The Story of the Kelly Gang - 1906

Widely regarded as the "world's" first feature length film, The Story of Ned Kelly - 70 minute in length was unprecedented when it was released in 1906.

The film cost an estimated $2,250 and was filmed in St Kilda, Eltham, Greensborough, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Mitcham and Rosanna in Victoria.

The Story of the Kelly Gang

When it opened on 26 December 1906 The Story of the Kelly Gang was six reels long, or close to 60 minutes, a duration that was unheard of. What remains of the film is almost 10 minutes, much of which is damaged, so a detailed synopsis of the original film is difficult.

The scenes we have include the shooting of Constable Fitzpatrick, in which Ned Kelly defends his sisters honour by shooting the policeman in the wrist; the ambush at Stringybark Creek, in which the Kelly gang shoot three troopers; the final showdown at the Glenrowan Hotel, in which Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart are killed, the police set fire to the hotel, and Ned is captured in his armour after attempting to shoot his way out.

There are stills of some of the missing scenes, so we know the film included many of the major exploits in the Kelly legend - the stick-ups of the Euroa Bank and Younghusbands station, the death of Aaron Sherritt, the ripping up of train tracks at Glenrowan in order to stop the arrival of more troopers; and a scene in which the gang members look at a poster proclaiming the reward for their capture. There is also a still of Kate Kelly on a white horse holding a gun.

A further complication is that there were different versions of the film at different times. The gangs raid on a Jerilderie bank was filmed later and added to the existing film for its release in NSW in February 1907. There were further additions when it was re-released in 1910.

Up until the 1970s, no fragments of The Story of the Kelly Gang were known to have survived - it was one of Australias many lost silent films. In the mid-1970s, ten frames were discovered with a futher small roll of negatives from the film turning up in 1979. In 1981 some children famously discovered a further approximate 400 feet of decomposed release print in a Melbourne rubbish dump, some of which was saved.

The version of Story of the Kelly Gang curated here is from the version as it stood in the 1980s, at approximately nine minutes in length.

During research for the films Centennial Restoration, the National Film and Sound Archive unearthed a substantial fragment - another 11 minutes worth of film. The reel contains the scene of the Kellys at the Younghusband homestead. With this additional fragment the film, projected at its original 18 frames per second, what survives now runs at just under 18 minutes in length.

The National Film and Sound Archive - along with technical labs in Amsterdam - digitially restored, frame by frame, this version of The Story of the Kelly Gang in 2006. It will be commercially available on DVD some time in 2007 and curators notes and clip selections will be updated at that time to include reference to the significant additional fragment.

First Feature Length Film

Whether or not The Story of the Kelly Gang is the worlds first narrative feature film is still debated, but that has no impact on its importance as Australias first narrative feature film.

It is difficult now, 100 years later, to imagine the impact the film must have had on audiences in 1906. The film was made just 26 years after Ned Kelly was hanged in 1880. There had been several plays based on his exploits so the legend was still growing.

The Tait family were well-known in Melbourne showbusiness as the owners of the Athenaeum Hall, a concert venue which also ran film programmes. John and Nevin Tait acted as producers; their brother Charles directed the film. Several members of the family took roles, including Elizabeth Tait, wife of the director, who played Kate Kelly. Much of it was filmed at her familys property at Heidelberg near Melbourne. Interiors, including the inside of the Glenrowan Hotel, were constructed in the back yard of Charles Taits home in Melbourne. These sets used sunlight as the only illumination.

The production was a joint venture with two chemists, William Gibson and Millard Johnson, who knew how to shoot and develop film. Johnson was the cameraman, Gibson looked after the lab work. The limitations of film technique in 1906 are obvious in the production - there are no close-ups, and the camera moves are limited to the occasional move left or right, to re-frame the action. The acting is rudimentary and the editing almost non-existent in what fragments remain.

Nevertheless the film is staged for maximum excitement, with a blithe embrace of as much screen violence as they could pack in. Ned and his gang are shown shooting troopers at close range in the Stringybark scene, and the action inside the hotel includes a memorable moment in which Dan Kelly and Steve Hart shoot each other rather than allow themselves to be taken alive. Neds capture too is filmed effectively, as he staggers toward camera, guns blazing. Audiences had never seen anything so bold, and the film was presented with live sound effects and narration, so it was anything but silent. Scenes were also tinted for dramatic effect, as in the red colour used to enhance the effect of the burning of the hotel.

Audiences all over the country flocked to see this film, which stayed in distribution for most of the next 10 years (in various forms). Several fortunes were made on the basis of its receipts. Its true also that the film kick-started the trend for bushranging films, many of which were made in the next seven years, until 1912, when the police succeeded in getting a ban on bushranging films in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

Clip 1
Fitzpatrick incident at Mrs Kellys homestead

This fragment from The Story of the Kelly Gang shows Constable Fitzpatrick visiting the homestead of Kate Kelly. Fitzpatrick attempts to kiss Kate Kelly and in the scuffle Ned Kelly shoots Fitzpatrick in the wrist. As the Kelly gang escape on horseback Kate Kelly retrieves Fitzpatricks weapon and holds him at gunpoint.

Clip 2
Siege at Glenrowan hotel

This clip shows the troopers outside the Glenrowan hotel. Joe Byrne is shot. Steve and Dan shoot each other rather than be caught. The police set fire to the hotel and Father Gibney runs into the burning hotel to save the wounded platelayer. This clip has severe nitrate damage.

Clip 3
Ned Kellys last stand and capture

This clip shows a re-enactment of the bushranger Ned Kelly being shot and captured by police. It has severe nitrate damage.