Underbelly: Razor Explained

Bgcolour:	062230
Starring:	Chelsie Preston Crayford, Danielle Cormack
Num Episodes:	13
Network:	Nine Network
Prev Series:	The Golden Mile
Next Series:	Badness
Episode List:	List of Underbelly episodes

Underbelly: Razor, the fourth series of the Australian Nine Network crime drama anthology series Underbelly, originally aired from 21 August 2011 to 6 November 2011. It is a thirteen-part series detailing real events that occurred in Sydney between 1927 and 1936. The series depicts the "razor gangs" who controlled the city's underworld during the era and the violent war between the two "vice queen" powers, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. It is also the last season in the Underbelly franchise that contains 13 episodes. In contrast to the previous Underbelly instalments, which were based on books by John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Razor is based on the Ned Kelly Award-winning book of the same name, written by Larry Writer.

Synopsis

Razor is set during the "Roaring Twenties" and 1930s, mainly between 1927 and 1936 in Sydney, when organised crime in Australia became more prominent. The series details the story of the bloody battle between the era's most feared "vice queens", Tilly Devine and her rival Kate Leigh, plus the "razor gangs" which controlled the Sydney underworld during that time. Embroiled in the violence is the country's young police force and a young girl called Nellie Cameron, determined to lose her innocence and destined to become the most famous prostitute in the land.

Episodes

See also: List of Underbelly episodes.

Cast

Main cast

• Danielle Cormack as Kate Leigh, rival of the Devines and sly grog queen
• Chelsie Preston Crayford as Tilly Devine, brothel madam
• Anna McGahan as Nellie Cameron, a notorious prostitute embroiled in the violence of the era
• Jack Campbell as "Big Jim" Devine, Tilly Devine's husband
• John Batchelor as Wally Tomlinson, business associate and boyfriend of Kate Leigh
• Khan Chittenden as Frank "The Little Gunman" Green, notorious criminal and assassin
• Richard Brancatisano as Guido Calletti, feared gangland figure and Nellie Cameron's first husband
• Craig Hall as Detective Inspector Bill Mackay, part of the country's young police force
• Lucy Wigmore as Lillian May Armfield, one of Australia's first policewomen
• Steve Le Marquand as Sergeant Tom Wickham, a member of New South Wales' first drug "squad"

Recurring and guest cast

• Jeremy Lindsay Taylor as Norman Bruhn, the era's most feared standover man
• Justin Rosniak as Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor, Bruhn's Melbourne-based rival
• Felix Williamson as Phil "The Jew" Jeffs, infamous gangster
• Lincoln Lewis as Bruce Higgs, associate and lover of Kate Leigh
• Pippa Grandison as Mona Woods, singer at one of Kate Leigh's sly-grog shops
• Catherine Glavicic as May Seckold, an employee of Kate Leigh.
• Conrad Coleby as Constable Wharton "Syd" Thompson, the other half of Sydney's first drug squad
• Guy Edmonds as Greg "The Gunman" Gaffney, an associate of vice-queen Kate Leigh
• David Willis as Bill "The Octopus" Flanagan, an associate of Kate Leigh
• Rel Hunt as William Archer, bathhouse proprietor and part of the razor gangs
• Matt Boesenberg as John "Snowy" Cutmore, standover man^[1]
• Adam Tuominen as Frank "Razor Jack" Hayes, member of Bruhn's gang
• Pacharo Mzembe as "Nigger", a gangster. (Redubbed "Nugget" for the Underbelly: Razor – Uncut DVD release).
• Jessica Mauboy as Gloria Starr, the Fifty-Fifty Club singer
• Rob Mills as Eric Connolly, a jazz club singer
• Saskia Burmeister as Ida Maddocks, the main rape victim and primary witness in "the Darlinghurst Outrage" case
• Emily Rose Brennan as "Black" Aggie, one of Tilly Devine's prostitutes. Begins a relationship with Greg "The Gunman" Gaffney
• Rick Donald as Barney Dalton, rugby player employed by Kate Leigh and murdered by Frank Green.
• Guy Spence as Sid "Kicker" Kelly, hardened criminal and one half of the Kelly brothers
• Clint Foster as Tom Kelly, the other half of the Kelly brothers
• Caleb Alloway as Constable Keith Sullivan, crime fighter
• T.J. Power as H. L Jones, news reporter
• Anna Lawrence as Irene Bruhn, wife of Norman Bruhn
• Tasman and Rex Palazzi as Noel and Keith Bruhn, toddler sons of Norman Bruhn
• Grant Garland as Charles Connors, gangster and 'razor-man'
• Izzy Stevens as Eileen Leigh, daughter of Kate Leigh
• Jamie Kristian as Albert Duke, Englishman and husband of Eileen Leigh
• Troy Planet as George "The Midnight Raper" Wallace, violent member of Bruhn's gang
• Jake Ryan as Constable Ray "The Blizzard" Blissett, crusading policeman
• Felix Jozeps as Ernest Wilson, Phil Jeffs' driver and gangster
• Kim Knuckey as Fred Moffitt, taxi driver
• Rachel Rowlatt as Phyllis, housekeeper of the Devines
• Adele Vuko as Gwynnie, a prostitute working for Tilly Devine
• Kelly Anderson as Peg, a prostitute working for Tilly Devine
• Ben Purser as Herbert "Pal" Brown, Kate Leigh's short-lived lieutenant
• Larry Writer as TBA, a wealthy businessman who frequents Kate Leigh's nightclubs
• Daniel Matthew Beltran as Percy Cook, member of Guido Calletti's gang
• James Pope as John "Snowy" Prendergast, aspiring razor gang member
• Ky Baldwin as Eddie "the Urchin", lookout and messenger for Leigh
• Don Rogers as Edward Brady, small-time criminal
• William Upjohn as Roy the Butcher, a butcher and barman for one of Kate Leigh's sly grog shops
• Will Ward as Ralph the Barman, barkeep for the tavern frequented by most of the razor gangs
• Mehmet Yanuz as Rabbitoh, Rabbit peddler
• Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood as Dolly Green, wife of Frank "The Little Gunman" Green
• Lizzie Schebesta as Guido Calletti's moll Dulcie Markham
• David Roberts as Frank de Groot, leader of the New Guard
• Jessica De Gouw as Constable Edie McElroy, one of the first policewomen after Lillian Armfield
• Jim Holt as Thomas Bavin, New South Wales premier
• Graeme Blundell as Jack Lang, infamous NSW premier

