Robbery Under Arms (1920 film)

1920 film

Robbery Under Arms

Directed by| Kenneth Brampton
Written by| Kenneth Brampton
Based on| novel by Rolf Boldrewood
Produced by| Pearson Tewksbury
Starring| Kenneth Brampton
S.A. Fitzgerald
Cinematography| Lacey Percival

Production
company

Pacific Photo Plays[1][2]

Distributed by| Union Theatres

Release date

* 2 October 1920 (1920-10-02)

Running time

| 53 minutes
Country| Australia
Languages| Silent
English intertitles
Budget| £3,000
Box office| £16,000[3]

Robbery Under Arms is a 1920 Australian film directed by Kenneth Brampton and financed by mining magnate Pearson Tewksbury.[4] It is an early example of the "Meat pie Western".[5]

## Plot[edit]

Two brothers, Dick and Jim Marsden, become involved with the bushranger, Captain Starlight. They romance two girls, work on the goldfields, and are captured by the police after Starlight is shot dead.[6]

## Cast[edit]

* Kenneth Brampton as Captain Starlight
* S. A. Fitzgerald as Ben Marsden
* Roland Conway as Dick Marsden
* Cliff Pyatt as Jim Marsden
* Roy Redgrave as Dan Moran
* William Pearson as Sir Frederick Moranger
* Stuart MacRae as Inspector Goring
* Jackie Anderson as Warrigal
* Vera Archer as Jennie Morrison
* Betty Crook as Miss Falkland
* Hilda Dorrington as Kate Morrison
* Tien Hogue as Aileen Marsden
* Austral Nichol as Mrs. Knightley
* Wilton Power as George Storefield
* Phyllis Ruthven as Grace Storefield
* Sybil Shirley
* Nan Taylor as Mrs. Marsden
* H. D. Wise as Mr. Knightley
* Charles Chauvel

## Production[edit]

There had been several attempts to make films based on Rolfe Boldrewood's 1888 novel since the bushranging ban by the New South Wales government in 1912. In particular there were attempts by Stanley Crick in 1916 and Alfred Rolfe in 1918. However Kenneth Brampton managed to secure permission for this 1920 version, mostly likely because it stressed the moral lessons of the story.[7]

Kenneth Brampton and actress Tien Hogue managed to persuade the mining magnate Pearson Tewksbury to raise the budget and act as producer.[3]

Brampton was acting in the play Lightnin' which he left to make the film.[8]

The film was shot on location at Braidwood and in the Araluen Valley near Canberra. The bushrangers the Clarke brothers reportedly worked in this region.[9][10]

Renowned horseman "Top" Hassall doubled for Brampton on the horse riding scenes.[11]

Future director Charles Chauvel was working around the Sydney studios and attending to horses on the film. He has a bit part.

The film was the final acting role for Roy Redgrave who died in 1922.

## Reception[edit]

The movie was reportedly successful at the box office[7] and grossed up to £16,000. However returns were so slow and the distributor and exhibitor took so much that Pearson Tewksbury was dissuaded from further film production.[3]

Variety said the film was "of only fair quality, the picture just gets by."[12]

## Preservation status[edit]

A "copy comprising about three-quarters of the film" was found and combined with already known footage to produce a near-complete version.[13] A five-minute sequence is still missing.[13]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "DID YOU KNOW?". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 10 January 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
2. ^ "Robbery Under Arms". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 31 October 1920. p. 22. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
3. ^ a b c Graham Shirley & Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Angus & Robertson, 1989 p 70-71
4. ^ Pearson Tewksbury at Australian Dictionary of Biography
5. ^ Lennon, Troy (21 January 2018). "Australian 'meat pie' westerns have been around for more than a century". The Daily Telegraph.
6. ^ "Advertising". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 3 February 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
7. ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 101.
8. ^ "GOSSIP OF THE THEATRES". The Sydney Mail. National Library of Australia. 3 March 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
9. ^ "EARL'S COURT". The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 15 January 1921. p. 10. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
10. ^ ""ROBBERY UNDER ARMS."". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. NSW: National Library of Australia. 27 March 1920. p. 1 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
11. ^ "Sydney's Talking About". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 3 April 1947. p. 16. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
12. ^ "Variety - Lantern: Search, Visualize & Explore the Media History Digital Library".
13. ^ a b Edmondson, Ray; Pike, Andrew (1982). "Australia's Lost Films" (PDF). National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

## External links[edit]

* Robbery Under Arms at IMDb
* Robbery Under Arms is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
* Robbery Under Arms (1920) at National Film and Sound Archive

