Mad Dog Morgan (1976)

I am a HUGE bushranger fan. I have written many essays, read many books, and watched many movies about them. And if anyone out there was also a bushranger fan and Australian history buff, they would soon realize after watching this movie, that it is not quite true to the real-life tale of the notorious bushranger Daniel "Mad Dan" Morgan.Firstly, I want to say that this is still a pretty good movie. The cinematography is great, the Australian setting, and the eerie Aborigine music that plays in the opening credits sets this relatively violent movie up in the most perfect way. Dennis Hopper does play a fantastic part as the fictionalized version of Morgan, who in this film is portrayed somewhat as a Ned Kelly or Ben Hall type bushranger--romantic Robin Hood-type folk hero. After witnessing a bloody massacre of Chinese gold diggers, he escapes into the bush and becomes a bushranger in order to stay alive, but is caught soon afterwards and sent to prison where he is brutalized not just by his fellow prisoners, but by the hateful police officers as well. Once released, he swears vengeance on those who have wronged him. After being shot and wounded, he is nursed back to health by Billy (played fantastically by Aussie actor David Gulpilil). Soon, the two team up and begin their revenge in the Australian bush. By the time the film ends and Morgan is killed, we feel remorse and sadness for him......which is one of the BIGGEST problems of the whole movie.Daniel Morgan (AKA John Fuller/John Smith/Sydney Native/Dan the Breaker/Down the River Jack) has always been one of my favourite bushrangers that I have studied. The real Daniel Morgan was a bloodthristy criminal who would NOT hesititate for a moment to shoot and kill anybody he pleased. He was known to have brutally murdered a couple of Chinese settlers in the bush, and cowardly shot John McLean in the back during his time outside of the NSW town of Morven when McLean rode on horseback to get help after another man (John Heriot) who was also shot by Morgan. This historic event was documented in the film, but rather poorly I thought.The character of the young Aborginie Billy was likely based on one of Morgan's associates named German Bill. Morgan and German Bill got into a bloody police gun fight, where German Bill was killed. Morgan didn't care though, as he didn't care much for human life. Everyone in the 1860's here in Australia had heard about "Mad Dan Morgan",and were terrified to venture in the bush at night in fear of encountering him. He stood 6-feet tall with piercing eyes. Thus, all of this is what I was hoping to be portrayed in the movie version based on his life.However, putting history aside, I really did enjoy this movie for what it was. This film has now become known as an Aussie Western, or "Bush Western". The acting was good, the premise dark and sometimes depressing, and it did really capture the mood of what life was probably like in Colonial times Australia.All in all, I give this movie a 5/10

Despite some technical shortcomings and rather loose presentation, Mad Dog Morgan is an entertaining showcase of the Ozploitation genre. Dennis Hopper gives a strong performance, firing away as Irish prospector turned bushwhacker Daniel Morgan and there's rarely a dull moment. The pacing is quick and punchy, but not without it's more subtle dramatic moments.Though what's most fascinating is that it's no more about crime than how easily a life can be corrupted, turning an individual into a criminal. Daniel Morgan is a confused, violent character but we sympathize with him nonetheless All in all it's an interesting, near forgotten piece of film-making. You'd be hard pressed to find a proper version, but it's a must see for anyone interested in the sub-genre.

I found Hopper's acting pretty good. He is a method actor, and was trying to play a madman. I'm not quite sure how familiar he was with Australia, in the extras, he refers to Aboriginals as "Aboriginaries".While probably most of the movie portrays events that happened, Morgan in real life was not so nice. It captures the essence of Mad Morgans life, but changes things to make him more endearing. In fact he was racist to Chinese miners, the film shows him as being sympathetic. He didn't have a lifelong Aboriginal friend....and he was never called "Mad Dog" Morgan. He was cruel at times, forcing a woman to walk into a fire at one point, however he was liked by locals, and did force overseers to pay the workers more and hand out cheques. The acting was pretty good. Probably one of the best things about this movie is that it features some of the best Australian actors at the time - Jack Thompson, Frank Thring, Bill Hunter, JOhn Haregreaves and Graeme Blundell. Cinematography was good too, nice use of the Australian bush.

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There is not a shred of historical accuracy, in fact reality is reversed. Just one example: Morgan preyed on the few ethnic Chinese he encountered. The acting is over the top, the script is a poorly written lie. I have never seen worse fake beards.Hopper arrived in Australia and reportedly only would make the film if the script was totally rewritten so he could be a hero. Since the script was ten made up on the fly, the may explain how bad it is and how disjointed the movie is.Any movie about Ned Kelly is a lot better than this film.