Jack the Insider Blog | February 10, 2009 | 289 Comments
CHANNEL Nine’s showcase for the 2009 season, Underbelly – A Tale of Two Cities hit our television screens on Monday night. The ratings were as good as Channel 9 might have hoped. A 2.5 million strong audience watched the two hour premier across Australia.
The prequel focuses on gangland figures in Melbourne and Sydney between 1975 and 1986.
There’s a bit to like about the series. There are some outstanding acting performances with Matthew Newton as the New Zealand born drug smuggler, Terence Clark, and Roy Billing as Robert “Aussie Bob” Trimbole leading the way.
But Underbelly – A Tale of Two Cities, lapses into hackneyed dramatic devices, ignores important facts and seems to live by the axiom of never letting the truth get in the way of a good yarn.
Sometimes in shows such as this one, there needs to be a bit of culling of extraneous material, a touch of showbiz glamour tossed in and maybe a certain bending of the facts to suit the television format, but if you’re going to tell a ripping crime yarn based even loosely on fact, the crucial first step is to get the chronology right.
The two-hour premier on Monday featured two major events: the assassination of Donald MacKay and the Great Bookie Robbery with Aussie Bob in the middle of both – firstly as chief conspirator in MacKay’s murder and then immediately afterwards in helping dispose of the proceeds of the robbery.
Sad to say, MacKay disappeared from outside his local watering hole in Griffith in July 1977 while the Great Bookie Robbery took place on 21 April, 1976.
And when looking at true crime, it’s important to portray the protagonists as they really were, and not as glamorous, swashbuckling ne’er-do-wells.
In last night’s episode, Gianfranco Tizzone was seen running around Melbourne looking for a hitman to dispose of MacKay. In the course of his travels he met up with Chris Flannery, and Flannery’s trusty sidekick Laurie Prendergast.
Flannery volunteered to take the contract to kill MacKay but was dismissed by Tizzone as being an up and comer. “Maybe next time”, Tizzone said with a wave of his hand and Flannery and Prendergast left the pub looking like admonished schoolchildren.
At that exact time, Chris Flannery was a major player in Melbourne’s underworld. He was seen as something of a hero to the criminal class, having gone on a hunger strike while in jail to highlight the atrocious conditions of Pentridge Prison’s notorious ‘H’ Division. Flannery’s hunger strike led to a parliamentary inquiry in Victoria which forever changed the inhumane treatment prisoners were subjected to in ‘H’.
I’ve chatted with men who have made Flannery’s acquaintance and the common view is that he was one of the scariest, most violent bastards ever to draw breath.
He was not a reader per se but was known to fondly flick through the pages of a medical textbook on the pathology of gunshot wounds. He once had a brawl with a biker and after beating the man senseless, popped his eyeball and ate it.
Flannery would also hold parties in his Brunswick home where guests were treated to the sight of a coffin on the kitchen table, loaded with ice and beers.
So while Tizzone was scouring the streets for a hitman, Chris Flannery was no wannabe assassin in short pants. According to the NSW Coroner, the ominous moniker of “Rentakill’ had already been ascribed to Flannery when Tizzone strode into town.
The truth of the matter is that Tizzone didn’t quite know what he was doing, and while he found his hitman in James Bazley, he managed to leave a trail of incriminating evidence in his wake. There is no evidence to indicate that Flannery had approached Tizzone.
Yet Underbelly – a Tale of Two Cities seems to have thrown Flannery in to this brief bar scene, merely to introduce the character.
Later on in the program, Flannery is depicted as the disgruntled snitch providing information to Melbourne’s Kane brothers: Les and Brian – pointing the finger at Ray “Chuck” Bennett as the organiser of the Great Bookie Robbery at the VRC club in Melbourne in 1976.
That also is patently false. It is known that Les Kane learned of whom had been responsible for the Great Bookie Robbery when he overheard a conversation in a pub between horse trainer Angus Armanasco and a friend. Armanasco had been present during the robbery and while Bennett and his colleagues wore balaclavas, Armanasco had identified one of the robbers, Norman Lee, from his voice.
