Came a Hot Friday is a 1985 New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 made comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 film starring some of New Zealand's best-known actors and comedians, based on the 1964 novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson

Ronald Hugh Morrieson

Ronald Hugh Morrieson of Hawera, Taranaki was a novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular. He earned his living as a...

.

Plot

Set in rural New Zealand in 1949, Wes Pennington (Peter Bland) and his partner Cyril (Philip Gordon) are out to ride a great horse-racing scam for as long as they can. They are inveterate gamblers who have joined forces to bilk local bookies by taking advantage of delayed broadcasts of horse races. To stop being caught the duo don't stay in each town for too long, but when they arrive in Tainuia Junction, fate catches up with them. Through a series of unforeseen circumstances, Cyril and Wes get involved in uncovering a bootlegging ring, arson, murder, and other dastardly deeds. The townspeople are in a class of their own, including the Tainuia Kid (Played by Billy T. James), a Maori man who believes himself to be a Mexican bandito, who becomes a kind of protector for the put-upon, gambling duo.

Cast

• Peter Bland
  Peter Bland
  Peter Bland is a British-New Zealand poet and actor.-Life:He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington....
  
   ... Wes Pennington
• Phillip Gordon ... Cyril Kidman
• Michael Lawrence ... Don Jackson
• Billy T. James
  Billy T. James
  Billy T James, , born William James Te Wehi Taitoko, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian and actor. He starred in numerous TV shows and variety programmes and performed on stage and in motion pictures.-Career:...
  
   ... The Tainuia Kid
• Marshall Napier
  Marshall Napier
  Marshall James Napier is a New Zealand-born actor. He is the father of actress Jessica Napier and the uncle of actor James Napier.Before becoming an actor, Napier worked variously as an art student, factory worker and truck driver...
  
   ... Sel Bishop
• Don Selwyn
  Don Selwyn
  Don C. Selwyn was a Maori actor and film director from New Zealand. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Maori Theatre Trust and directed the 2002 film The Merchant of Venice, the first Maori language feature film with English subtitles.Born of Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri descent, Selwyn grew...
  
   ... Norm Cray
• Marise Wipani ... Esmerelda
• Erna Larsen ... Dinah
• Philip Holder ... Dick
• Tricia Phillips ... Claire
• Bruce Allpress
  Bruce Allpress
  Bruce Allpress is a New Zealand actor. He has been in many television dramas and also presenting on television and radio productions. In the mid-1980s, he was a regular on The Billy T. James Show, as well as featuring alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the pirate adventure film Nate and Hayes...
  
   ... Don's Dad
• Michael Morrissey ... Morrie
• Roy Billing
  Roy Billing
  Roy Billing is a New Zealand television actor, now based in Sydney, Australia.-Career:Billing has starred in many television shows and had main roles on Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Dossa and Joe and Hell Has Harbour Views...
  
   ... Darkie Benson
• Hemi Rapata ... Kohi
• Bridget Armstrong ... Aunt Agg
• Prince Tui Teka
  Prince Tui Teka
  Tui Teka , better known by his stage names "Tui Latui" or Prince Tui Teka was a Māori singer/actor. Teka was a member of the Maori Volcanics Showband before having a successful solo career.- Career:Teka was born in Ruatahuna, New Zealand near Te Urewera...
  
   ... Saxophonist

New Zealand Film and TV Awards

Year	Category	Recipient
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Director	Ian Mune Ian Mune Ian Barry Mune, OBE is a New Zealand character actor and director. He co-wrote and starred in Roger Donaldson's first film, Sleeping Dogs. He also directed Came a Hot Friday, which featured comedian Billy T. James as the Tainui Kid, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were...
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Editing	Ken Zemke
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Film	Larry Parr Larry Parr (director) Larry Parr is a New Zealand producer, writer and director of films and TV, He has been a major part of the New Zealand film industry since the 1970s when his first film Sleeping Dogs with Roger Donaldson) was released. Since then he has worked on many movies, producing Came a Hot Friday, writing...
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Film Score	Stephen McCurdy
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Performance, Male in a Leading Role	Peter Bland Peter Bland Peter Bland is a British-New Zealand poet and actor.-Life:He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington....
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Performance, Male in Supporting Role	Billy T. James Billy T. James Billy T James, , born William James Te Wehi Taitoko, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian and actor. He starred in numerous TV shows and variety programmes and performed on stage and in motion pictures.-Career:...
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....	Best Screenplay Adaption	Ian Mune Ian Mune Ian Barry Mune, OBE is a New Zealand character actor and director. He co-wrote and starred in Roger Donaldson's first film, Sleeping Dogs. He also directed Came a Hot Friday, which featured comedian Billy T. James as the Tainui Kid, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were... , Dean Parker Dean Parker Dean Parker is a screenwriter, playwright, journalist and political commentator based in Auckland, New Zealand.Parker has worked as a writer for much of his life and been prominent in his union, the NZ Writer's Guild...