Ben Hall (TV series)

*Ben Hall*
Ben Hall
Genre	adventure
Written by	Tony Morphett; Ted Roberts
Directed by	Don Chaffey; Carl Schultz; Frank Arnold
Starring	Jon Finch; Vincent Ball; Brian Blain
Composer	Bruce Smeaton
Country of origin	Australia; United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producer	Neil McCallum
Camera setup	Geoff Burton A.C.S.; Peter Hendry
Running time	60 mins
Original release
Network	ABC (Australia); BBC (UK)
Release	6 July 1975 (UK)

Ben Hall is a 1975 Australian TV series based on the bush ranger Ben Hall.^[1]^[2] It stars Jon Finch as Ben Hall, Evin Crowley as Biddy Hall, John Castle as bushranger Frank Gardiner, Brian Blain as Sir Frederick Pottinger, Jack Charles as Billy Dargin and John Orcsik as John Gilbert. Neil McCallum was the creator-producer and the series editor was Colin Free.^[2]

It was a co-production between the ABC, BBC-TV, and 20th Century Fox.^[3] It was called the most ambitious drama production of the ABC with a budget of $1 million.^[4]

The series was filmed in the Megalong Valley, New South Wales and in the suburb of Belrose.^[2]

McCallum said "The series is not an accurate story of the life of Ben Hall. It is impossible in 13 one-hour programs to reconstruct a man's life over a period of ten years. What we have done is to be meticulous in reconstructing the period in which he lived so that the series represents, I think, a very real picture of Australia in the 1860s."^[3]

Cast

Source:^[2]

Main

Jon Finch as Ben Hall
Evin Crowley as Biddy Hall (née Walsh)
John Castle as Frank Gardiner
Brian Blain as Sir Frederick Pottinger
Vincent Ball as Sergeant Garland
Sandra Lee Paterson as Kate Owen (née Walsh)

Support

Tom Farley as Pa Walsh
Alistair Smart as Jack Taylor
Jack Charles as Billy Dargin
Hugh Keays-Byrne as Piesley
Alfred Bell as Jack McGuire
Frank Gallacher as 'Goobang' Mick Connolly
Diana McLean as Helen McGuire (née Walsh)
Ruth Cracknell as Ma Walsh
Paul Bertram as Patsy Daley
Ian Dyson as George Owen
John Orcsik as John Gilbert
Judy McBurney as Alison Buchanan / Rebecca
Melissa Jaffer as Mrs Daley
Elizabeth Alexander as Angela Mitchell
Tom Oliver as Long Tom Coffin
Justine Saunders as Jununju
Martin Phelan as Fordyce
Vince Martin as Bow
Chris King as 'Warrigal' Walsh
Lex Foxcroft as 'Saucepan' Billy
Adrian Bernotti as James Dunleavy
Scott Humphries as Mickey Burke
Harold Hopkins as John Vane
Roger Thwaites as Trooper Havillandd
Stephen Brown as Baby Hall
Marge Timberay as Aboriginal Woman
Barry Hill as John O'Meally
Alexandra Hynes as Mary Connelly
Michelle Morgan and Jennifer Brown as McGuire Children

Production

Filming started 30 December 1974. It took six months to film.^[5]

Release

A documentary was made to promote the series Ben Hall in the Making.

Episodes

Nobody's Man (UK 6 July 1975, Aust 7 September 1975). It promises to be a good year for cattleman Ben Hall until ex-convict bushranger Frank Gardiner escapes from a road gang to the Wheogo district, bringing the New South Wales Mounted Police after him and his ruthless companions, Piesley and Troy. w Ted Roberts d Don Chaffey.
The Vow (UK 13 July 1975, Ast: 4 September 1975). A cattle muster becomes a shambles when Gardiner and his friends arrive. Escaped convict John Piesley Is out to kill Ben Hall. Piesley and Gardiner arrive at the cattle muster at the McGuires'. w Frank Nesbitt d Don Chaffey.
The Promise (UK: 20 July 1975, Aust: 21 September 1975). Gardiner plans to use Ben Hall's wedding as a diversion to rescue Johnny Gilbert from Wheogo prison. w Allan Prior d Don Chaffey.
The Cruel Season (UK: 27 July 1975, Aust: 28 September 1975). Hall loses most of his stock in drought. His wife asks him to sell his horses and move. w Eleanor Witcombe d Frank Arnold.
Blind Justice (UK: 3 Aug 1975, Aust: 5 Oct 1975). Bushranger Saucepan Bill shoots an armed guard. Ben Hall's horse is recognised and Ben is arrested for murder. w Tony Morphett d Frank Arnold.
Going Home (UK: 10 Aug 1975, Aust: 12 Oct 1975). Struggling financially due to drought, Ben leaves his pregnant wife to go work in the gold rush. w: Tony Morphett.
The Rock (UK: 17 Aug 1975, Aust: 19 Oct 1975). Feeling he has nothing to lose, Hall joins Frank Gardiner and his gang to rob a coach at the rock. w Tony Morphett d Peter Maxwell.
Yellowback (UK: 24 Aug, Aust: 26 Oct 1975). The police organise a manhunt in the mountains and arrest Ben's wife as a ploy. w Jesse Lasky Jr & Pat Silver d Don Chaffey.
A Greater Love (UK: 31 Aug 1975, Aust: 2 Nov 1975). Many innocent homesteaders are arrested in the campaign against the bushrangers. w Lindsay Galloway d Don Chaffey
The Attack (UK: 7 Sept 1975, Aust: 9 Nov 1975). Ben Hall disguises his men as troopers in command of a convict road-gang to surprise an army coach and later Sir Frederick Pottinger.w Ted Roberts d Don Chaffey.
The Legacy (UK: 14 Sept 1975, Aust: 16 Nov 1975). Ben plans to use Pottinger in a daring rescue scheme on behalf of the valley settlers to obtain legal rights to their land. w Ray Johnson d Frank Arnold.
The Pursued (UK: 21 Sept 1975, Aust: 23 Nov 1975). Ben is outlawed under the Felons Act and has a price on his head. w Ray Johnson d Don Chaffey.
Once Upon a Time (UK: 28 Sept 1975, Aust: 30 Nov 1975). Ben Hall plans to leave but won't go without his wife and child. Sgt Garland is determined to capture and kill him. w: Ted Roberts d: Don Chaffey.

References

^ Albert Moran, Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS 1993 p 74
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ben Hall, an ABC, BBC-TV, 20th Century Fox television drama series. Booklet-guide published by Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1975. 78 pages. ISBN 0-642-97449-7
^ ^a ^b "BEN HALL". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 5 November 1975. p. 44. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
^ Cunningham, James (4 January 1975). "Ben Hall is shooting in the bush". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 3.
^ "Ben Hall start". The Age. 19 December 1974. p. 33.