''Mad Dog Morgan'' is a 1976 Australian

bushranger film Australian Western, also known as meat pie Western or kangaroo Western, is a broad genre of Western-style films or TV series set in the Australian outback or "the bush". Films about bushrangers (sometimes called bushranger films) are included ...

directed by

Philippe Mora Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director. Early life and career Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...

and starring Dennis Hopper,

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

and

David Gulpilil David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021), known professionally as David Gulpilil and posthumously (at his family's request, to avoid naming the dead) as David Dalaithngu for three days, was an Indigenous Australian actor ...

. It is based upon the life of

Dan Morgan Daniel Thomas Morgan, Jr. (born December 19, 1978) is an American football executive and former linebacker who is the assistant general manager for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the direct ...

Plot

Dan Morgan witnesses the (fictitious) bloody massacre of Chinese on the goldfields and turns into a robber. He is arrested and sent to prison for six years where he is tormented and raped. He is let out on parole and becomes a bushranger, befriending an Aboriginal man, Billy. Morgan fights against the vicious Superintendent Cobham and is eventually killed.

Cast

* Dennis Hopper as

as Detective Manwaring *

as Billy *

Frank Thring Francis William Thring (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred in Ho ...

as Superintendent Cobham *

Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...

as Superintendent Winch *

Wallas Eaton Wallas Eaton (18 February 1917 – 3 November 1995), sometimes credited as Wallace Eaton or Wallis Eaton, was an English film, radio, television and theatre actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his voice roles between 1949 and 1960 in ...

as Macpherson * Bill Hunter as Sergeant Smith * John Hargreaves as Baylis *Martin Harris as Wendlan * Robin Ramsay as Roget * Graeme Blundell as Italian Jack * Gregory Apps as Arthur *Liza Lee-Atkinson as Barmaid *Elaine Baillie as Farm Girl *Don Barkham as Morrow *Kurt Beimel as Dr. Dobbyn *David Bracks as McLean * Liddy Clark as Alice * Peter Collingwood as Judge Barry *

Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period. He was pa ...

as Gibson * John Derum as Evans * Gerry Duggan as Martin *Max Fairchild as Prisoner * Chuck Faulkner as Sergeant Montford *Judith Fisher as Mrs. Warby * Alan Hardy as Bob *Isobel Harley as Mrs. Macpherson *David John as John Evans *

Norman Kaye Norman James Kaye (17 January 1927 – 28 May 2007) was an Australian actor and musician. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox. Early life and education Kaye was born in Melbourne and won a scholarship to study at ...

as Swagman *

Hugh Keays-Byrne Hugh Keays-Byrne (18 May 1947 – 2 December 2020) was a British-Australian actor and film director. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was best known for playing the main antagonist in two films from the ''Mad Max'' franchise ...

as Simon *Kevin Leslie as Maples * Robert McDarra as Parole Officer *David Mitchell as Haley *Christopher Pate as Roget's Assistant *

Grant Page Grant Page (born 1939) is an Australian stuntman who worked mostly during the seventies and eighties. Page was the stunt coordinator for the popular Australian action movies ''The Man from Hong Kong'' (1975) and ''Mad Max'' (1979), as well as othe ...

as Maginnity *Philip Ross as Watson *

Bruce Spence Bruce Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand–Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Biography Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1971 comedy ...

as Heriot *Peter Thompson as Mayor *

Roger Ward Roger Ward (born 1936) is an Australian actor who has had a considerable career in film and television, noted for "tough guy" roles in which he often did his own stunts. Biography Ward was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1936. His care ...

as Trooper *Ken Weaver as Bond

Production

''Mad Dog Morgan'' is based on the book ''Morgan: The Bold Bushranger'', by Margaret Frances Carnegie. Mora wrote the script on a ship voyage from London to Melbourne in 1974. This was submitted to the

Australian Film Development Corporation The Australian Film Development Corporation was an organisation created and funded by the Australian Government in the 1970s, intended to allow filmmakers in the Australian film industry to create movies for everyone to see. In 1975 it was repl ...

in early 1975 who agreed to support it.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p227-230 The budget was raised from the Australian Film Commission (what the AFDC turned into),

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes cu ...

and private investment, including Mora's father Georges, Margaret Carnegie, tycoon Victor Smorgon and Lyn Williams, the wife of artist Fred Williams. Mora and producer Jeremy Thomas flew to Los Angeles to cast the lead role. Their first choice,

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fiction ...

turned it down;

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

and Jason Miller expressed interest in playing Morgan but Mora decided to cast Dennis Hopper instead.Alex Simon, 'PHILIPPE MORA: BALLAD OF A MAD DOG', ''Hollywood Interview'' 24 December 2009
accessed 4 October 2012 Hopper's fee was $50,000. The film used various locations where Dan Morgan had been active, in the eastern

