The Postcard Bandit (film)
Encyclopedia
The Postcard Bandit is a 2003 Australian film loosely based on the life of convicted bank robber Brenden Abbott
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) on the run with fellow criminal Aaron Reynolds, having just escaped from Fremantle Prison together. The pair rob banks across the country before Abbott decides it's time to live the high life for a while. To avoid suspicion, the two travel the country with a Japanese tourist, and during this trip, Abbott tells Reynolds he is giving him the flick. Reynolds tells Abbott, "You won't last a week without me," but it is Reynolds who is arrested some four weeks later.
While on the Gold Coast, Brenden meets the future mother of his only son William. Soon after, Abbott decides to get back into robbing banks to feed his extravagant lifestyle. Abbott is connected with a driver, whom his brother Glen has arranged for him to meet. Glen Abbott is still upset with his brother for leaving him behind in Fremantle Jail and gives the driver a message for Brenden, "Why'd you leave me behind?" Abbott uses the man as assistant to rob a Perth bank, going in through the roof and breaking his ankle in the process.
Abbott returns to the Gold Coast, only to learn that his lover has become pregnant with his first and only child. She is suspicious about the fact that he has a broken ankle, but this is quickly forgotten when he presents her with a Rolex watch. Soon after that, Abbott decides to look for a new partner, and upon leaving, his lover raises her suspicion about his line of work, presenting a balaclava she found in his bag. Abbott tells her nothing other than to return the balaclava to where it was found, before leaving angrily. While on the run, his lover has the child and she learns the true identity of "Peter", Brenden James Abbott.
Abbott begins seeing a prostitute, who gets a rush off driving fast cars. Abbott asks her is she wants a real rush, and uses her as his getaway driver for his next few robberies. Abbott decides to team up with his brother Glen, which he knows will upset his mother. Glen proves to be a loose cannon, and while they successfully rob a number of banks, Brenden soon decides to cut his younger brother loose. He informs Glen that he will still need his services in obtaining guns and fake ID cards, but will no longer rob banks with him. Glen gets upset, telling his brother that he is, "No good on me own," he punches Brenden before the pair go their separate ways.
Glen is detained by the police and due to possession of a number of illegal weapons, he is forced to give up information on his brother's whereabouts. He gives the police the number of a pager used to contact Brenden Abbott, which is traced back to a post office box on the Gold Coast. Brenden Abbott is about to walk out on his current lover, when a few minutes later, he is arrested on the street in Surfers Paradise. Abbott is sent to a maximum security prison in Brisbane, where he befriends a small-time criminal and plots an escape with 4 other violent criminals. The petty criminal is due for release some four weeks later, so Abbott plots to use the man as a getaway driver for his planned escape.
On the day of the prison break, a female visitor gives one of the prisoners some razor wire which has been concealed in her vagina. The convicts use the wire to escape their cells and run to the pison fence, where they are met by the other released criminal. He throws a set of bolt cutters over the fence and shoots at the guards who come near the escaping prisoners. A perimeter patrol vehicle is also disabled by the man's gunfire when Abbott instructs him to "aim for the battery". The group escapes in an awaiting vehicle which the man had driven to the prison. Soon, the other 4 escapees are detained while Abbott and the petty criminal manage to avoid custody.
Abbott is concerned that his new partner is using drugs, but the man denies it. Abbott, feeling that he owes the man, decides to stay by his side. The pair rob a number of banks, including his most notorious robbery, netting some $800,000 from the Commonwealth Bank at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast. Abbott's partner soon is the target of a manhunt, after killing two police officers during a failed drug deal. He goes back to Abbott distraught at his actions and the two escape to Darwin, where they remain for some time. While walking down the street one day, Abbott returns a cricket ball to a child (Kirk Beattie) who has hit the ball in front of him. The boy's father sees Abbott doing so and he turns out to be a police officer who recognizes the criminal. Abbott is caught and sent to jail again in Queensland, with a large sum of money still unaccounted for. Abbott meets his son while in jail and encourages the boy to play hard in cricket, with Brenden himself being a keen Mark Waugh fan. The movie ends with Abbott still in jail, a now aging man, who has lost the edge which he once held as Australia's Most Wanted man.
Brenden Abbott
Brenden James Abbott is an Australian bank robber who was branded the Postcard Bandit by the Western Australian Police to attract news media attention...
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Cast
- Tom LongTom Long (actor)-Early life:Long was born on 3 August 1968 in the United States when his Australian parents were there at the time, and grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria...
as Brenden James Abbott - Brett Stiller
- Matthew Le NevezMatthew Le NevezMatthew Le Nevez is an award-winning Australian actor.-Early life :Le Nevez was born in Canberra in 1978 and attended The French-Australian School, Telopea Park School and St Edmund's College, Canberra before accepted into NIDA aged 17...
- Geneviève LemonGenevieve LemonGenevieve Lemon is an Australian actress who has appeared in a number of soap operas – as Zelda Baker in The Young Doctors, Marlene "Rabbit" Warren in Prisoner and Brenda Riley in Neighbours...
- Simon BurkeSimon BurkeSimon Burke is an Australian actor. Burke began his acting career as a 13 year-old in the Australian film, The Devil's Playground for which he was awarded Best Actor at the 1976 Australian Film Institute Awards....
