Her husband Tim Burstall saw the play and hired Williamson to adapt it, commenting that: It had a kind of gaiety and brio.
[8] Williamson later said he felt Burstall directed Spence "a little bigger than I would have liked" and clashed in a few places with the director but on the whole the collaboration was a good one.
[9] Tim Burstall and his associates initially released the film themselves at St Kilda Palais, where it ran for a six-week season, earning $50,000 and returning $20,000 to the producers.
Hoyts and Greater Union refused to distribute but the film was picked up by Roadshow, who played it throughout Australia, using 35 mm prints blown up from the original.
The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as interviews with Tim Burstall, Alan Finney, Bruce Spence, David Williamson, Betty Burstall, Jacki Weaver and Rob Copping, a short film title Three Old Friends and the making of Three Old Friends.