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Robbery Under Arms (1985 film)

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Robbery Under Arms
Soundtrack cover
Directed byDonald Crombie
Ken Hannam
Written byMichael Jenkins
Based onnovel by Rolf Boldrewood
Produced byMace Neufeld
Jock Blair
StarringSam Neill
Steven Vidler
Christopher Cummins
Liz Newman
Jane Menelaus
Andy Anderson
Deborah Coulls
Susie Lindeman
Elaine Cusick
Ed Devereaux
Tommy Lewis
Robert Grubb
CinematographyErnie Clark
Music byGarry McDonald
Laurie Stone
Production
company
Distributed byShock
ITC Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • 28 March 1985 (1985-03-28)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetAU$7.3 million[2][3][4]
Box officeAU$226,648 (Australia)

Robbery Under Arms is a 1985 Australian action adventure film starring Sam Neill as bushranger Captain Starlight.

There were two versions shot simultaneously – a feature film and a TV mini series.[2] They were based on the 1888 novel of the same name by Rolf Boldrewood.

Plot

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Joined by bush larrikin, Ben Marston (Ed Devereaux), and Ben's two adventure-hungry sons (Steven Vidler and Christopher Cummins), Starlight leads his gang of wild colonial boys in search of riches, romance – and other men's cattle.

Cast

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Production

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Jock Blair first had the idea to remake the story in 1981 when he was working at the South Australian Film Corporation. It was originally envisioned that it would be a mini series but it was budgeted at a million dollars an hour which was felt to be too expensive. So it was decided to make a film as well at the same time, based on separate scripts.[5]

There were two writers and two directors. Writing the script took two years.[5]

The film was shot partly on location in the Flinders Rangers and at the SAFC studios in Adelaide.[2] The two directors collaborated well together, and Ken Hannam was relieved to work with the SAFC again after the difficulties on Sunday Too Far Away.[5]

Production took 20 weeks.[6]

Box office

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Robbery Under Arms grossed $226,648 at the box office in Australia.[7]

Home media

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Robbery Under Arms has been released twice by Umbrella Entertainment: as a two-part dual-layer DVD in a 16:9 transfer (DAVID 0477), also as a three-part two-disc DVD pack in the original 4:3 aspect ratio (DAVID2852) released September 2017.

Extras

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Included is a 45-minute "special feature" On Location with Robbery Under Arms, filmed separately by SA Telecasters (Channel 10, which later became Channel 7). It shows much of the art, techniques and social atmosphere involved in the making of the film at Wilpena Pound and Hahndorf, as well as commentary by the major participants.

Producer/Director: Lou Sedivy
Technical producer: Greg Cameron
Technical directors: Mike McAuliffe and David Bates
Executive producer: Trevor Lanyon

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Robbery Under Arms company credits at The New York Times
  2. ^ a b c David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 pp. 71–72
  3. ^ "New 'Robbery'film a TV series too". The Canberra Times (SUNDAY ed.). 15 January 1984. p. 10. Retrieved 9 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Lewes, Jacqueline Lee (5 June 1983). "Million$ of Viewing". Sydney Sun Herald. p. 47.
  5. ^ a b c Nick Roddick, "Arms and the Men", Cinema Papers, May 1985 pp. 55–58
  6. ^ "'Robbery Under Arms' crew going bush". The Canberra Times. 21 January 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 9 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
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