Directed by Michael Thornhill, The FJ Holden featured mostly amateur actors to show what life was really like in Sydney’s outer western suburbs. Boring, if this film is any indication.

In the movie Paul Couzens plays Kevin, a westie who works in a wrecker’s yard on Milperra Road and drives around Bankstown in a tastefully-modified yellow FJ Holden, rego no. BAD 781.

So for Sydneysiders there's lots of nostalgic footage of what Sydney's west looked like in the '70s - but the real feature of the film for car enthusiasts is the rare footage taken at (the illegal) Brickies drag strip. It's realistic enough except that Kev’s FJ beats a V8 Monaro down the Brickies quarter mile. The movie was given its world premiere at the Chullora Drive-In (located close to where much of the film was shot). Anyone in an old Holden was allowed in free.

Despite lots of publicity, the flick got a thumbs-down from the drive-in critics who started leaving within 10 minutes.

At the time the movie was being filmed, Ol’55 were a popular six-man band playing cover versions of classic American rock’n’roll. To give the band an Aussie flavour, the band’s lead singer, called Frankie J. Holden, was asked to appear as himself in a cameo role. We can thank Ol’55 for one thing. In 1976 their ‘Take It Greasy’ album went to No. 1, knocking ABBA off the top of the charts.
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