Underbelly: Razor Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
Episode 1 - The Worst Woman in SydneyIt’s 1927. Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh are the undisputed crime queens of Sydney. Tilly, who was born into poverty in London and became a prostitute at 15, runs the biggest brothel network Australia has ever seen. Her husband, “Big Jim” Devine, leads a team of hired muscle to protect their lucrative business. Tilly’s rival is sly-grog proprietor, Kate Leigh, who capitalised on the law that forced pubs to cease trading at 6.00pm, opening numerous saloons to provide liquor to punters after hours. When Tilly steals Kate’s Pomeranian dog, the women become sworn enemies. Detective Inspector Bill Mackay polices Darlinghurst with Detective Sergeant Tom Wickham for brawn. School aged beauty Nellie Cameron ignores the advice of Australia’s first policewoman, Lillian Armfield, and cheerfully becomes a prostitute for Tilly. Frank Green also joins Tilly and Jim’s team, aspiring to become a notorious gunman. This is the scene into which the vicious Melbourne gangster, Norman Bruhn, arrives into Sydney. His plan is simple: take out Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh and become the new leader of Sydney’s underworld.
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Episode 2 - Whips & ScorpionsNorman Bruhn recruits a gang: the defiant, opium addicted Snowy Cutmore; explosives master “Razor Jack” Hayes and one-egg-short-of-an-omelette George Wallace. Nellie Cameron turns a trick with Norman and sparks fly. She loves that he’s a gangster, although cheeky barrow-boy Guido Calletti may also be catching her eye. Norman starts messing with Tilly and Kate’s respective businesses – spoiling Kate’s beer and stinking up Tilly’s brothels – and each woman thinks the other is responsible. No-one suspects Norman Bruhn, except dapper cocaine baron Phil Jeffs. Norman soon realises he can’t get rid of Tilly and Kate that easily – he needs to up the ante. Armed with cut-throat razors, Norman and his boys target the toughest man in Sydney, Sid “Kicker” Kelly, slashing him across the throat and leaving him for dead.
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Episode 3 - Cat Amongst the PigeonsBoth the police and the underworld are reeling from the unprecedented razorslashing of Sid “Kicker” Kelly. Bill Mackay gets stonewalled by Sid, but that doesn’t shake his feeling that something very nasty’s brewing in Darlinghurst. Meanwhile, Sid and his brother Tom proceed to get very public revenge on Norman Bruhn and Razor Jack by belting them senseless at Mack’s. But this doesn’t stop Norman from robbing Kate’s sly groggeries, wreaking havoc at Phil Jeffs’s two-up schools and trashing Tilly’s brothels. Darlinghurst is at war, and suddenly every street hood is carrying a Bengal blade. With fortunes lost, the heads of the underworld in Darlinghurst hold a council of war. Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and Phil Jeffs agree on shooting Norman Bruhn in the knees to scare him back to Melbourne. But in secret, Tilly hires Frank “the Little Gunman” Green to prove his moniker, and kill Norman Bruhn.
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Episode 4 - The Damage DoneNorman Bruhn is dead…but who pulled the trigger? Bill Mackay knows Bruhn’s death is a result of the razor gang war, and enlists Constable Ray Blissett to pull in the usual suspects for questioning. The police are met with the criminal code of silence, so Bill Mackay starts raiding Kate’s sly-grog saloons with a vengeance – taking a leaf out of Bruhn’s book. Kate’s profits take another dive as a result of Mackay’s raids, so she decides to expand the cocaine side of her business, poaching Tilly’s prostitutes to sell the snow on the streets. Tilly finds out and is outraged, sending her men to slash the faces of the girls selling Kate’s coke. Not so much punishment for leaving her as getting revenge on her nemesis. So while Norman’s gang dissembles after his death, the warfare he began continues. Nellie doesn’t mourn Norman too long before shacking up with Frank Green – the man who killed her lover.
