Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Wednesday 11 November 1981, page 130


Lynda Stoner shooting for stardom

Cop Shop's most

alluring detective was in big trouble and

not one of her Riverside Police colleagues

was around to help her

There was Lynda Stoner, being

hunted down like a dog, forced to swim through crocodile-infested waters, tormented with exploding arrows and threatened with a bizarre death by her friend in real life, Carmen Duncan.

But in spite of the blood, sweat and tears, Lynda said after making her first movie, Turkey Shoot: "It was a tough part physically, but I really enjoyed it."

The film stars Steve Railsback of The Stunt Man, who was Charles Manson in the tele-movie Helter Skelter, and Olivia Hussey, star of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo And Juliet, whose later credits include Lost Horizon, Death On The Nile and

Jesus Of Nazareth.

The FGH Films production has Lynda heading a strong line-up of TV faces in-cluding Noel Ferrier, Carmen Duncan and Michael Craig.

Lynda turned in her detective's badge for six weeks to play Rita, a "turkey" on the run from a bunch of sadistic killers. She enjoyed it so much she is now quit-ting Cop Shop to take a tilt at the motion picture big time. However, her part is be-ing kept open for her.

"Lynda will leave Cop Shop when it goes into recess at Christmas," said her manager. Eric Cook.

"She may go overseas for a break, maybe Los Angeles to see friends.

"She will be interested in any film work that comes her way but there is a possibility she will return to Cop Shop."

Mr Cook said he wanted to use Lynda in his own movie project, Lady Stay Dead, but a production setback after Lynda had arranged to take leave from Cop Shop prevented this.

"Turkey Shoot came along at the right time, so Lynda did that instead," he said. "I see films as being Lynda's future. She has had a pretty rigorous apprenticeship

on TV.

"Brian Trenchard-Smith, who di-rected Turkey Shoot, said he was so im-pressed by Lynda's debut he wanted to use her in his next movie."

Meantime, Cook is hoping Turkey Shoot will showcase Lynda internation-ally. The film is due for release world

TOP and

OPPOSITE: Lynda on and off the set of Turkey Shoot. ABOVE: As Rita threat-ened by Jennifer (Carmen Duncan).

wide early in 1982. Set in the near future, the film shows what happens in a totali-tarian society gone mad.

Arriving in Cairns for location shoot-ing, Lynda was staggered by her popular-ity there as Detective Amanda King. Fans besieged her for autographs and gave her presents of flowers and tropical fruit (Lynda is a vegetarian).

As in The Young Doctors and, initial-ly, Cop Shop, Lynda was back in a uni-form hardly designed for her famous pro-portions.

Throughout the film - except for a revealing shower sequence - Lynda wears a mustard-coloured, neck to ankle boiler suit - standard dress for inmates of a social rehabilitation centre.

The story goes beyond George Orwell's novel of a society in 1984 to a time when individual thinking and be

haviour make you a public enernv ure to conform to the system makes you a candidate for the Turkey Shoot.

But what starts out as a chase thriller turns into a horror show as people are burned alive, shot, tortured, whipped, crushed and hacked to pieces.

Carmen Duncan, unleashing ploding arrows at her from

was only one of Lynda's worries during the making of the movie.

Off the set she was breaking 1 Michael Willesee's replacement Willesee at Seven, Derryn Hinch.

flew to Cairns to relax in the winter sun-

shine with his new fiancee, Lynda

when he left for Melbourne a week it was the end of the romance.

On the set, both Derryn and Lynda spoke highly of each other. And Derryn

"I could not forget the fact that we were mutilating fish for

the making of a

commercial movie."

was perturbed when he heard that Lynda would have a tarantula crawl over her in

one scene.

"I couldn't bear to watch happen James Bond in Dr No," Derryn said. "I think Lynda's nuts to do it."

But the scene was cancelled.

"I was disappointed," said Lynda,j is president of the Royal Humane Society

of Australia.

"Scarlet, the spider, and I were ready old friends when they decided to drop the scene. She was soft and like a kitten. Animals and insects non-aggressive if you treat them right.

That was not Lynda's only brush with deadly creatures. She was also asked to swim in waters known to be inhabited by crocodiles and run through dense »j tropical jungle said to be infested with deadly taipans.

Her only complaint in the whole

movie was, wait for it, having to gut fish. Instead, the cameras shot Lynda miming the action with her hands out of

view.

Again, her reasons for becoming president of the Royal Humane Society

came to the fore.

"I just could not forget the fact that we were mutilating fish for the purpose of making a commercial movie," she said reproachfully.