Ned Kelly ** (1970, Mick Jagger, Clarissa Kaye-Mason, Mark McManus, Frank Thring, Ken Goodlet, Bruce Barry) – Classic Movie Review 8351

British director Tony Richardson took a miscast Mick Jagger Down Under for his 1970 true story adventure film Ned Kelly, a thoughtful if misguided action biopic of the legendary 19th-century Aussie outback outlaw Ned Kelly (1855-80).

[Spoiler alert] Police eventually captured the horse rustler and cattle thief and he was hanged, but became a folk hero to the people of the state of Victoria.

Ned Kelly boasts some good scenes and an excellent music score by Shel Silverstein, but the bizarrely cast Mick Jagger is uncomfortable in the star role as Ned Kelly and there is not too much excitement or conviction in the drama. But at least it is all quite lusty and it looks handsome thanks to Gerry Fisher’s Technicolor cinematography and the location filming Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia. The prison scenes were shot in Melbourne, Australia.

Also in the cast are Allen Bickford, Geoff Gilmour, Mark McManus, Diane Craig, Clarissa Kaye [Clarissa Kaye-Mason], Peter Sumner, Frank Thring, Ken Goodlet, Serge Lazareff, Bruce Barry, Tony Bazell, Robert Bruning, Alexander Cann, Dave Copping, Gerry Duggan, Anne Harvey, Susan Lloyd, Nigel Lovell, Clifford Neate, Jessica Noad, Martyn Sanderson, Ken Shorter, Lindsay Smith, Doreen Warburton and Jane Wesley.

The screenplay is by Tony Richardson and Ian Jones.

Ned Kelly was remade in 2003 with Heath Ledger, again as Ned Kelly.

Clarissa Kaye, who plays Mrs Kelly, was married to James Mason from 13 August 1971 to his death on 27 July 1984. They met when they appeared in Age of Consent (1969) and they also appeared in Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), Salem’s Lot (1979) and Dr Fischer of Geneva (1984).

Sir Michael Philip Jagger celebrated his 8oth birthday on 26 July 2023. He abandoned his studies at the London School of Economics to join the Rolling Stones. In 1970, he starred in the films Performance (1970) and Ned Kelly (1970), to a mixed reception.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8,351

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com