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Episode 5 - The Darlinghurst OutrageNorman Bruhn is out of the picture but that doesn’t mean the remaining underworld crime bosses are putting down their weapons. Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and Phil “the Jew” Jeffs eye each other warily. Then Jeffs is charged with the rape of mother-of-two, Ida Maddocks – a crime that carries a death sentence. If Phil swings, his cocaine business is up for grabs, so naturally Tilly and Kate start plotting potential moves like champion chess players. “The Darlinghurst Outrage,” as the pressmen describe the rape, becomes the talk of the town, increasing the pressure on the police to get a conviction. Lillian Armfield is conflicted because she knows that there was an element of consent involved. But when the men went too far, Ida said No. That’s rape. That’s the truth. But is it really that simple? Did Phil Jeffs and his cohorts rape Ida Maddocks? Who is Phil Jeffs?
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Episode 6 - Blood AlleyCocaine baron Phil Jeffs may have dodged the hangman’s noose, but the Ida Maddocks rape charge has left a stain on his reputation and therefore, his drug business. Rather than getting on with things quietly, Phil adulterates Kate’s cocaine supply and slashes Tilly’s highest earning girl, determined to put them both out of business for good. With cocaine flooding the streets and the Premier on his back, newly appointed Head of CIB Bill Mackay initiates NSW’s first ever Police drug squad. The two-man team (Tom Wickham and Syd Thompson) start out small, arresting street dealers, but the crims are back on the streets before the cops can congratulate each other. Kate Leigh runs the street dealers, so their focus shifts up a level. Meanwhile, a strapping young lad called Bruce Higgs approaches Kate Leigh for a job. He’s cheeky and willing and the chemistry is thick between them, much to the chagrin of Kate’s former right-hand man, the long-suffering Wally Tomlinson. Animosity between Phil Jeffs and Kate Leigh goes from bad to worse, leading Kate to issue a challenge that results in a bloody street fight so brutal it became known as “The Battle of Blood Alley”.
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Episode 7 - Tripe and BrainsWith Kate Leigh behind bars, Wally Tomlinson is put in charge of running her slygrog business and keeping an eye on her daughter, Eileen. Ironically, by plonking Eileen at the saloon so he can keep an eye on her, Wally drops her right in the lap of a smarmy English chap called Albert Duke. An unexpected visit from her father sets Nellie off in a volatile way. First, she picks a fight with rival prostitute Black Aggie and rakes her fingernails down her chest. Then she sparks another love triangle, only this time it’s not between Frank and Guido. Her latest beau is the dashing singer Eric Connolly, a romantic soul who has no idea what trouble he’s gotten himself into by diverting Nellie’s attention from Guido. Meanwhile, Tilly realises the best way to one-up Kate Leigh – and to distract herself from her philandering hubby – is to buy her best sly-grog saloon right out from under her. Take away the jewel in her crown. Kate suspects that Tilly will make some kind of move while she’s in prison, and maybe if Wally didn't have to witness Bruce Higgs’ conjugal visits to the love of his life so plainly, he would be sober enough to see it coming.
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Episode 8 - A Big ShivooBlack Aggie strikes up a romance with Greg “the Gunman” Gaffney and givesup prostitution. But she’s still dirty on Nellie for putting her out of work, so she fronts her with a cut-throat razor. Frank Green intervenes and gives Aggie thrice as many cuts and bruises than she started out with. Greg Gaffney swears that he’ll kill Frank Green in revenge, but when he gets the chance he only manages to shoot Green in the shoulder. Because Gaffney is Kate Leigh’s man and Green is on Tilly’s side, Wally Tomlinson is anxious to avoid a gang war. But Gaffney is intent on finishing the job. He makes for the Devine mansion in Maroubra where Green’s hiding out, but what follows is not a stand-off between the two gunmen of Darlinghurst. Instead, Big Jim steps up and kills Greg Gaffney with his .303 rifle. Tilly figures, what better time to prove they’re number one than when they’re already ahead? So Frank Green recruits all the muscle he can find and Wally and the rest of Kate’s boys have no choice but to answer their call. The bloody battle between Kate and Tilly’s men became known as the Kellett St riot. Bruce Higgs ends up with more scars than Frankenstein and leaves Razorhurst for good, meaning Kate’s lost not one but two men from her side. Big Jim gets off the Gaffney murder charge, but the celebrations in the Devine camp are short-lived; no sooner than Tilly tells Jim that they’re having a baby, she miscarries.
