page_title: Bushranger ban
section_title: The Story of the Kelly Gang
hierarchical_section_title: Bushranger ban / The Story of the Kelly Gang
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Постер к фильму "Подлинная история банды Келли", (Австралия, 1906). English: The poster for the film "The Story of the Kelly Gang" (Australia, 1906).
context_page_description: The bushranger ban refers to a ban on films about bushrangers that came in effect in Australia in 1911–12. Films about bushrangers had been the most popular genre of local films ever since The Story of the Kelly Gang. Governments were worried about the influence this would have on the population and bans against films depicting bushrangers were introduced in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.
  The decision had a considerable impact on the local industry as it meant filmmakers could not work in a popular genre. Australian film production, which in 1911 was one of the highest in the world, went into decline.
  The ban was still in effect in the 1930s and hurt efforts to make a number of Australian movies, including an adaptation of Robbery Under Arms from director Ken G. Hall. A ban on a film about Ned Kelly, When the Kellys Rode was not lifted until 1942.
  The Hollywood bushranging film Stingaree was screened in every state of Australia except for New South Wales because of the ban.
context_section_description: The bushranger genre of Australian film fictionalized the experiences of bushrangers from Australian history. Bushrangers were outlaws, most active in the 19th century, and remembered in Australian folklore for their acts of robbery and violent crime, including murder. The genre showed how the bushrangers’ intimate connection with the bush allowed them to skirt the law and engage in outlaw activity. Many of the films made before the ban glorified bushrangers, rather than making them seem criminal.
  Early bushranger films include Bushranging in Northern Queensland and Robbery of a Mail Coach by Bushrangers. Both were released in 1904 and ran five minutes long and six minutes long respectively. The Story of the Kelly Gang, about the bushranger Ned Kelly, was released in Melbourne on December 26, 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang is notable for being the first feature film ever made. At the time of its release, it was considered to be the longest film that had ever been made, running at around seventy to eighty minutes.
  Like the majority of the bushranger films that would follow it, The Story of the Kelly Gang was relatively sympathetic to the outlaws whose lives it fictionalized. As a result, the government of Victoria tried to censor it when it was first released, claiming that it was encouraging crime. It was banned in two towns that had a relation to the gang presented in the movie. Despite government discontent, The Story of the Kelly Gang was a major commercial success, both nationally and internationally. One of the producers of the film stated that it made 25,000 pounds, in comparison to its budget of 1000 pounds.
caption: Poster for The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)
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