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

, including Billabong Creek,

Culcairn Culcairn () is a town in the south-east Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Culcairn is located in the Greater Hume Shire local government area on the Olympic Highway between Albury and Wagga Wagga. The town is south-west of the sta ...

and Jindera; as well as locations in Beechworth, north-east Victoria. Morgan's cave in the film was the actual cave Dan Morgan had used. Shooting started on 27 October 1975 and went for six weeks over 36 shooting days to 6 December. The shoot was challenged by rain during the first week but managed to be completed on schedule."Production Preview: The Filming of Mad Dog", ''Cinema Papers'', June–July 1976 p66 Producer Jeremy Thomas later remembered his experience making the film: Mora later wrote that he was "setting grotesque 19th-century human behaviour against an extraordinary landscape. I created Francis Bacon figures in a Sidney Nolan landscape, with stunts inspired by Jean Cocteau." The director says that Hopper was a handful during the making of the film, constantly imbibing drink and drugs. However he says the actor could be very professional, a skilful improviser and gave a performance which was "really extraordinary. I think he identified with the role." Mora recalled Hopper at the finish of the shoot: Mora shot a scene where a young

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

looks at a waxwork of Morgan but decided not to use it. The making of ''Mad Dog Morgan'' was featured in Mark Hartley's 2008 documentary '' Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!'', in which Thomas, Mora and Hopper are interviewed.

Release

The film was released in Australia and the US and performed disappointingly at the box office, returning to the producers an estimated $100,000. Mora later wrote: However the movie sold well around the world – including a $300,000 sale to the US – and achieved good reviews. Mora tried for several years to set up other films in Australia – including the movie that became ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown, directed by Phillip Noyce. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Phillip Noyce. The original mu ...

'' (1978), an adaptation of ''

For the Term of His Natural Life ''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a story written by Marcus Clarke and published in ''The Australian Journal'' between 1870 and 1872 (as ''His Natural Life''). It was published as a novel in 1874 and is the best known novelisation of life ...

'' and a science fiction story called ''The Black Hole'' – but was unsuccessful. He moved back overseas where executives at

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, who had been impressed by ''Mad Dog Morgan'', hired Mora to direct ''

The Beast Within ''The Beast Within'' is a 1982 American horror film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, L. Q. Jones, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Logan Ramsey, Katherine Moffat, and Meshach Taylor. ''The Beast With ...

''.

Tromasterpiece Collection

Troma Entertainment's original VHS and DVD release was a heavily edited version of the film, seeing that the unrated or uncut versions were very difficult to come by outside of Australia. With the intent of re-releasing the best films in the Troma library, The Tromasterpiece Collection released a 2-disc unrated version of the film in the US in November 2009. Special features include interviews with director Philippe Mora, cinematographer Mike Molloy and associate producer Richard Brennan, along with a radio interview, deleted scenes, locations featurette, stills gallery and the original theatrical program. Two graphic trailers were released for the DVD launch.

Director's Cut

Umbrella Entertainment (Australia) released a Director's Cut of the film on DVD in early 2009. The DVD featured a fully restored print of the film, presented in an aspect ratio of 2:35:1. The single disc included: – ''They Shoot a Mad Dog: The Making of Mad Dog Morgan'', a 23-minute documentary
– ''That's Our Mad Dog: Dennis Hopper interviewed by Philippe Mora'' - a new 30-minute documentary Further extras included an audio commentary by director Philippe Mora; film excerpts; a radio interview; a stills gallery, a reprint of the film's original release theatre programme; and a .pdf file of the original shooting script.

Accolades

Reception

The critic John Simon wrote about ''Mad Dog Morgan'': "Whoever can find me a film more arrhythmic and incoherent – indeed inept – gets a reward in the shape of the ears of a wombat".

Copyright issues

The film's title screen copyright notice had an error with the Roman numerals, showing it as Copyright "MCMDXXVI" The "D" (500) should have been an "L" (50). Under American law this would have invalidated the Copyright entirely and placed the film in the public domain. However, as an Australian film, Australian law is unclear how the film is considered.

References

External links

* *
''Mad Dog Morgan''
at

Australian Screen Online 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 ...

''Mad Dog Morgan''
at Oz Movies
Mad Dog Morgan
– at the ''

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

'' movie database * {{Philippe Mora 1976 films 1976 independent films 1976 Western (genre) films Australian Western (genre) films Bushranger films Australian independent films Troma Entertainment films Films set in colonial Australia Films set in 1865 Films set in the 1860s Films directed by Philippe Mora Films produced by Jeremy Thomas 1976 drama films 1970s biographical films Australian biographical films Biographical films about bandits Australian films about revenge Australian vigilante films 1970s exploitation films 1970s English-language films