Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

The Last Man Hanged (1993)

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clip 'God bless you. Please make it quick' education content clip 2

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

In a dramatic re-creation Ronald Ryan (played by Colin Friels) is hanged in Pentridge prison. Radio journalist, Brian Morley, recalls being a witness to the hanging. In the dramatic re-creation, the priest (John Clayton) gives Ryan’s body the last rites.

Curator’s notes

Because there is no visual record of the actual hanging the filmmakers have chosen to dramatise it to great effect. The clip includes a moving interview with the journalist who was a witness to the hanging. After 26 years Mr Morley breaks down as he recalls the brutality of the execution.