''Robbery Under Arms'' is a 1907 Australian silent western/drama film based on the 1888 novel by

Rolf Boldrewood Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was an Australian author who published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel '' Robbery Under Arms''. Biog ...

about two brothers and their relationship with the

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in Australia, convicts in the early years of the History of Australia (1788–1850), British settlement of Australia who used The bush#Australia, the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. B ...

Captain Starlight. It was the first film version of the novel and the third Australian feature ever made. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

, and is not to be confused with another version of the novel that came out the same year.

Synopsis

Key scenes of the film included the branding of the stolen cattle by the Marstons, the stealing of the horse 'Marquis of Lorne', the capture of Starlight and Dick Marston, the robbery of the mail coach, the bail up of the gold escort, the sticking up of Whitmans', the attack on Keightley station, the ride of Mrs Keightley to raise the ransom, the escape from Berrima Gaol and Starlight's last stand.

Cast

* J. Williams as Starlight * Jim Gerald ("S. Fitzgerald") as Warrigal * Mrs W. J. Ogle as Mrs Keighley * George Merriman as warder * Lance Vane as Inspector of Police * William Duff as trooper * Arthur Guest as curate * Rhoda Dendron

Production

Charles MacMahon made the movie after working for five years in New Zealand. It seems likely that the script was taken directly from the novel, and not any stage adaptation of the book (which was the case with the 1911 version, ''

Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road ''Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road'' is a 1911 Australian silent film about the bushranger Captain Starlight. It was based on Alfred Dampier's stage adaptation of the 1888 novel '' Robbery Under Arms''. It is considered a lost film. ...

''). Shooting took place over six weeks with a cast of twenty five. Locations included

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narrabeen is 23 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and ...

, Hornsby,

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several ...

, Wollongong racecourse, Bathurst, the Turon, and Flemington sale yards, among other places. The cinematographer was C Byers Coates, who worked for the film firm of Osborne and Jerdan. Coates shot 10,000 feet of film all up which was later processed at Osborne and Jerdan's premises in George Street, Sydney. The budget has been given as £900 or £1,000. The role of Warrigal, the aboriginal tracker, was played by

Jim Gerald Jim Gerald (1 January 1891 – 2 March 1971) born James Fitzgerald was an Australian comedian, circus clown, acrobat, writer, director and troupe leader and filmmaker. Theatre Historian Frank Van Straten has described Gerald as "the quintesse ...

who later became a major vaudeville star; it was one of his few film roles. (He may have been billed as "Fitzgerald".)

Reception

The movie was often shown on a double bill with a live

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

show, sometimes with two actors dressed up in costume. It was a popular success at the box-office, seen by 30,000 people in Sydney ("hundreds turned away") and ran for 12 weeks in Melbourne during its initial season. It ran in cinemas for three years. The critic for the ''West Australian'' said that "some of the bush scenes are very beautiful, and at the same time intensely interesting. Mrs. Keightley's ride to Bathurst in quest of the ransom for her husband's life and the "sticking up" of the Engowra gold escort were realistic items."

References

External links

*
Article on the two 1907 ''Robbery Under Arms'' films

''Robbery Under Arms'' (1907)
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...