The Kane brothers put two and two together and came up with Ray Bennett. I’d be spoiling episode two if I told you what happens next. Or at least what should happen next. Suffice it to say that the Kanes and Bennett do not spend their dotages lolling about on banana lounges on an island somewhere.
Mick Gatto, too, seems to have been introduced into the program for no discernible reason other than a show of malice from the writers/producers. Mick is not happy that he got a mention in the prequel as a possible for the MacKay job. He’s got a point, really. The dialogue suggesting he might be up for a bit of murder has no basis in fact.
Australia’s most outstanding program of this kind is the 1995 production, Blue Murder, which is based more or less on the same characters and events. Blue Murder was meticulously researched and where the writer, Ian David, came to an event where the truth was not clear, he did not speculate. He did not window dress and he did not blur the truth.
For his trouble, David received death threats, had his house broken into and computer files destroyed.
Underbelly – A Tale of Two Cities might be a polished production, but it compares poorly with Blue Murder. The writers and producers of the new hit series seem to have forgotten that when it comes to telling the story of organised crime, the truth is always more interesting than fiction.
Correction: Commentor The Uptake advises quite rightly that 3.5 million viewers watched Underbelly - A Tale of Two Cities across the country. The 2.5 million viewers cited at the top of the article included viewers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. My mistake.
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Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:21pm)
G’day Jack,
The truth may well be more interesting than fiction, but if one does not know the truth fiction will have to do.
The first series of Underbelly was tremendous and compulsive viewing, but this number seems to lack punch (so to speak), though it is possible that, that may be a premature judgement.
Anyway Jack, thanks for the real story and I would be only to interested in more truth.Cheers.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:32pm)
It’s hard to know where to start, GM. Take a look at the life and crimes of Ray “Chuck” Bennett. He was an interesting character. He made his bones in Europe in sophisticated shoplifting scams then progressed to high end armed robberies. He is one we might consider a criminal geniuys. The Great Bookie Robbery wasn’t the simple smash and grab as shown on Underbelly. It was a highly planned, well executed robbery where the robbers broke in and stayed in the floor above the club for 24 hours before pulling the job. A lot of crims in Melbourne knew there was a goldmine there but no one had been able to figurte out how to do it until Ray Chuck came along.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:25pm)
Finally somebody comments on what has needed to be said about these woeful and poorly scripted Underbelly series. Idiots have been suggesting that Underbelly had raised the bar of quality entertainment in this country, what bollocks! Blue Murder set a standard and Underbelly 1 and 2 with all its cliche’s and poor scripting did nothing but lower the bar. Ian David did a brilliant job of scripting Blue Murder, the acting and the direction was brilliant, Underbelly 1 -2 was boring and poorly directed basically and fudged the facts when it came to the truth to suit the producers deranged idea of what is quality entertainment. Also could somebody at channel nine employ a director who has a sense of composition and framing, the directing of Underbelly 1-2 is like watching paint dry..you haven’t raised the bar channel nine, you’ve lowered it with poor quality drama.
Enough said
Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:30pm)
“when it comes to telling the story of organised crime, the truth is always more interesting than fiction.”
By a (very) minor coincidence, I’m currently re-reading James Ellroy’s brutal, brilliant “American Tabloid”, so I’d have to disagree with that (His new one is finally out in a few months, can’t wait!)
When dealing with true crime, some twisting of facts is inevitable Jack; even Martin Scorcese diverts from the facts in “Goodfellas” and (especially)"Casino"- and you can bet he’s a far more gifted storyteller than anyone currently working at the gutted-out shell of Chennel 9.
Didn’t actually watch the show itself- to be frank; having watched “the Sopranos” and “the Wire”, every other crime show on television now looks amateurish and second-rate. But hell, if people are going to watch amateurish, second rate crime shows, they may as well be Aussie ones.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:39pm)
Eerie, JB, I’m re-reading American Tabloid myself, too. The difference though is American Trabloid says “A Novel” on the cover e.g. it nails itself as fiction. Underbelly doesn’t. It comes up with nonsense phrases like: “When Australia lost its innocence” - and purports to be that ugly hybrid: dramatised fact. It does get so many facts right that when it deliberately avoids others or gets them wrong, it amounts to the re-telling of history.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (06:47pm)
Matthew Newton is the actor of this generation - have you actually watched anything he’s be in: Looking for Alibrandi, the seminal Changi?
