John Cornell gave Paul Hogan the space and support his relaxed comedy needed. We recommend their first Crocodile Dundee, but Cornell’s direction of the sequel shows how easily faith in a performer can leave a film short of jokes and pace.
Fi1m perspective
Paul Hogan takes his time in Crocodile Dundee (1986), and for much of the film we are happy to wait. John Cornell, its producer and one of its screenwriters, gives that relaxed comic delivery plenty of room. It is an agreeable comedy with a thin story, worth an evening for the company. The trouble comes when the writing expects us to find the romance as engaging as the leading man.
Cornell’s partnership with Hogan developed on television, including The Paul Hogan Show (1973–1984), before moving into features. Peter Faiman directed the first Dundee, with Cornell writing alongside Hogan and Ken Shadie. Cornell also recruited experienced film-makers including cinematographer Russell Boyd and editor David Stiven. We credit him for recognising what a feature would need around its star, even if the script did not always supply it.
Linda Kozlowski gives Sue Charlton enough warmth to make the attraction credible, but the romantic scenes run longer than their substance warrants. The screenplay leaves her to do too much of the work. John Meillon’s sly Walter Reilly supplies a welcome change from Hogan’s easy manner, and more of that sharper comedy would have helped. Cornell and his fellow writers are too willing to let our affection for the performers carry scenes that need developing.
With Crocodile Dundee II (1988), Cornell took over as director and remained producer, and the weakness became harder to overlook. He lets the adventure move at much the same speed as Hogan, leaving the action short of urgency and the comedy short of laughs. Stiven’s editing cannot make the routine action more interesting. We became bored because neither the danger nor the jokes gave us much reason to anticipate the next scene. At 111 minutes, it asks for more goodwill than the star can reasonably provide.
Cornell went on to produce and direct Almost an Angel (1990), another Hogan vehicle. The two Dundee films give us reason to value his judgement as a producer without much enthusiasm for his direction. Start with Faiman’s film, and do not assume that liking Hogan is enough reason to continue.
Biography
John Cornell (2 March 1941 – 23 July 2021) was an Australian film producer, director, writer and actor. He produced and co-wrote the screenplay for the 1986 comedy Crocodile Dundee, which became the highest-grossing Australian film at the time and earned him, Paul Hogan and Ken Shadie an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
He also produced and directed the 1988 sequel Crocodile Dundee II and the 1990 film Almost an Angel. Cornell had earlier worked in television as a producer on A Current Affair and as a writer, producer and performer on The Paul Hogan Show, where he appeared as the character Strop. He managed Paul Hogan’s career and was instrumental in the establishment of World Series Cricket in 1977.
