Don's Party
Directed by	Bruce Beresford
Written by	David Williamson
Starring	Ray Barrett, Candy Raymond, Clare Binney, Pat Bishop
Release date(s)	1976
Running time	90 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Don's Party is a 1971 Australian play set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play is set in suburban Melbourne, while the film is relocated to a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. Adapted to a 1976 film by David Williamson and directed by Bruce Beresford, Don's Party stars John Hargreaves as Don Henderson, a schoolteacher living with his wife, Kath (Jeanie Drynan), in 1969. Out of boredom, he invites a small group of friends to celebrate a predicted Australian Labor Party (ALP) election victory, much to the dismay of his wife. Image File history File links DonParty. ... Bruce Beresford (born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, writer, and producer. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Ray Barrett (born 2 May 1927in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian actor. ... Candy Raymond is an Australian actress active in film during the 1970s and early 1980s. ... Pat Bishop as Toni McNally in Prisoner. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Bruce Beresford (born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, writer, and producer. ... John Hargreaves (1945- 8 January 1996) was an Australian actor. ... The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is Australias oldest political party. ...

As the party wears on, it becomes clear that the ALP, who are supported by Don and most of the guests, are not winning. As a result the drinking goes up a few notches, and the humorous "cracking-on" between Don and his male friends about their failed aspirations gets uglier, as does their behaviour toward the women.

Mack (Graham Kennedy), a design engineer whose wife has just left him, pulls out a nude photo of her for his friends' approval. Cooley (Harold Hopkins), whose professed passions are "shaving, shitting, and shagging," but apparently not in that order, pursues the available women. Meanwhile, the disillusioned wives exchange tales of their husbands' subpar sexual performance. Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934-25 May 2005) was an Australian radio, television and film performer. ...

By the end of the night, Don and some of his friends have begun to grasp the emptiness of their compromised lives.