AS the countdown to the moon landing was in full swing 50 years ago, there was a star creating headlines in Australia by playing bushranger Ned Kelly.
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In July 1969, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger came Down Under to play the title role in the film Ned Kelly.
He was the most high profile man to have portrayed Kelly whose story has inspired more Australian films and documentaries than any other.
Apart from 35 films and television documentaries, the National Film and Sound Archive's vault contains more than 300 items relating to the infamous bushranger.
However, the Tony Richardson directed 1970 movie is the most contentious.
It was not filmed in the North East or Riverina, with the town of Braidwood outside Canberra standing in for the haunts of Kelly, and Jagger was not a popular choice to depict the outlaw.
A petition of 2000 signatures was gathered at Glenrowan against the pop star, with Kelly's great-nephew reportedly saying "I don't want Jagger's type. I don't think he's a man at all".
The film is also remembered for some unflattering reviews.
Among a genre of films that includes The Glenrowan Affair (1951) in which Upper Murray turned Carlton footballer Bob Chitty ran around with a bucket on his head, and which was described by the Sun-Herald "as one of the worst films ever made in Australia", that's saying something.
Despite the film's caustic reviews, the town of Braidwood is this weekend remembering its time in the spotlight with a 50th anniversary screening on Saturday night.
One lady who recalls the filming as if it were yesterday is 92-year-old Ros Maddrell.
At the time when the Jagger bandwagon rolled into town, Mrs Maddrell and her husband managed Braidwood's Royal [Mail] Hotel.
"For Braidwoodites it was something different," Mrs Maddrell recalled, adding, "it was a new adventure for everyone, plus many got 10 quid as an extra to dress up, which was a lot of money in those days."
While Mrs Maddrell fondly recalls the excitement the filming brought to town, she doesn't reflect quite so positively on the truck loads of red dirt dumped on the main street.
"They had the dirt trucked in to cover the bitumen for three days while filming," she said.
"As you can imagine, running the pub and having it trampled through the pub was no fun."
He couldn't ride a horse to save himself, but he did endear himself to a couple of local ladies
- Ros Maddrell on singer cum bushranger Mick Jagger
But there were, of course, benefits for the pub. With many of the cast and crew (but not Jagger who wisely stayed out of town) bunking down there - it certainly filled the pub's coffers.
"Of an evening the crew would reserve the private lounge and recap on the days filming," Mrs Maddrell said.
"We'd put on a couple of chooks rotisserie for them as they always arrived back after the chef had left.
"They would watch what they'd filmed during the day in private.
"We weren't even allowed near the doors, unless it was to deliver them more drinks."
And there were lots of them. "They drank more champagne and high-end brandy than the hotel has ever seen," she mused.
Of Jagger, Mrs Maddrell says "he couldn't ride a horse to save himself, but he did endear himself to a couple of local ladies".
Apparently the duo hailed from the same English village as Jagger's parents and when Jagger found out he offered to pay for their dinner and drinks every night for 10 days.
"They had a ball, it was the best two weeks of their life," Mrs Maddrell said.
The town has been abuzz, with chat of the 50th anniversary celebrations, especially at the Braidwood Museum where volunteers have prepared to transport some of their treasured film exhibits temporarily to the theatre.
They include the very armour worn by Jagger, which is made of aluminium and much lighter than the original armour worn by Kelly. That was incredibly heavy (45 kilograms) and is now on display in the State Library of Victoria.
The film club putting on Saturday night's screening contacted Jagger to request some words to be relayed to the film-goers.
However, given Jagger disowned the film before its premiere, claiming he accepted the role "because he had nothing else to do", it was always unlikely he would respond.
lnterestingly until the filming of Ned Kelly, Braidwood's iconic hotel on the corner of Wallace and Park Lane was simply known as "The Royal".
The producers of the film requested the pub's name be temporarily changed to "The Royal Mail" as that was the name of the pub in Jerilderie that Ned Kelly held up.
"It took so much effort to change the name through Tooheys, who owned the pub, that after the film we didn't worry about changing it back," Mrs Maddrell said.
Another tidbit worth nothing, during filming of Kelly's final shootout with the police, Jagger was injured when a pistol loaded with blanks backfired in his hand.
He was rushed to hospital in Canberra where surgeons removed the offending metal fragments.
A year on and the film's distributor held an Australian premiere at the Glenrowan Memorial Hall on July 28, 1970.
Jagger, who had celebrated his 27th birthday two days earlier, was a no-show.
The armour he and his co-stars wore as the Kelly gang was donned by members of the South Wangaratta Farmers' Club who rode horses to the premiere.
More than 250 people watched the film with Border Mail reporter Peter Wilson describing it as an outstanding production.
But Glenrowan's Carmel Howarth, who was dressed as an 1880 barmaid, was not impressed with Jagger.
"I've got a son and I'd much rather him turn out like Ned Kelly than Mick Jagger," Mrs Howarth said.
While the film bombed, a home-made explosive added drama to the premiere with a methane-filled balloon popped by a fuse, creating more noise than damage.
A half-century on and some noise is being made again about the most notorious Ned Kelly portrayal.
