Review of Robbery Under Arms

SPOILER ALERT- Unlike the 1957 Jack Lee Directed Rank "ROBBERY UNDER ARMS" which safely qualifies as an Australian Western through the superficial Americanisation of the Capn Starlight Character as then portrayed by Peter Finch(ie the clothes and stetson style hat and revolver; the way the bank hold up is portrayed) indicate what was then contemporary Western influence on that particular film, The 1985 film is a through-going Bushranger film which has links to a separate Aussie film tradition equally as old as Porters The Great Train Robbery, for the earliest Bushranger film, following different conventions The Kelly Gang came out in Ausralia round the same time. SPOILLER ALERT- The cattle drive of stolen cattle and sale in Adelaide is based on actual events when a rogue by the name of Harry Redford did the selfsame thing. This 1985 release of Robbery Under Arms is a fairly entertaining cut- down version of a TV miniseries for cinema release. Betraying its TV origins the editing and acting are not particularly adventurous tho Sam Neill does an exceptionally fine turn as Starlight SPOILER ALERT -Is Starlight a disgraced member of the Royal family or Aristocracy who has fallen out with his Class?.SPOILER ALERT As an Aussie its refreshing to hear Aussie idiom without demure as it is in this movie.