Kelly, der Bandit (1970)

Kelly, der Bandit: Directed by Tony Richardson. With Mick Jagger, Clarissa Kaye-Mason, Mark McManus, Ken Goodlet. The impoverished son of Irish immigrants is pushed by wrongful police persecution into becoming Australia’s most notorious bushranger.

“This film has always received a thorough trashing, in Australia at least, u0026amp; having seen it, I believe unfairly. As a genre film itu0026#39;s pretty solid – boy gets out of jail, still gets hassled by The Man, gets pushed back into crime trying to help his dear old momma, u0026amp; goes out in a blaze of glory (sort of – he was captured u0026amp; hanged after the glorious showdown).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, the boy happens to be Ned Kelly, Australiau0026#39;s most ambiguous hero. Debating what sort of a man Kelly really was is irrelevant now – the legend is far more important. An Irish renegade standing up to the imperialist forces, or a glorified criminal, blah, blah, blah. He may have been a horse-thief, he may have been a thug, he may have loved fluffy kittens – weu0026#39;ll never know for sure.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film hardly attempts to get at any sort of historical truth – itu0026#39;s about rebellious youth breaking free from the stuffy establishment, hence the casting of Jagger. Heu0026#39;s actually quite good, but his celebrity overshadows his performance. He might have worked, just not playing such a famous Australian icon. That elevates it to a type of ironic blasphemy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePity, really – itu0026#39;s not a bad film at all. Well shot, directed u0026amp; acted, it does convey a sense of being back in the 19th century, u0026amp; still manages to have that rebellious 60u0026#39;s/70u0026#39;s charm.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA much better (u0026amp; far more brutal) Australian bushranger film is u0026#39;Mad Dog Morganu0026#39;, starring Dennis Hopper, u0026amp; his Irish accent is just a bit more convincing than Jaggeru0026#39;s.”