person or book cover
Sam Neill as Captain Starlight (screen cap)
form y separately published work icon Robbery Under Arms single work   film/TV  
Note: Adapted by Michael Jenkins, written by Graeme Koetsveld and Tony Morphett.
Issue Details: First known date: 1985... 1985 Robbery Under Arms
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Film Details - South Australian Film Corporation , 1985

Producers:

Jock Blair (Producer)
Pamela H. Vanneck (Associate Producer)
John Morris (Executive Producer)
Bruce Moir (Associate Producer)

Production Companies:

South Australian Film Corporation
Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Director of Photography:

Ernest Clark

Editors:

Andrew J.Prowse

Production Designers:

George Liddle

Composer:

Garry McDonald
Laurie Stone

Cast:

Incl. Sam Neill (Capt. Starlight), Steven Vidler (Dick Marston), Christopher Cummins (Jim Marston), Liz Newman (Gracey), Jane Menelaus (Aileen), Andy Anderson (George), Deborah Coulls (Kate), Susie Lindeman (Jeannie), Elaine Cusick (Mum), Ed Devereaux (Ben), Tommy Lewis (Warrigal), Robert Grubb (Sir Frederick Morringer), David Bradshaw (Goring), John Dick (Trooper Fall), Michael Duffield (Mr Falkland), Keith Smith (Trooper Spring), Joe D'Amato (Trooper Shearer), Barbara West (Mrs Falkland), Jack Harris, Tony Allison, Imelda Blackwell, Rob George.

Release Dates:

1. 29 March 1985 (Academy Cinema, Adelaide - premiere).
2. Released on videocassette format in 1985 by Australian Video. Released on DVD format in 2007 by Umbrella Entertainment.

Location:

  • Filmed on location at various sites in South Australia, including Adelaide Hills, Brachina Gorge, Flinders Ranges, Hackney, Hahndorf, Glenside, and Wilpena Pound.

Notes:

1. This adaptation of Robbery Under Arms had the largest budget in the history of Australian filmmaking to that time (it was later beaten by Max Max III: Beyond Thunderdome). The film was jointly funded by Robert Holmes à Court's international production company, ITC Entertainment, and the South Australian Film Commission.
2. Also known as Bandit aus Gutem Haus (West Germany).
3. Originally conceived as a television mini-series, Robbery Under Arms's early production costings were deemed to be too high ($6 million+) for television. The producers subsequently decided to split the costs by filming two versions: the miniseries and a feature film. (The eventual production for both came in at around $7.3 million).
4. Because the project had two different target audiences in mind, the producers set an Australian film industry precedent by hiring two separate writers (Tony Morphett and Graeme Koestveld) and two internationally recognised directors (Ken Hannam and Donald Crombie). Post-production saw the television series cut first, with editing of the film completed afterwards. According to Crombie, the film was created by cutting down segments of the miniseries and 'putting in the least amount of story. [We then edged] material back in until we were absolutely sure that it was the best story [we could tell] in the shortest time' (ctd. Sheila Johnston and Neil Roddick Cinema Papers May 1985, p. 58).

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