Ned Kelly (1970 movie)
| Ned Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tony Richardson |
| Written by | Ian Jones Tony Richardson |
| Produced by | Neil Hartley |
| Starring | Mick Jagger Mark McManus |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Edited by | Charles Rees |
| Music by | Shel Silverstein |
| Distributed by | United Artists Corporation |
Release dates |  October 7, 1970 October 19, 1970 July 2, 1971 |
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £1,000,000 (estimate) |
Ned Kelly is the name of a 1970 movie. It was the second Australian feature length movie about Australian bushranger Ned Kelly. The first was The Story of the Kelly Gang made in 1906, the world's first feature movie.
Ned Kelly was directed by Tony Richardson, and starred Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly. 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 mainly Australian actors.
Problems
[change | change source]There were many problems in getting the movie made. The actors' union, Actors' Equity and some of Ned Kelly's relatives protested strongly about Jagger having the lead role. Many people were upset that the movie would be made in New South Wales, not Victoria, where the Kellys had lived.
Jagger's girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, had come to Australia to play the lead female role of Ned's sister, Maggie. Their relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after she got to Sydney.[1] She was in a coma, but soon got better and went back to England. She was replaced by an unknown Australian actress, Diane Craig. During filming, Jagger was hurt by a pistol misfiring. The actors and crew were often sick, some costumes were destroyed by fire, and Jagger's co-star, Mark McManus, just escaped serious injury when a horse-drawn cart in which he was riding overturned during filming.
Armour
[change | change source]The body armour costume worn by Jagger is on show at the Queanbeyan City Library, with the letters "MJ" scratched on the inside.[2] The head-piece has been stolen, the loss of an important piece of Australian movie history.
Critics
[change | change source]The movie was very poorly received at its opening, and is still said to be Richardson's worst movie.[3] Neither Richardson or Jagger went to the London opening of the movie.
The music
[change | change source]The movie has music written by Shel Silverstein, and performed by Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, with one song by Jagger.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Marianne Faithfull makes peace with her past - Times Online". timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-19.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Queanbeyan City Council". www.qcc.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ↑ Weiler, A.H. "Movie Review - Ned Kelly - Screen: Jagger as Outlaw - NYTimes.com". movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-07-19.