* v
* t
* e

Thomas Alexander Browne's Robbery Under Arms

Plays|

* Robbery Under Arms (1890)

Films|

* Robbery Under Arms (1907) (McMahon version)
* Robbery Under Arms (1907) (Tait version)
* Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road (1911)
* Robbery Under Arms (1920)
* Robbery Under Arms (1957)
* Robbery Under Arms (1985)
* unmade Ken G. Hall film

Real-life inspirations|

* Captain Moonlite
* Frank Gardiner
* Harry Redford
* Dan Morgan
* Frederick Pottinger
* Captain Starlight (1945)

Radio|

* Robbery Under Arms (1941)
* Robbery Under Arms (1943)
* Robbery Under Arms (1950)

* v
* t
* e

Bushrangers

1700s|

* John Caesar

1810s|

* Michael Howe

1820s|

* Matthew Brady
* Jack Donahue
* Thomas Jeffrey
* Musquito
* Alexander Pearce
* John Tennant

1830s|

* Edward Davis
* Jack the Rammer
* Ribbon Gang

1840s|

* Martin Cash
* George Jones
* Lawrence Kavenagh
* Daniel Priest
* William Westwood

1850s|

* John Francis
* George Francis
* Henry Garrett
* Frank McCallum (Captain Melville)
* George Melville
* St Kilda Road robberies
* Owen Suffolk
* John "Rocky" Whelan

1860s|

* Bluecap
* Mary Ann Bugg
* Clarke brothers
* Larry Cummins
* Patrick Daley
* John Dunn
* John Foley
* Frank Gardiner
* Frank Gardiner–Ben Hall gang
* John Gilbert
* Ben Hall
* John Kerney
* Fred Lowry
* James Alpin McPherson
* Moondyne Joe
* Dan Morgan
* John O'Meally
* George Palmer
* Frank Pearson
* John Peisley
* Sam Poo
* Harry Power
* Captain Thunderbolt
* John Vane

1870s–1880s|

* Joe Byrne
* Steve Hart
* Dan Kelly
* Ned Kelly
* Captain Moonlite
* Captain Starlight
* Aaron Sherritt

1890s|

* John Francis Peggotty

1900s|

* Jimmy Governor
* Patrick Kenniff
* Jessie Hickman

Popular culture|

| Folk songs|

* "Streets of Forbes" (ca. 1865)
* "The Wild Colonial Boy" (ca. 1830)
* "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" (ca. 1820s)

|

Film|

* Bushranging in North Queensland (1904)
* The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)
* Robbery Under Arms (by Charles MacMahon) (1907)
* Robbery Under Arms (by J and N Tait) (1907)
* The Girl Who Joined the Bushrangers (1909)
* The Life and Adventures of John Vane, the Notorious Australian Bushranger (1910)
* Moonlite (1910)
* Thunderbolt (1910)
* Attack on the Gold Escort (1911)
* A Tale of the Australian Bush (1911)
* Ben Hall and His Gang (1911)
* Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for Life (1911)
* Captain Midnight, the Bush King (1911)
* Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road (1911)
* Dan Morgan (1911)
* Frank Gardiner, the King of the Road (1911)
* The Lady Outlaw (1911)
* Moondyne (1913)
* The Kelly Gang (1920)
* Robbery Under Arms (1920)
* The Shadow of Lightning Ridge (1920)
* The Gentleman Bushranger (1921)
* When the Kellys Were Out (1922)
* Trooper O'Brien (1928)
* The Bushranger (1928)
* Stingaree (1934)
* When the Kellys Rode (1934)
* Captain Fury (1939)
* The Glenrowan Affair (1951)
* Captain Thunderbolt (1953)
* Robbery Under Arms (1957)
* Ned Kelly (1970)
* Mad Dog Morgan (1976)
* Robbery Under Arms (1985)
* Ned Kelly (2003)
* The Proposition (2005)
* The Outlaw Michael Howe (2013)
* The Legend of Ben Hall (2016)
* True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)

Literature|

* Jerilderie Letter (1879)
* Robbery Under Arms (1882 novel)
* Stingaree (1905 novel)
* Our Sunshine (1991 novel)
* True History of the Kelly Gang (2001 novel)

Stage|

* The Bushrangers (1834 play)
* The Kelly Gang (1899 play)
* Ned Kelly (1942 play)
* Ned Kelly (1978 musical)

Television|

* Ned Kelly (1959)
* Ballad for One Gun (1963)
* Ben Hall (1975)
* The Last Outlaw (1980)
* Wild Boys (2011)

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