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Robbery under Arms

Robbery Under Arms (Kenneth Brampton, 1920) Pacific Photo Plays, wr. Kenneth Brampton, from the novel by Rolf Boldrewood, dp Lacey Percival; Kenneth Brampton, S. A. Fitzgerald, Ronald Conway, Cliff Pyatt, Roy Redgrave, Charles Chauvel; 5200 ft

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Brampton staged the film in strikingly beautiful locations at Braidwood and in the Araluen Valley near Canberra, a location used decades later for the British production of Ned Kelly (1970). Distribution was handled by Beaumont Smith, and the film opened at the Strand Theatre, Melbourne on 2 October 1920 and in Sydney a month later. Theatre was unimpressed: 'It has plenty of action; but the titling is poor; and, unlike Boldrewood's book, the interest never grips.' Commercial results from the film seen to have been fairly solid, but Brampton, an experienced stage and screen actor, did not direct another film for two years. In passing, it is worth noting that the supporting cast included the young Charles Chauvel in an unidentified bit part; Chauvel at this time was working around the Sydney studios attending to horses and assisting with mechanical chores. Pike & Cooper: 101.

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Other films with the same title or subject

Captain Starlight, or Gentleman Of The Road (Alfred Rolfe, 1911) Spencer's Pictures, from the play by Alfred Dampier, based on the novel Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood, dp Ernest Higgins; Alfred Rolfe, Lily Dampier [Rolfe's wife], Raymond Longford, Stanley Walpole, Augustus Neville; opened Spencer's Lyceum Sydney 16 March 1911 and ran for a profitable extended season; over 3000 ft

Robbery under Arms (Charles MacMahon, 1907) MacMahon's Exquisite Pictures, screenplay, scenario, script Charles MacMahon, from the novel by Rolf Boldrewood, dp Byers Coates, William Duff; Jim Gerald (Warrigal), George Merriman, Lance Vane, William Duff, Arthur Guest, Rhoda Dendron; 5000 ft.

Robbery under Arms (Jack Lee, 1957) Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, David McCallum, Maureen Swanson, Jill Ireland; from the novel by Rolf Boldrewood; Capt. Starlight has a black offsider; 96 min.

Robbery under Arms (Donald Crombie & Ken Hannam, 1985) Sam Neill, Steven Vidler, Christopher Cummins, Ed Devereaux, Tommy Lewis; 141 min.


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