He’s nailed the Kiwi accent of a Kiwi who’s mixed with a lot of Poms.
And both Underbelly’s were loosely based on the true crime - not documentaries. Maybe the writers/Producers fancied drawing breathe for a while longer.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:00pm)
I struggled to make it through the first Underbelly, the amount of licence the producers used was way over the top.
I forgot that the second one started last night but from what i’ve heard i didn’t miss much.
If four corners isn’t running anything interesting next week i’ll give it a crack, if i remember that is.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:01pm)
I didn’t watch it, but I’m wondering if Al Grassby makes an appearance {played by someone else of course, since he’s dead if I remember correctly} for his indirect role in the Donald Mackay murder? It’s before my time, so I don’t really know much about it.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:31pm)
Al did get a guernsey last night, Rhys. Not sure who played him but he did have an hypnotic blue check suit on. Al made some appalling statements after MacKay’s disappearance, pointing a finger at MacKay’s wife. It was fairly obvious to most that he was, to some extent, under the control of the Calabrese Mafia in the Griffith area.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:06pm)
Jack old mate you’ve nailed it except the bit about outstanding acting performances. What a load of toss compared to Blue Murder and even Underbelly 1. You wouldn’t be shaking in your boots having a beer or three with this lot. I can be thankful to the producers though as I nodded off at 9.30 and got a decent nights kip.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:13pm)
At least the producers did you a service, Booker. Tune in every Monday night at 8.30 and you’ll start the week with a good night’s sleep. Hope the ribs are all right, mate.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:43pm)
Hi Jack,
It’s interesting to hear of your clarifications of events depicted in the Underbelly series however it needs to be noted that the series was never promoted as a documentary. Indeed the promos describe it as a “drama based on previous events” and in that respect the show is true to form so I can’t see the harm here. Nevertheless, perhaps each week you can regale us with historically accurate corrections to episodes where you reckon the writers embraced poetic licence in their screenplays.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:21pm)
I might just do that, Sharon. I know there’s a bit of licence taken in these shows but for the majority of these events they can get them right with a bit of research. One thing I neglected to mention in the article is the white knight/black knight view of Victorian coppers - a few bad apples sullying the reputation of the force etc., etc. The reality is VicPol was at least as corrupt as the NSW coppers in the same period.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:44pm)
When I was a student at Uni I had a room with a family who lived in the East End and the lady of the house knew the Krays through her dad who was a regular patron at the Blind Beggar (among other places) I was quite horrified at this as she spoke of them with a kind of reverence. She told me some interesting tales, I suppose being from outside London and not of that generation I couldn’t see the glamour in it, I thought they were just a pair of murdering bastards who got what they deserved, actually they didn’t quite get what they deserved it should have hurt more! Still haven’t got around to watching the film that was made (the Kemp bro’s from Spandau Ballet no less) in the early 90’s. Did anybody see the Thames TV series made in the 80’s Crime Inc? truth is stranger than fiction.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:31pm)
Someone gave me a book (that’s now sitting in a box somewhere and hence can’t be located right now) about the Krays written by one of their cohorts. There was lots of “Ronny was a straight-up bloke. He was like a bruvva to me” stuff written. Not so many mentions of the violence. I think it was Reggie who was the closet queen. He was rather less inhibited when it came to a bit of the old torture.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (07:50pm)
Jack,
What with this and your tale of the Fine Cotton scandal, get thee to a typewriter!!! Throw in some political shenanigans and you got yourself a blackbuster! (note I’m asking for 5% for the suggestion of the policital shenanigans!)
