Ignore Producer's anti-votes for this comment, the Ridiculous miscasting of tall thin Tom Long as chunky nugget career criminal Brenden Abbott is as visually foolish as Mick Jagger playing Ned Kelly. Excellent and appropriate TV actor Peter Phelps was perfect for this role and the producer of this mis informed tele trash was even encouraged to at least get Phelps into the role. Along with a very dubious tabloid book as the only chosen research THE POSTCARD BANDIT was a misconceived and mishandled misfire at which even Brenden Abbott would have been appalled. How do I know? Here's how: I am friends with the family of his 12 year old son son who lives quietly and secretly in the suburbs.... We approached the producer and director and pleaded not to make this a crap TV movie and include our input. We were also very sensitive to how they were going to portray the real family members affected by Abbott's life of crime and also how this sensitive boy would be affected after this film played on TV and he would have a tough time of it at school. They did not want genuine input and did not want the truth. They just wanted to make their tele movie and use up their allocated budget... and pay themselves their fees. We were shown the door and they proceeded with inventing ludicrous scenes and mis matching casting. Naturally we were appalled and very upset. The only reason these rude and belligerent people made this film is because a lame TV cop- crime series called THE YOUNG LIONS was canned. Tom Long was the star of that. Given they had budget money left over it was decided to make a cheap TWO HANDS knock off and THE POSTCARD BANDIT was chosen. and Tom long had to be used up. So were real and innocent people and the crime committed against this family by the TV producers of this stupid and mis managed TV movie is equally as offensive as anything Abbott committed himself against the public. Two wrongs do not make a right. Everyone associated with this clapped together rude disaster should financially chip in and assist payments for the troubled boy's psychiatrist sessions as a result of this foolish horror exposure. The most galling offence to the public is that the producer was the same man who made the 1977 masterpiece children's film STORM BOY, a sensitive and accurate portrayal of how events in a child's life stay with them forever. What an ignominious hole in a once respected career is this ridiculous and cruel TV junk called THE POSTCARD BANDIT. Shame upon shame.
