Review: The Man From Snowy River

Kirk Douglas plays a wealthy rancher with designs on Snowy River, where a supposed fortune in gold is left untapped. Tom Burlinson plays likeable young horseman looking to make his mark in the world. Sigrid Thornton plays Douglas’s wilful daughter, whom Burlinson falls for. Douglas turns up in a secondary role as Burlinson’s wily ol’ coot friend. Jack Thompson plays rugged horse rider Clancy, Lorraine Bayley plays the rich landowner’s hardened sister, and Terry Donovan plays Burlinson’s dad.

This 1982 George Miller (The Scottish-born director of “Bushfire Moon”, “The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter”) and not much else of note) film is a part of Aussie culture, it’s based on a Banjo Patterson poem that is part of Aussie culture, and yet here I was in 2019 watching it for the first time at age 39. And I was mostly enticed by the casting of American actor Kirk Douglas. Scripted by TV actor/writer Fred Cul Cullen (who worked in both capacities on the Aussie TV staple “Homicide”) and John Dixon (The “Anzacs” miniseries), it’s a perfectly nice and watchable bush western, if not my kind of western. If you liked “The Rare Breed”, this is in some ways an Aussie version, though its origins are obviously in Aussie bush poetry.

Kirk Douglas plays two roles and is in lively, if not convincing spirits (he doesn’t bother to put on any kind of accent to my ears, some have suggested one of the parts is meant to be Scottish, though). One of the characters does have a peg leg though, which is just bloody marvellous. Douglas is clearly having fun in what wouldn’t be too uncomfortable surrounds for a veteran of westerns like himself. Hell, I don’t even care about the accent at the end of the day. He’s entertaining, which is all that really matters, though casting him in two roles is just too distracting and unnecessary I think. Yeah, he’s playing brothers but I still would’ve cast one of the roles differently. Also doing a marvellous ham job is character actor Chris Haywood in what might be termed the Dub Taylor/Jack Elam role. Similarly, Gus Mecurio has a Charles McGraw raspy quality to his voice that lends itself to character parts in westerns quite well. Terrific cameo by underrated film and TV veteran Terry Donovan too, as a family patriarch. Lead actor Frank Sinatra…er…Tom Burlinson is perfectly OK, if not overly memorable, but that’s likely due to his rather bland, young romantic lead character. TV and stage veteran Sigrid Thornton is lovely here though, as Burlinson’s love interest, and daughter of one of Douglas’ characters. One of our best-ever actresses, it’s a shame to me that she hasn’t had all that much cinematic output over the years. Jack Thompson is rock-solid as horseman Clancy of the Overflow, a nice showy cameo role. The most disappointing cast member is TV and stage veteran Lorraine Bayly, who I normally love but this isn’t close to her finest showing. David Bradshaw (from the softcore “Felicity”, of all things) makes a fine Banjo Patterson.

It’s a good-looking film, and the music score by Bruce Rowland (“Phar Lap”, “Bushfire Moon”) is excellent too. However, it never really feels like a top-tier western, and I think that’s partly because George ‘Not Mad Max’ Miller isn’t an especially interesting or accomplished director. It needs a more muscular presence behind the lens, I think. The other part of the equation is that the plot itself isn’t all that interesting. Interesting characters, actors, sounds, and scenery: No doubt. The narrative itself? Not so much. It’s a particular shame that the twin brothers don’t share a scene until the final third or so of the film. Still, it’s certainly a watchable experience overall.

This isn’t remotely my kind of Australian film, but I get it. It’s a classic western story, and I certainly do like westerns, even if this particular type of western isn’t entirely my bag. It helps if you like horses and Australiana. 

Rating: B-