''When the Kellys Rode'' is a 1934 Australian film directed by

Harry Southwell Harry Southwell (born 1882, date of death unknown) was an Australian actor, writer and film director best known for making films about Ned Kelly. He was born in Cardiff, Wales and spent a couple of years in America, where he adapted some short ...

about

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 ...

Plot

The story of

and his gang. A policeman comes to arrest Dan Kelly, which results in him being shot and Ned Kelly going on the run with his gang. They rob several banks but are captured and killed at the Glenrowan Hotel.

Cast

When the Kellys Rode film poster undated c 1934

*Hay Simpson (Leslie Hay-Simpson) as

*John Appleton as Dan Kelly *Norman Wait as

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. De ...

*Robert Inglis as Steve Hart *Regena Somerville as Kate Kelly

Production

The film was produced by Imperial Films which was incorporated in 1933 with a capital of £20,000. Southwell had planned to call the film ''The Kelly Gang'', but the Commonwealth censor objected to the use of the word gang in the title. It was filmed on location in the

Megalong Valley Megalong Valley is part of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of Katoomba. On its eastern side, the valley is separated from the Jamison Valley by Narrow Neck Plateau. The Shipley Plateau overlooks part of th ...

in the Blue Mountains and in Cinesound's Studio at Rushcutter's Bay. Southwell hired a crew from

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

. The film is considered to be first adaptation of the Kelly story with sound.

Release

The film was forbidden from being exhibited in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

for more than ten years under the ban on bushranging films.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 166. The government thought that the film glorified bushrangers, and showed the police in a bad light. The filmmakers protested but were unsuccessful. However the movie was passed, with cuts, for screening in Victoria and other states. Critical response was unenthusiastic. The film performed poorly at the box office and only returned £750 of which £500 went to the producers. The ban was lifted in 1942 and the film was re-released in 1948. Leslie Hay-Simpson, a Sydney solicitor, who played Ned Kelly, was later lost at sea between

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

and Sydney. He had been on Lord Howe Island during October 1936, acting in '' Mystery Island'', a Paramount Pictures film directed by J. A. Lipman.

References

External links

''When the Kellys Rode''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''When the Kellys Rode''
at Oz Movies {{Ned Kelly Bushranger films 1934 films Cultural depictions of Ned Kelly Films shot in Australia Australian black-and-white films 1934 Western (genre) films Films directed by Harry Southwell