''Ned Kelly'' is a 1942 radio play by Douglas Stewart about the outlaw

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 ...

. It was later adapted into a stage play.

Radio play

The play was first produced as a radio play on the ABC, 21 June 1942.

Stage play

It became a stage play presented by the

Sydney University Dramatic Society The Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) is the premier body for the production of undergraduate theatre at the University of Sydney. Established formally in 1889, with performances dating back to 1883, the society is the oldest continual the ...

, 14 October 1942. It was performed in Melbourne in 1944. The stage version was professionally produced by the

Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally. Founding In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...

in 1956 with

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Cla ...

1959 television version

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1959 by the ABC. It focused on two main events – the robbery at

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. At th Jerilderie had a population of 922 people. It can be found along the Newell Highway ...

and the siege at the Glenrowan Hotel. It was different from a later TV play about Ned Kelly, ''

Ballad for One Gun ''Ballad for One Gun'' is a 1963 Australian television film about Ned Kelly broadcast on ABC. It was originally aired 17 July 1963 in Sydney and shown at later dates in other parts of Australia. It was written by Phillip Grenville Mann. The ...

''.

Premise

Ned Kelly and his gang hold up the hotel at Jerilderie. They retreat to a hideout where they are visited by "The Roo". They realise they have been betrayed by Aaron Sherritt and arrange for him to be shot. They then take over the hotel at Glenrowan.

Cast

Ken Goodlet Kenneth Edwin Goodlet (11 October 1921- 15 November 2006) was an Australian actor with extensive credits in film, radio, TV and theatre, known for Ned Kelly (1970), Bluey (1976) and The Long Arm (1970). Select Credits *'' One Morning Near Troo ...

*John Godfrey as

Steve Hart Stephen Hart (13 February 1859 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger, a member of the Kelly Gang. History Hart was born in Wangaratta to Irish immigrant parents Richard and Bridget Hart (née Young). He was their second son. His fam ...

Alan Hopgood Alan John Hopgood AM (29 September 1934 – 19 March 2022), also known as Alan Hopwood, was an Australian actor, producer, and writer. He wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film '' Alvin Purple'' and made appearances in television shows such as ...

as Dan Kelly *

Syd Conabere Sydney Leicester Conabere (8 July 191815 July 2008) was an Australian actor. He was notable for his work in theatre, film and television drama in a career spanning more than fifty years. In 1962 Conabere won the Logie award for Best Actor, for ...

Joe Byrne Joseph Byrne (21 November 1856 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger of Irish descent. A friend of Ned Kelly, he was a member of the "Kelly Gang" who were declared outlaws after the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek. Des ...

*Betty Phillips as "The Roo", Ned Kelly's girlfriend *Betty Kauffman as Mrs Skerritt *Roland Redshaw

Production

Syd Conbere and Wynn Roberts had performed the play on radio in March 1959. Stewart said one of the play's themes was "the conflict between the over-civilised man and the outlaw and the necessity for a balance between the two attitudes to life. Part of the spirit that was in the celebrated bushranger is still in the Australian character - the deep desire for freedom and impatience with authority." In July 1959 it was announced the production would be filmed at ABC's Melbourne studios at Ripponlea, with the scene of Kelly's capture shot on location at Glenrowan. In early August Sterling and a crew did an initial reconnaissance of the Glenrowan area. A unit went out to Glenrowan in late August for three days of filming. A historic building outside the town, the building originally occupied by Constable Bracken, was dressed up to look like the Royal Hotel in

. There was also filming at the

Strathbogie Ranges The Strathbogie Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges within the Great Dividing Range, rising to at Mount Strathbogie. The Strathbogie Ranges are located approximately north-east of Melbourne, Victoria. Geology and ecology The range is th ...

and

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

. William Sterling said this footage could not be duplicated anywhere else in Victoria. Cameraman Les Hendy used an 18 foot hydraulic crane to film at Beaconsfield. Scenes were also shot at Guy's Hill. Robert Hughes wrote the music score, which also included bush songs from the Kelly years. Les Hendy was cameraman, Harold Fletcher did props, Brian Faull was location manager and Audrey Rogers script assistant.

Reception

The TV critic from the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' thought the production "did a disservice to Douglas Stewart's richly poetic and deeply probing play" in the adaptation "which, with the real meat of the play removed, dealt with very little except its bare skeleton." He complained several important speeches were removed and "the play lost its proper perspective" and that William Sterling's direction, "after a promising beginning, failed to bring off a number of all too tricky camera effects." The critic for ''The Age'' felt the program was too influenced by American Western TV shows although adding "there were many praiseworthy features about this production" saying "the outdoor scenes were excellently filmed and the film was blended with the studio presentations more effectively than any 'live' drama I have previously seen... The female characters... were very impressive... it was an interesting and rewarding experiment and I for one would enjoy watching it again." The review prompted a reply from William Sterling where he argued "let's go our own way in television and receive constructive criticism or praise for what we attempt to do for our own history and let us not perpetuate the purely imaginary and stereotyped methods of the average Hollywood television film."

References

External links

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Program from Elizabethan Theatre Trust production
{{Ned Kelly Australian television plays Australian television films Australian plays 1942 radio dramas Australian radio dramas 1960 television plays 1942 plays Radio programs adapted into plays Cultural depictions of Ned Kelly