Ratings

The premiere episode made Razor the highest rating drama in Australian history, surpassing the record set by .

Episode		Original air date	Timeslot	Viewers (millions)	Timeslot rank	Nightly rank	Weekly rank
1	"The Worst Woman in Sydney"	21 August 2011	8:30 pm Sunday	2.794^[2]	1	3^[3]	3^[4]
2	"Whips and Scorpions"		9:30 pm Sunday	2.084	1	5	5
3	"Cat Amongst the Pigeons"	28 August 2011	8:30 pm Sunday	1.760^[5]	1	1	1^[6]
4	"The Damage Done"	4 September 2011		1.550^[7]	1	2	4^[8]
5	"The Darlinghurst Outrage"	11 September 2011		1.461^[9]	1	3	4^[10]
6	"Blood Alley"	18 September 2011		1.408^[11]	1	2	8^[12]
7	"Tripe and Brains"	25 September 2011		1.397^[13]	1	1	5^[14]
8	"A Big Shivoo"	2 October 2011		1.290^[15]	1	3	5^[16]
9	"The Crash"	9 October 2011		1.282^[17]	1	3	8^[18]
10	"The Sentimental Bloke"	16 October 2011		1.336^[19]	1	3	10
11	"Jerusalem Revisited"	23 October 2011		1.237^[20]	1	1	13
12	"Big Moves"	30 October 2011		1.296^[21]	1	2	9
13	"Armageddon"	6 November 2011		1.449^[22]	1	1	2

Notes and References

1. http://www.thevine.com.au/entertainment/news/'underbelly-razor'-preview20110715.aspx Underbelly: Razor preview
2. Web site: Underbelly: Razor sets new ratings records. Throng Media. 14 September 2011. 30 August 2011.
3. News: David. Knox. Week 35. 22 August 2011. 24 August 2017.
4. News: David. Knox. Seven steals ratings week from Nine. 28 August 2011. 24 August 2017.
5. News: David. Knox. Week 36. 29 August 2011. 24 August 2017.
6. News: David. Knox. X marks the ratings spot. 4 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
7. News: David. Knox. Week 37. 5 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
8. News: David. Knox. Wild Boys shoots up ratings week. 11 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
9. News: David. Knox. Week 38. 12 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
10. News: David. Knox. Ratings war to focus in Seven. 18 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
11. News: David. Knox. Week 39. 19 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
12. News: David. Knox. Two And A Half Men tops the week. 25 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
13. News: David. Knox. Week 40. 26 September 2011. 24 August 2017.
14. News: David. Knox. AFL Grand Final tops ratings week. 2 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
15. News: David. Knox. Week 41. 3 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
16. News: David. Knox. NRL Grand Final tops ratings week, but Seven takes prize.. 9 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
17. News: David. Knox. Week 42. 10 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
18. News: David. Knox. ABC1's Doc Martin beats Nine, TEN's best all week.. 16 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
19. News: David. Knox. Week 43. 17 October 2011. 24 August 2017.
20. News: UB:R Episode 11. 24 August 2017.
21. News: UB:R Episode 12. 24 August 2017.
22. News: UB:R Episode 13. 24 August 2017.