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:36pm)
Damn it I just can’t write fiction, Grog. I was commissioned to write the bio on Chris Flannery. I did all the research and knocked together a few chapters before I realised what a totally repugnant fellow he was. I suspect the only people who would buy it were psychos like him and true crime nuts. Best left undone really.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:21pm)
Say Jack. You don’t think my friend Dan Calabrese from the North Star Writers Group, who taught me the phrase “bitch slap”, is sort of American Calabrese mafia do you? Is Griffith near Rhys? My mother is in Ashmore, Rhys, and she’s joined some Italian-Australian community up there, including for Australia Day. (She says she had to explain GIRT to them in the national anthem, which she translated as “circondata”.) Should we warn the Italians do you think? NB. There’s a Russian joke that goes: “A tiger attacks your mother-in-law. What do you do?” The answer goes: “That’s the tiger’s problem.” Ditto for my mother.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:46pm)
Your mother may have joined N’Drangheta, PD. They’re a very tight knit group apparently.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:24pm)
what kills this type of show is the ads, i watched the first underbelly off the net with no ads. it helps to keep the pace and storyline going, i do it with pretty much every show i watch 24, lost, boston legal. It’s especially good with 24. but i turned off UB2 after 40min wasnt that good.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:38pm)
Do you reckon they could do an Underbelly version of the Moonlight State up here, Jack? Be interesting to see. Pity the Valley’s pretty boring, expensive, and anodyne these days.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (08:51pm)
They’d have to tape three guys together to play big Russ Hinze, Rhys.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:06pm)
Prima Donna, Griffith’s in the Riverina, Southern NSW. I’m at the namesake University on the southside of Brisbane {suburb of Nathan}. Ashmore sounds like the ideal place for a retiree, too, even though I don’t remember much more of the place than the shopping centre.
Donald Mackay seems to have been murdered in July of 1977 {not February as Jack has - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Mackay_(anti-drugs_campaigner), unless Wikipedia’s incorrect} by bent cops in the pay of the Calabrian {the toe of Italy, about to boot Sicily into Sardinia, Corsica, and France} mafia {I think Ann’s originally from the province to the penultimate north of the area}, the infamous ‘Ndrangheta - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/’Ndrangheta, who had a major pot-growing presence in Griffith, and had the local ALP Federal Member, Al Grassby, in their pay for about four decades or so, allegedly of course.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:17pm)
My mistake on MacKay’s death, Rhys. You’re right it was July and more than a year after the Great Bookie Robbery. I’ll change it now.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:10pm)
Jack
Fiction is hard (and so is typing - did I really type blackbuster? - the mind boggles).
Have to say I’m not a true crime fan. But James Ellroy is a master. The Big Nowhere is my fav - but have yet to read American Tabloid or The Cold Six Thousand (I know - shame on me).
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:12pm)
Some true crime is very good, Grog. Keep an eye out for a book by Rich Cohen called “Tough Jews”. It’s a very well written study of the Jewish gangsters in New York in the 1920s and 30s combined with reminiscences of his father who grew up in Brooklyn in the 40s as a bit of a rough nut himself. You must read American Tabloid and then The Cold Six Thousand immediately afterwards. Ellroy’s rat-a-tat staccato prose is not for everyone but like you, I think he’s the guv’nor. Spectacular subject material, too. This makes me think that if such a task was undertaken by the Underbelly writers, they’d have killed off Bobby before JFK, just to heighten the suspense.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:29pm)
OMG. I just checked on the town where my new son-in-law’s family come from in Italy. It is called Vicenze (Vicentia) and there was mention of Liguria. This sounds v.Muddy to me.
I don’t get why my mother has suddenly gone Aust-Italian herself, as we have not told her about the wedding. Its clearly all the fault of the Federal Labor Party during WW2. They should have let her marry that nice Swiss American from Indiana, and let the Democrat Governor of Indiana be the 33rd USA president in 1940, as he wanted. Two pres. terms is enough for any person, and FDR had already had his quota (1932-40). And why is FDR’s middle name “Delano”? What kind of name is that?
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:47pm)
Al Grassby - the man who was, along with Nifty Nev, responsible for my youthful redemption from the hypocrisy of socialism.
I agree with you on the impugning (or rather - whitewashing) of the character of Flannery. What a remarkable aberration he was.
