Themes: Miscarriage of Justice, Vigilantes, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Jack Allan, Claire Balmford, Tony Bazell, Kurt Beimel, Mick Jagger, Clarissa Kaye, Mark McManus
Release Year: 1970
Country: UK
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Ned Kelly (Mick Jagger) is the legendary outlaw of the Australian outback sought by authorities for stealing horses. At age 20, Ned has already served a three-year prison term at hard labor. When Ned's mother (Clarissa Kaye) is arrested and jailed on a bogus murder charge, Ned offers to surrender in exchange for his mother's freedom. When the authorities refuse, the Kelly brothers go on a robbing rampage. Cornered by the law in a saloon, Ned's brothers commit suicide rather than be taken alive. Shel Silverstein wrote the music performed by Waylon Jennings, Jagger and Glen Tomasetti. Australian folk songs are also included in this story taken from a popular 19th-century ballad. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
Though the mythology surrounding Ned Kelly is as important to Australians as that of Jesse James is to Americans, he's hardly a household name anywhere else, so producer-director Tony Richardson shrewdly gambled on casting rock star Mick Jagger to tell the story of the 19th century bushranger in this Down Under Western. Jagger adopts a convincingly sullen look for his role as an Irish lad whose grievances with the British landowners and lawmen turned him into a folk hero, but his line readings are stiff and unconvincing. In his second film role (following his closer-to-home turn in Performance), Mick just hasn't developed the acting chops to allow us to suspend our disbelief. And because the script don't do much to flesh out anyone else in the large cast of characters, he's is left to do most of the heavy lifting. There are some vigorously staged scenes, and a few of Shel Silverstein's ballads, including the wry "Blame It on the Kellys," offer astute commentary. And Kelly isn't portrayed as some sainted figure; he is clearly a ruffian with a chip on his shoulder, though it is well earned by the machinations the British villains put him and his family through. This is an interesting contrast with Sam Peckinpah's superior Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, which overcomes the acting limitations of a musician lead (Kris Kristofferson) to offer a vigorous and affecting look at the making of a historical legend. Richardson can't finesse the same trick here. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Ben Blakeney - Tracker; Michael Boddy; Robert Bruning - Sgt. Steele; Alexander Cann - McInnes; Bill Charlton - Richards; David Copping - Mr. Curnow; Erika Crowne - Mrs. Farrell; Patsy Dance - Mrs. Whitty; John Dease - Whitty; Shirley May Donald - Mrs. Byrne; Gerry Duggan - Father O'Hea; James Elliott - Pat O'Donnell; Terry Erwin - Chinese; Gary Fisher - Jack Jones; Ronald Golding - Casement; Reg Gorman - Bracken; John Gray - Stratton; Anne Harvey - Mrs.Devine; John Hopkins - O'Connor; Bill Hunter - Officer; Kamahl - Gloster; Graham Keating - Trooper; Moshe Kedem - Baumgarten; Harry Kelly - Aborigine; John Laws - Kennedy; Alexi Long - Grace Kelly; Nigel Lovell - Capt. Standish; Mary Marshall - Mrs. Barry; Patrick McCarville - Sportsmen; Gordon McDougall - Tarleton; Cliff Neate; Bryan Niland - Mackie; Jessica Noad - Mrs. Scott; Liam Reynolds - Lonigan; Andrew Sanders - Farrell; Martyn Sanderson - Fitzpatrick; Lindsay Smith - McIntyre; Colin Tilley - Bank Clerk; Tim Van Rellim; Janne Wolmsley - Caitlyn; Francis Yin - Sympathizer; Diana Craig - Maggie Kelly; Frank Thring - Judge Barry; Allen Bickford - Dan Kelly; Peter Sumner - Tom Lloyd; Serge Lazareff - Wild Weight; Bruce Barry - George King; Geoff Gilmour - Steve Hart; Ken Shorter - Aaron Sherritt; Jack Allen - Melbourne; Ken Goodlet - Supt. Nicholson; Sue Lloyd - Kate Kelly; Karin Altman - Jane Jones; Cotton Warburton - Mrs. Jones; Peter Whittle - Devine
Credit
Andrew Sanders - Art Director, Jocelyn Herbert - Costume Designer, Andrew Grieve - First Assistant Director, Tony Richardson - Director, Charles Rees - Editor, Shel Silverstein - Composer (Music Score), Jocelyn Herbert - Production Designer, Gerry Fisher - Cinematographer, Neil Hartley - Producer, Ian Jones - Screenwriter, Tony Richardson - Screenwriter
The film was directed by Tony Richardson, and starred Mick Jagger in the title role. Scottish-born actor Mark McManus played the part of Kelly's friend Joe Byrne. It was a British production, but was filmed entirely in Australia, shot mostly around Braidwood in southern New South Wales, with a largely Australian supporting cast.
The making of the film was dogged by problems. Even before production began, the Actors' Equity and some of Ned Kelly's descendants protested strongly about the casting of Jagger in the lead role, and about the film's proposed shooting location in country NSW, rather than in Victoria, where the Kellys had lived.
Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had come to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney.[1] She was hospitalised in a coma, but recovered and was sent home. She was replaced by a then-unknown Australian actress, Diane Craig. During production, Jagger was slightly injured by a backfiring pistol, the cast and crew were dogged by illness, a number of costumes were destroyed by fire, and Jagger's co-star, Mark McManus, narrowly escaped serious injury when a horse-drawn cart in which he was riding overturned during filming.
The role of Ned Kelly's mother was played by Clarissa Kaye, the wife of British actor James Mason.
The actual body armour costume worn by Jagger is on display at the Queanbeyan City Library, NSW, and the initials "MJ" are scratched on the inside.[2] The head-piece has been stolen, however, and it is hoped that it will one day be returned, as it represents a significant piece of Australian film memorabilia.
The film was very poorly received at its opening, and is still regarded as one of Richardson's least successful efforts. It was effectively disowned by both Richardson and Jagger, neither of whom attended the London premiere. The soundtrack features music composed by Shel Silverstein and performed by Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, with one solo track sung by Jagger.
Othello (1955) •It Should Happen to a Dog (1955) •"BBC Sunday Night Theatre" (1955) •"ITV Play of the Week" (1956) •"The Sunday-Night Play" (1960) •A Death in Canaan (1978) •The Penalty Phase (1986) •Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun (1988) •Women and Men: Stories of Seduction (1990) (with Frederic Raphael and Ken Russell) •The Phantom of the Opera (1990)
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