- Helen DallimoreHelen DallimoreHelen Dallimore is an Australian actress, known for originating the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked.-Background:...
- Tasma Walton
- Anthony Phelan
- Michael Denkha
- David James
- Richard Piper
- Simon Maiden
- Mel Rogan
- Annie Byron
- Kirk Beattie
- Yutaka Izumihara
- Rob Steele
- Martin Broome
- Ian Bliss
- James ReyneJames ReyneJames Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...
- Steve Rodgers
- Ned Manning
- Morgan O'Neill
- Rudi Baker
- Andrea Leon
- Anthony Jensen.
- Lindsay Moss
- Felicity Price
- Madison Orr
- Nick Simpson-DeeksNick Simpson-DeeksNick Simpson-Deeks is a NIDA-trained Australian actor of stage and screen.-Film and television:Nick has appeared as Archie McMahon in both seasons of SBS's The Circuit...
Plot
The Postcard Bandit, a 2003 telemovie, tells the story of Brenden James Abbott, colloquially known as The Postcard Bandit. Released on DVD in 2005, the movie begins with Abbott (portrayed by Tom LongTom Long
Tom Long may refer to:* Tom Long , Australian actor* Tom Long , American President and COO of MillerCoors and former CEO of Miller Brewing Company...
) on the run with fellow criminal Aaron Reynolds, having just escaped from Fremantle Prison together. The pair rob banks across the country before Abbott decides it's time to live the high life for a while. To avoid suspicion, the two travel the country with a Japanese tourist, and during this trip, Abbott tells Reynolds he is giving him the flick. Reynolds tells Abbott, "You won't last a week without me," but it is Reynolds who is arrested some four weeks later.
While on the Gold Coast, Brenden meets the future mother of his only son William. Soon after, Abbott decides to get back into robbing banks to feed his extravagant lifestyle. Abbott is connected with a driver, whom his brother Glen has arranged for him to meet. Glen Abbott is still upset with his brother for leaving him behind in Fremantle Jail and gives the driver a message for Brenden, "Why'd you leave me behind?" Abbott uses the man as assistant to rob a Perth bank, going in through the roof and breaking his ankle in the process.
Abbott returns to the Gold Coast, only to learn that his lover has become pregnant with his first and only child. She is suspicious about the fact that he has a broken ankle, but this is quickly forgotten when he presents her with a Rolex watch. Soon after that, Abbott decides to look for a new partner, and upon leaving, his lover raises her suspicion about his line of work, presenting a balaclava she found in his bag. Abbott tells her nothing other than to return the balaclava to where it was found, before leaving angrily. While on the run, his lover has the child and she learns the true identity of "Peter", Brenden James Abbott.
Abbott begins seeing a prostitute, who gets a rush off driving fast cars. Abbott asks her is she wants a real rush, and uses her as his getaway driver for his next few robberies. Abbott decides to team up with his brother Glen, which he knows will upset his mother. Glen proves to be a loose cannon, and while they successfully rob a number of banks, Brenden soon decides to cut his younger brother loose. He informs Glen that he will still need his services in obtaining guns and fake ID cards, but will no longer rob banks with him. Glen gets upset, telling his brother that he is, "No good on me own," he punches Brenden before the pair go their separate ways.
Glen is detained by the police and due to possession of a number of illegal weapons, he is forced to give up information on his brother's whereabouts. He gives the police the number of a pager used to contact Brenden Abbott, which is traced back to a post office box on the Gold Coast. Brenden Abbott is about to walk out on his current lover, when a few minutes later, he is arrested on the street in Surfers Paradise. Abbott is sent to a maximum security prison in Brisbane, where he befriends a small-time criminal and plots an escape with 4 other violent criminals. The petty criminal is due for release some four weeks later, so Abbott plots to use the man as a getaway driver for his planned escape.
On the day of the prison break, a female visitor gives one of the prisoners some razor wire which has been concealed in her vagina. The convicts use the wire to escape their cells and run to the pison fence, where they are met by the other released criminal. He throws a set of bolt cutters over the fence and shoots at the guards who come near the escaping prisoners. A perimeter patrol vehicle is also disabled by the man's gunfire when Abbott instructs him to "aim for the battery". The group escapes in an awaiting vehicle which the man had driven to the prison. Soon, the other 4 escapees are detained while Abbott and the petty criminal manage to avoid custody.
Abbott is concerned that his new partner is using drugs, but the man denies it. Abbott, feeling that he owes the man, decides to stay by his side. The pair rob a number of banks, including his most notorious robbery, netting some $800,000 from the Commonwealth Bank at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast. Abbott's partner soon is the target of a manhunt, after killing two police officers during a failed drug deal. He goes back to Abbott distraught at his actions and the two escape to Darwin, where they remain for some time. While walking down the street one day, Abbott returns a cricket ball to a child (Kirk Beattie) who has hit the ball in front of him. The boy's father sees Abbott doing so and he turns out to be a police officer who recognizes the criminal. Abbott is caught and sent to jail again in Queensland, with a large sum of money still unaccounted for. Abbott meets his son while in jail and encourages the boy to play hard in cricket, with Brenden himself being a keen Mark Waugh fan. The movie ends with Abbott still in jail, a now aging man, who has lost the edge which he once held as Australia's Most Wanted man.