Cash and Company

Cash and Company

Company type	Television series
Industry	Entertainment, Television
Founded	1975 (1975)
Founder	Russell Hagg, Patrick Edgeworth
Headquarters	Australia
Products	Television series

Cash and Company is an Australian historical adventure television series situated in the era of the Victorian gold rush during the 1850s. It originally broadcast on Australia's Seven Network in 1976 and was also shown on the UK's ITV.

Background

The series consisted of 13 episodes, each one hour long, developed by Russell Hagg and Patrick Edgeworth. The final $5,000 of funding was secured with assistance from broadcaster Ron Casey. Production commenced in July 1974, with the premiere airing on Brisbane's Seven Network on 17 April 1975, followed by broadcasts in Sydney and Melbourne. Prior to its Australian debut, the show was screened on London's LWT network and featured at the Cannes Film Festival. International distribution included countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Ireland, Norway, Rhodesia, and Nigeria. Homestead Films—established by Edgeworth and Hagg after their period at Crawford Productions—produced the series, drawing on their experience from Matlock Police.

The storyline centers on bushrangers Sam Cash (portrayed by Serge Lazareff) and Joe Brady (played by Gus Mercurio), who are on the run from a corrupt police force led by Lieutenant Keogh (Bruce Kerr). They receive support from Jessica Johnson (Penne Hackforth-Jones), a widow.

After the first season, Lazareff left the show; his role was succeeded by Ryler (Gerard Kennedy), a character depicted as a former bounty hunter. Although network executives requested a Logie-winning lead for the second season, creators Edgeworth and Hagg maintain that Kennedy was their independent choice. The series was retitled Tandarra, abandoning the fugitive plotline and removing characters such as Keogh and Annie (Jessica's maid). Notably, Sam Cash's character was excluded entirely from Tandarra, including any flashback scenes.

Despite its title drawing inspiration from historical elements, the series' plots do not relate to the actual bushranger Martin Cash or his gang known as Cash and Co.

Cast

• Serge Lazareff as Sam Cash
• Gus Mercurio as Joe Brady
• Penne Hackforth-Jones as Jessica Johnson
• Bruce Kerr as Lieutenant Keogh

Guest Cast

• Gerard Kennedy as Ryler
• John Frawley as Jessica's father-in-law
• Anne Scott-Pendlebury as Annie
• Sandy Gore as Madam
• Jerry Thomas as Harry Horlock
• Roz De Winter as Betty Horlock
• Judith Durham as Sarah Simmonds
• Jon Finlayson as Travers Lewis
• Michael Duffield as PJ Clarke
• Judy Morris as Mary Fincham
• Tony Bonner as Titus Ruffler

Filming locations

Filming took place predominantly on location at Emu Bottom Plains in Victoria, close to the crew’s accommodation at Emu Bottom Station near the outskirts of Sunbury, Victoria. This same region was also utilized for shooting Mad Max in 1979.

DVD release

The entire series was made available on Region Free DVD by Umbrella Entertainment on 2 April 2014.

TV Syndication

During the 1990s, Cash and Company returned to Australian television syndication on Channel Seven in an early morning timeslot, with all 13 episodes broadcasted. In March of this year, it resumed syndication via the Aussie Classics TV channel accessible through Binge and Foxtel, airing Sundays at 7:30 pm alongside multiple repeat showings. This marks the first complete rerun of the series on Australian TV in nearly three decades.