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Episode 9 - The CrashWith the Wall Street crash making paupers out of millionaires overnight, Kate Leigh puts a bounty on the heads of Big Jim Devine and Frank Green as payback for the murder of Greg Gaffney and the razor attack on Bruce Higgs. But how to find a hired gun who’s up to the job? In a pre-emptive reprisal Tilly vows to eliminate Kate’s muscle before they eliminate hers! Coincidentally Frank Green runs into Wally and Barney Dalton at the Tradesman’s Arms. Downing a quick drink he withdraws before he’s attacked by Kate’s men, dashes off and alerts Big Jim to the enemy’s whereabouts. When Wally and Barney exit the pub an hour later Jim and Frank are waiting for them with Jim’s loaded pistol. But Jim loses his nerve, forcing Frank to snatch the gun from him and shoot Barney and Wally himself. Barney dies on his way to hospital while the gravely injured Wally hovers between life and death. First officer on the scene Ray Blissett interrogates him about the shooting, and to Ray’s astonishment – not to mention Kate’s - Wally breaks the criminal code of silence and identifies Frank Green and Jim Devine as the killers. A bedside inquest is hurriedly convened and the coroner asks the desperately ill Wally to repeat the allegation. But this time he identifies only Frank Green, allowing Big Jim to walk away scot-free. Meanwhile Kate discovers that her new son-in-law Albert Duke is a paedophile. For Eileen’s sake she forces him to quit the fledgling marriage, but of course she can’t tell the girl the truth behind her husband’s mysterious departure and in a fit of rebellion and despair Eileen leaves home for the bush - but not before revealing she’s having a baby.
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Episode 10 - The Sentimental BlokeCharged with Barney Dalton’s murder, Frank Green enters Long Bay Gaol to find rival Guido Calletti serving time as well, and the traditional fisticuffs over Nellie Cameron ensue. Back in Razorhurst Wally Tomlinson recovers from his bullet wounds and is discharged from hospital, still determined to testify against Frank Green, no matter how hard Kate Leigh tries to persuade him otherwise. While she understands his loyalty to his slain mate Barney she believes he’s putting his own head in a noose by naming Tilly Devine’s gunman. Tilly, meanwhile, does all she can to protect Frank’s neck by buying off the eyewitnesses to the shooting. And Big Jim Devine does his bit by urging up-and-coming hood “Snowy” Prendergast and his young mates to intimidate Kate and Wally. But the lads’ campaign of terror against the sly grog queen comes to a sudden and bloody halt when they break into her house late one night and she resolutely shoots Snowy dead. Wally stays staunch and has his day in court, steadfastly naming Frank Green as the murderer. But the jury is swayed by the deaf, dumb and blind eyewitnesses and a jubilant Frank is acquitted. Despite the result, Kate throws a celebratory party for Wally - but discovers he has packed his things and left, disillusioned with her and with the Razorhurst life. She is duly found innocent of the Snowy Prendergast shooting on the grounds of self-defence, but the result gives her no joy; she’s lost far too many men, has far too much blood on her hands to give thanks. Then, at her lowest ebb, Kate receives an unexpected tonic, when Eileen and new granddaughter Charlotte, return to the Riley Street fold.
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Episode 11 - Jerusalem RevisitedBill Mackay, Tom Wickham and the police generally are delighted when the state parliament adds an extremely potent consorting” clause to the Vagrancy Act. Finally it gives them a powerful weapon in their war against the gangsters. Among the first to feel its teeth is Tilly Devine. With six arrests for consorting on her docket she faces six months in Long Bay gaol! Bill Mackay celebrates! But she outfoxes the law by striking a deal with a malleable judge to leave Sydney and return home to Old Blighty for two years’ exile instead. But her plan gets the wobbles when Big Jim Devine refuses to join her until he finds a suitable replacement to run their businesses. Thus Tilly travels home to grim and grimy London town alone, putting a brave face on things. Her reunion with her parents and Fred, the young son we didn’t know she had, is tension-filled and fraught. Home, she realises, her heart breaking, may not be this grey and unpleasant land after all. Meanwhile, back in the saddle after her recent reverses, Kate Leigh hires Guido Calletti, fresh out of Long Bay, and his ex-prison mates to provide protection for her coke-selling girls. But when she short-changes him he informs drug squad detectives Tom Wickham and Syd Thompson of the source of her cocaine supply. A police raid on Kate’s Riley Street premises produces solid evidence in the form of numerous tobacco tins containing drugs. To make sure a conviction sticks, Wickham and Thompson roll Kate’s new lover and driver, Herbert “Pal” Brown, and pressure him into testifying. He does, but goes to gaol anyway and she cops a hefty suspended sentence – a good result for the drug squad boys, but Tom Wickham can’t help wondering if his partner Thompson is as honest as he claims to be. Tilly arrives back in Sydney unexpectedly and finds her husband in bed with the housekeeper. Incensed at the rude interruption, Big Jim grabs his .303 rifle and chases her out of the house. Bitch! Shots are fired in anger and Tilly goes sprawling in the dust ... Dust to dust, ashes to ashes …?
