Directed by William Sterling Written by Douglas Stewart Production
company ABC | Produced by William Sterling Starring Ken Goodlet Originally published 1946 Country Australia | |
Based on play by Douglas Stewart Similar Stingaree, Our Sunshine, Robbery Under Arms, True History of the Kelly, Operation Clam | ||
Ned Kelly is a 1942 radio play by Douglas Stewart about the outlaw Ned Kelly. It was later adapted into a stage play.
Contents
Radio Play
The play was first produced as a radio play on the ABC, 21 June 1942.
Stage Play
It became a stage play presented by the Sydney University Dramatic Society, 14 October 1942.
It was performed in Melbourne in 1944.
The stage version was professionally produced by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1956 with Leo McKern.
1959 TV Version
The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1959 by the ABC. It focused on two main events - the robbery at Jerilderie and the siege at the Glenrowan Hotel.
Cast
Production
It was filmed at ABC's Melbourne studios, with the scene of Kelly's capture shot on location at Glenrowan.
Reception
The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald thought the production "did a disservice to Douglas Stewart's richly poetic and deeply probing play" in the adaptation "which, with the real meat of the play removed, dealt with very little except its bare skeleton." He complained several important speeches were removed and "the play lost its proper perspective" and that William Sterling's direction, "after a promising beginning, failed to bring off a number of all too tricky camera effects."