Bail up! The Bushranger on Australia's silent screen (1906-1928)

This is a selection of fragments and scenes from the only known surviving silent titles of Australias bushranger films which, in the silent years of our cinema, were both prolific and popular. They were a distinctive genre and a significant part of our cultural heritage. But by 1912, censorship bans, provoked by ideas of law and order and morality, effectively robbed Australian moviegoers of a national screen identity. We were then to be culturally colonised by the Hollywood cowboy. This video contains selections from the only known surviving silent narrative titles: Kelly Gang 1906 ; The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906 and 1910 re-release ; Thunderbolt 1910 ; Trooper Campbell 1914 ; The Kelly Gang 1920 ; Robbery under arms 1920 ; When the Kellys were out 1923 ; Trooper OBrien 1928.