Ned Kelly
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Tony Richardson
Produced by	Neil Hartley
Written by	Ian Jones Tony Richardson
Starring	Mick Jagger Mark McManus
Music by	Shel Silverstein
Cinematography	Gerry Fisher
Editing by	Charles Rees
Distributed by	United Artists Corporation
Release date(s)	October 7, 1970 October 19, 1970 July 2, 1971
Running time	106 min.
Country	UK
Language	English
Budget	£1,000,000 (estimate)

Ned Kelly is the title of a 1970 film. It was the second Australian feature film version of the story of 19th century Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.

The film was directed by Tony Richardson, and starred Mick Jagger in the title role. Scottish-born actor Mark McManus played the part of Kelly's friend Joe Byrne. It was a British production, but was filmed entirely in Australia, shot mostly around Braidwood in southern New South Wales, with a largely Australian supporting cast.

The making of the film was dogged by problems. Even before production began, the Actors' Equity and some of Ned Kelly's descendants protested strongly about the casting of Jagger in the lead role, and about the film's proposed shooting location in country NSW, rather than in Victoria, where the Kellys had lived.

Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had come to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney.^[1] She was hospitalised in a coma, but recovered and was sent home. She was replaced by a then-unknown Australian actress, Diane Craig. During production, Jagger was slightly injured by a backfiring pistol, the cast and crew were dogged by illness, a number of costumes were destroyed by fire, and Jagger's co-star, Mark McManus, narrowly escaped serious injury when a horse-drawn cart in which he was riding overturned during filming.

The role of Ned Kelly's mother was played by Clarissa Kaye, the wife of British actor James Mason.

The actual body armour costume worn by Jagger is on display at the Queanbeyan City Library, NSW, and the initials "MJ" are scratched on the inside.^[2] The head-piece has been stolen, however, and it is hoped that it will one day be returned, as it represents a significant piece of Australian film memorabilia.

The film was very poorly received at its opening, and is still regarded as one of Richardson's least successful efforts. It was effectively disowned by both Richardson and Jagger, neither of whom attended the London premiere. The soundtrack features music composed by Shel Silverstein and performed by Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, with one solo track sung by Jagger.

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)

[edit] External links

• Ned Kelly at Internet Movie Database
• Ned Kelly (1970 film) at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Ned Kelly at Allmovie

v • d • e The films of Tony Richardson 1950s Look Back in Anger 1960s The Entertainer • Sanctuary • A Taste of Honey • The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner • Tom Jones • The Loved One • Mademoiselle • The Sailor from Gibraltar • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Laughter in the Dark • Hamlet 1970s Nijinsky: Unfinshed Project • Ned Kelly • A Delicate Balance • Dead Cert • Joseph Andrews 1980s The Border • The Hotel New Hampshire 1990s Blue Sky Productions "Tales from Soho" (1956) • Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) Television Othello (1955) • It Should Happen to a Dog (1955) • "BBC Sunday Night Theatre" (1955) • "ITV Play of the Week" (1956) • "The Sunday-Night Play" (1960) • A Death in Canaan (1978) • The Penalty Phase (1986) • Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun (1988) • Women and Men: Stories of Seduction (1990) (with Frederic Raphael and Ken Russell) • The Phantom of the Opera (1990)