Robbery Under Arms (1957)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Jack Lee

Writers:

Alexander Baron (writer)
Rolf Boldrewood (novel)

Release Date:

1958 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | History | Western

Tagline:

MANY of Britain's top players and technicians travelled half-way across the world to film this Australian classic of daring adventure in its authentic locales. The result is an outdoor film of rare sweep and power which stirringly and convincingly recreates the roaring pioneer days when life was lived close to Nature - and even closer to danger. In a superb cast, Peter Finch gives one of his strongest performances as Captain Starlight, the notorious robber whose most potent weapons were a polite phrase and a disarming smile.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle Roping | West | Gentleman Crook | Attack | Cattle Rustler

Cast

Peter Finch	...	Captain Starlight
Ronald Lewis	...	Dick Marston
Laurence Naismith	...	Ben Marston
Maureen Swanson	...	Kate Morrison Mullockson
David McCallum	...	Jim Marston
Vincent Ball	...	George Storefield
Jill Ireland	...	Jean Morrison
Dudy Nimmo	...	Eileen Marston
Jean Anderson	...	Ma Marston
Ursula Finley	...	Grace Storefield
John Cadell	...	Warrigal, black rustler (as Johnny Cadell)
Larry Taylor	...	Burke, new rustler
Russell Napier	...	Banker Green
Max Wagner	...	Sergeant Goring
Billy Pepper	...	Goring's Tracker-Interpreter

Runtime:

99 min | USA:83 min | Australia:104 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:U | Iceland:12 | USA:Not Rated | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bourke, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

Last full length feature film of Maureen Swanson.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Robbery Under Arms (1985)

How times were tough in early Australia.

I first saw this film when still at school, in my final year. At that time, I thought it was a passable "western" but it lacked the Hollywood glitz to which I'd become accustomed and acculturated.

Fifty years haven't dimmed my appreciation of the story and film, but those years have readjusted my focus on the quality and veracity of the production. By today's digital standards, the colour saturation is just too pronounced, but given the times, it was ideal to convey the stark contrasts of the Australian outback – the parched land, the unrelenting sun and the tough times experienced by the settlers.

The story is basic: two brothers get caught up in cattle rustling with Captain Starlight (Peter Finch) who gets caught eventually, while the brothers escape to go off to the Bendigo gold fields to make honest money, they hope. Unhappily for them, they get embroiled in a bank robbery staged by Starlight and his gang and, once again, are on the run, one and all.

And, that sets up the final action sequence whereby a large body of troopers attacks the mountain hideout of Starlight's gang, with inevitable results. That shootout is still one of the finest ever put to film: realistic and beautifully photographed from many camera angles, providing the viewer a box seat of what such a battle must be like.

Peter Finch acts superbly: witty, urbane, considerate, competent and very tough – all in one. Who really knows what the real Starlight was like, the one who actually roamed and robbed the areas around southern Queensland and northern New South Wales? I think Finch pulls off a reasonable portrayal.

The rest of the cast is adequate to very good, with Maureen Swanson the standout performer as Kate Morrison, the woman spurned by Dick Marston (Ron Lewis); not a woman to be tossed aside, as he finds out. David McCallum, in his fifth movie, plays the other brother, Jim Marston who gets involved with Kate's sister, Jean (Jill Ireland).

As a piece of Australiana, it's worth the time to see. As a story about the bush ranging days of early Australia, it has its moments, particularly the final shootout.

Recommended for all.