The story is dependent on some unlikely coincidences – namely the fact that John Rex not only kills Rufus Dawes’ father, he winds up on the came convict ship afterwards, plus the fact the reverend was the witness of the original crime. But it’s got great scenes and character – the munity on the ship, the suffering at Macquarie Harbour (a tremendous set), the second mutiny involving being a castaway, an escape, the suicide of the children, the cannibal escape, the final escape and uprising. Just listing it like that there are an awful lot of escape and escape attempts but it makes for a consistently exciting story.
The location footage remains incredible and provides some tremendous images – the small boat bobbing in the ocean, the various convict settlements, convicts clambering over rocks. There are some good studio sequences as well, such as the final riot, even if the direction sometimes comes across as a bit tableaux-y. Performances are alright, a bit overboard in places – George Fisher is a character actor rather than a star; Eva Novak is pretty in a thankless role; Arthur McLaglen is chilling as Gabbett. Watching this again it strikes me the best part is not Dawes, scoundrel John Rex or the vicious Frere or even Gabbett, but Sarah, the faithful lover of Rex. Arthur Tauchert (the Sentimental Bloke) pops up in a supporting role as a sadistic guard.
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