviemarshal.com/boxaus1993.html

Rank Title Cert Dist Date Opening % of Final $Final
164 LOVE IN LIMBO M Col 11 Mar 10,615 14.26 74,448

Russell traveled to Wales to help perfect a Welsh accent for the film, even taping conversations with the locals. But he's said the tapes proved less important for developing Arthur's accent than for helping him construct the character of Hando for Romper Stomper. Still, of his apparently fruitful time in Wales, Russell jokingly says, "I really travelled to Wales to have a beer outside Cardiff Arms Park. That was my priority." (Aussie Vogue October 1997)

Favorite Scenes:

Yes, that is really Russell! Meet Arthur Baskin, the Welsh anal-retentive Baptist virgin.

Amusing scene where a first-time inebriated Arthur returns home after a night out with the boys, and meets his very surprised father.

The scenes at the dance recital are very sweet; Arthur is so uncomfortable, on pins and needles wanting to dance, but not knowing how to ask. Ivy does does it for him!

Comments by Russell:

Crowe plays Arthur, the warehouse supervisor at Bollingers. He becomes Ken's introduction to life beyond school, the real world of earning your own keep. Unfortunately Arthur is an uptight, bureaucratic prig whose idea of a good time is sharpening the pencils to lovingly make entries in his ledger. Russell says he is drawn to the new and unexpected and selects roles that excite him and tax him as an actor, although best known for his dramatic work, Russell has extended the comic element of Arthur beautifully.

Crowe: "I thought it appropriate that Arthur be Welsh with his proud, religious background. The Welsh have a real working man's attitude to life but they also have a romantic, passionate nature. Arthur is a very funny character in that anyone who is socially inept is bound to be the butt of everyone's jokes. He's very serious but as he nears his twenty-first birthday he realizes that he's approaching manhood and yet knows nothing of life. He seizes the opportunity to learn a little more through Ken and Barry."

Comments about Russell:

Maya Stange (Ivy Riddle) still remains down to earth despite her sudden surge on the Aussie power list and she's ever so thankful to those who have helped out along the way. "I worked with Russell Crowe when I was sixteen, and he definitely had an impact on me and the way I thought about acting as a career. And you know, he's not a bad actor!
http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/movies/stange_int.htm

Reviews:

“…Very funny technicolor-style 50s teen farce, LOVE IN LIMBO was released in 1993 in Perth and massacred by snarly local critics. As a result it staggered into other Australian cinemas briefly and unfortunately disappeared. The absolute joy of this charming fizzy pop movie is the lively comedy between the 3 main cast - the main one now being Russell Crowe in the part of a Scottish accountant-nerd, an acting stretch successfully far greater than anything else I have since seen him in, Oscars 'n' all. His flair for comedy is never been repeated as well as it is here …. Preceeding ROAD TRIP and American PIE by a full decade LOVE IN LIMBO recreates in Australia the on screen look of THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT and the leery loony fun of good natured modern teen comedies, but without the stickyness. A real find and a genuine delight. ..” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107450/

“..As Western Australia’s first Film Finance Corporation funded film, Love in Limbo rarely receives the accolades it so richly deserves. With the WA film industry being very limited in the first place, the soon-to-be-defunct Baron Productions being the only real experienced in-house film production company, WA has always lacked the facilities to show off the large amount of dedication, rich locations and outstanding talent that the state has in abundance. Rarely does the state get the opportunity to be a part of a national release feature film, thereby contributing to the Australian National Cinema scene and shaping a piece of WA culture into the echelons of cinema history…

..The film portrays an entertaining look into Australian life in Perth in the 1950’s, which means it is not only a “must see” for anyone interested in the 1950’s culture of Australia, but also for anyone who lives or has lived in Perth and is film motivated, or even anyone who wants to theorize their parents behaviour when they were younger, in an Australian context. Of course, above all else, the film portrays the innocence of youth and the complexities of adult life, juxtaposing the two alongside one another in dramatic form, all the while maintaining a light-hearted, comedic outlook on life…” http://69maddog.tripod.com/loveinlimbo/prose.htm

Web Related Links:

http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/roles/characters.html
http://69maddog.tripod.com/loveinlimbo/prose.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Cinema/1501/index3.html
http://www.dougwilliams.com.au/doug.htm