You'll never get that ditty out of your head after you watch this. It's an oddity from the 1970's, more like a midnight movie actually, in which Mick Jagger makes his acting debut as the legendary Irish folk hero. Much like many of the films of this caliber, It's so kitschy that it's memorable. Mick Jagger is fantastic, and I love how it seems in almost any minute of this film, he looks like he's about to burst out dancing. The music is hilariously out of place, trying to sell this off an an American western when it is anything but, and yet that's what makes this film really charming. It feels rebellious and carefree. Unlike the Oscar-bait 2003 remake, this version of Ned Kelly truly captures the spirit of an outlaw.

Irish-Australian 'bush ranger' Edward "Ned" Kelly, a resistance fighter of the British ruling class in the 1870s, was considered by many to be a heartless killer after clashes with police at Glenrowan left three men dead, but director Tony Richardson instead presents Kelly's story as a languid folk tale. Kelly and his brothers, born into a criminal family, were arrested on various charges throughout their young lives, and eventually turned to bank robbery in New South Wales, but Richardson is more tuned-in to the familial relationships of the clan rather than to their exploits. The picture has a tableau feel, spattered with mud and spit, that is often striking visually, with a folk-music underscoring performed by country balladeers. Unfortunately, Mick Jagger is not well-cast in the lead; his failure to adequately project is topped only by his continually awkward reading of the lines--however, the dialogue in Richardson's and Ian Jones' screenplay is so stunted, it's unlikely that any trained actor could get by with it. Other movie versions go back as far as 1906 with Australia's "The Story of the Kelly Gang"; Heath Ledger played the lead in 2003's "Ned Kelly". *1/2 from ****

One big problem with the movie is Mick Jagger. Jagger was half-convincing, his biggest problem being that he is not exactly masculine, while Ned Kelly probably was. Otherwise, he fitted the role much better than the stunningly banal H. Ledge in the 2003 remake - that devilish glimpse in his eyes makes him a much better choice for an outlaw who goes as far as challenging the British Empire and proclaiming a fancy republic of his own. Another problem was the poor cutting - some scenes were so drastically cropped that the storyline was getting lost. Still, a far better version of the Ned Kelly legend than the 2003 edition.

This one kind of clops along like an average B movie is expected to. This may be a cult classic in Australia, but I just don't dig it. Exploitation of Mick Jagger? Your guess is good as mine. Jagger plays Ned Kelley Australia's most notorious outlaw. Director Tony Richardson dramatizes the life of this bad man and his family of horse thieves. The meat of the movie is the big man hunt that results in a lot of gun fire and death and the eventual capture and execution of the legendary 19th-century outlaw. Jagger is as sluggish as the movie itself and his attempt to sound Australian comes out sounding more Irish. Good to watch if you are a follower of the Rock 'n' Roll bad boy. Also in the cast are Geoff Gilmour, Allen Bickford and Clarissa Kaye-Mason.