Speaking of hypocritical socialists, what do you think of the reports in the Australian of young Kevin attaching aid to the bushfire victims to the passage of his multi-billion dollar, steal from the infants - give to the banks plan?
Frankly, even I wouldn’t have thought the ALP could sink that low. I congratulate him on continuing the Grassby tradition of the low blow. He just needs a new suit.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:24pm)
Chris Flannery had two siblings - a sister who became a nurse and a brother who was a lawyer. Now Christopher Dale dispatched a good dozen or so folk in his time while his brother, Peter was a solicitor who worked at the Victorian Trades Hall. This makes me ponder, SL who you might think was the better man. Incidentally, do you recall that Christopher Dale once called up Nick Greiner when Nick was on the Opposition frontbench, offering his services as a dirty trickster? Nick wisely turned him down and reported the conversation to the parliament.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:51pm)
Rhys. Not sure if I want to know any more. I came across the name “D’Agostino” in that ‘Ndrangheta wikipedia link.
That was the name of the American Assoc. Prof. in philosophy (now in Qld) whose name seemed to upset Vladimir on 13 August 2000. Just too innocent for words, here. D’Agostino taught me Contemporary Political Philosophy. Hmm.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:55pm)
good on yer Jack for picking up the inaccuracies ... i thought the whole show looked like it had been thrown together in a hurry after the first one was such a hit can’t remember ever hearing before the the proceeds of the bookie robbery made their way to NSW to pay off the NSW cops. I thought the perps had trouble spending it cos the toecuitters were after em ...
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:32pm)
Not to put to fine a point on it, Rocco, it is common knowledge that a very large chunk of the bookie robbery proceeds ended up in the hands of then serving Victorian police officers.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (09:59pm)
Delano is very historic from Philippe De Lannoy of Flanders.
My mother knows all about the Italian mafia (all Italian lawyers are) so I am sure she knows what she’s doing. They are probably looking to her for protection, Yes/No? My parents bought properties in Italy, when the UN advised them to rent, to be safe. As I say, pity the poor Italians!
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:14pm)
Surely for Big Russ, Jack, they can get a bloke in the biggest fatsuit money can buy and fill it with the entire Department Store Manchester Department?! After the actor eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner {the latter two both with dessert} at Hungry Jacks every day for a couple of weeks straight.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:37pm)
Or maybe they just strap a bunch of hippos together, Rhys?
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:31pm)
Hey Jack. Am completely ignorant of the history of gangland crime in Australia and have now become more intertested because of the Underbelly series; however, I wasn’t aware that it was so historically incorrect. Can you direct me to some interesting books as this has started to fascinate me and I would like to learn more. Cheers
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:54pm)
Line of Fire by Darren Goodsir (the story of the attempted murder of NSW police officer, Michael Drury), Catch and Kill Your Own by Neddy Smith (and why not throw in Neddy by Neddy Smith). Watch Blue Murder on DVD/Video. The best book on Carl Williams et al is not Underbelly but a book by journo Adam Shand entitled Big Shots. That’ll get you started, Shane.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (10:44pm)
I do indeed. Nick was always a straight shooter, undone by his own honesty. He fell victim to the oldest mistake in the political book - never call an inquiry if you don’t know what the result will be. In his case - a permanent one.
I note the ALP is erecting a statue in honor of the execrable Grassby in Canberra. Marvelous how they honour their own. He sets such a wonderful example to all ALP parliamentarians and busloads of school kids from around the nation.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (11:01pm)
I’ve seen the statue, SL and Al looked a little underdressed in it if anything. Careful mate, or I’ll feel obliged to tell you about the portrait of Sir Robert Askin in the NSW Parliament.
Tue 10 Feb 09 (11:06pm)
I don’t need to watch Underbelly to see fey actors portraying a group of people they wouldn’t normally touch with a bargepole.
I grew up around these sorts of people in Balmain, Stanmore and Newtown in Sydney, before it was a trendy little village for those self-same actors who seek to portray its old inhabitants and those in Vic.; and I was happy to leave them far, far behind.
It’s a shame, really, that the writers of this series haven’t stuck to the truth, it would be far more entertaining!