Poster for Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger

Film posters play an important role in the theatrical release of a movie. They are designed to hint at what a film is about while also highlighting promotional elements such as famous stars. This is evident in the daybill poster for the 1970 Ned Kelly movie, with pop singer Mick Jagger dominating the poster and his name appearing above the title. The Rolling Stones superstar playing the iconic bushranger was a huge drawcard for audiences – which is why the poster designer cleverly found a way to keep his face recognisable and include the iconic Kelly helmet.

Jagger's involvement was a positive headline for a film otherwise plagued by bad news. The star was shot in the hand when a prop gun exploded during filming in Bungendore, ACT. He left a Canberra hospital nine hours later, ‘heavily bandaged and in a sling under his long fur coat’, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (20 August 1969). Jagger's girlfriend at the time, Marianne Faithfull, was playing Ned's sister Maggie, but her relationship with Jagger was imploding offscreen, and Faithfull was admitted to the hospital after an overdose.

This was the first Kelly movie to be filmed in colour and the country town of Braidwood welcomed Jagger into their bars. But the film was panned on release, with Jagger’s performance coming under fire and his beard criticised for being more Amish than Irish-Australian.