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Episode 12 - Big MovesThankfully only the outraged Tilly’s pride is injured, but Big Jim Devine is arrested for her attempted murder. “This time,” a gleeful Bill Mackay rejoices with his men, “this time we’ve got him for sure.” But at the 11th hour Tilly refuses to testify against her husband, doubtless hoping her charitable change of heart will have him running back to her, and the charges are dropped. A fascist movement is sweeping the world and New South Wales, like everywhere else, is caught up in it. The local ultra-nationalists call themselves the New Guard, and their avowed enemies are communists – notably unionists and the hated Lang Labor state government. When a brawl in a pub breaks out between a clutch of New Guard and some left wing Wharfies, Nellie Cameron is collateral damage, taking three bullets and almost dying of blood loss. His wife having left him and taken the kids, Frank throws in his lot with Nellie and attempts to drive her to the warmth and sanctuary of Queensland, but she collapses en route and they are forced to return to Razorhurst. Meanwhile the New Guard are proving such a danger to his government that Premier Jack Lang guarantees Bill Mackay the new title of NSW Police Commissioner if he can stamp them out. Guido Calletti’s ambitious plans to seize Kate’s cocaine supply are forgotten when he and Frank clash over Nellie yet again. In a fury he stabs and seriously injures the Little Gunman - a blow that backfires when Nellie flies to Frank’s hospital bedside instead of into Guido’s arms. Kate Leigh also follows Frank to hospital, offering him a hundred pounds to gun-down Big Jim. To both Kate and Nellie’s delight, disillusioned Frank agrees to murder his long-time mentor.
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Episode 13 - ArmageddonPhil “The Jew” Jeffs is back in town. He shows off his flash new Darlo nightclub to Kate Leigh, vowing to destroy her and her paltry sly grog shops for putting three bullets into him years before! But Kate spits in his eye and tells him she’ll still be walking the lanes of Razorhurst long after he’s feeding the maggots! News of Frank Green’s contract to kill Big Jim reaches Tilly Devine, who romptly engages Guido Calletti to kill Frank first. But Guido’s ongoing plans to ambush Kate’s coke supply prove a telling distraction. Meanwhile the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is celebrated with a lavish ceremony presided over by Premier Jack Lang. However New Guardsmen Francis De Groot almost ruins the party by galloping up and bisecting the ribbon with his sword before Lang can wield the official scissors. Fortunately for the official party Bill Mackay is on hand to arrest De Groot and whisk him away from the public gaze. With moral support from Nellie, Frank Green confronts Big Jim at the Devines’ Maroubra house, but when it comes to the crunch cannot bear to shoot his mentor. Instead, he snatches Big Jim’s tiepin from his shirt and runs away like a naughty schoolboy. Incensed by his protégé’s betrayal as much of the theft, Big Jim attempts to gun-down Frank and Nellie with his trusty 303 - but instead accidentally kills an innocent bystander, taxi driver Fred Moffitt! Later Guido finds Frank hiding from the cops at Nellie’s bedsit and challenges him to a fight to the finish to decide who gets her. But their final marathon bout is a draw and Nellie is forced to toss a coin to split her lovers. In the end her heart says Guido. Bill Mackay sits Kate and Tilly down and tells them that Fred Moffitt’s death is the final straw – No More War! But they thumb their noses at him and walk out, agreeing to meet at a graveyard that night to sort out their differences in their own way once and for all. And so it is that as the moon rises over the headstones, Kate and Tilly stalk each other, guns drawn, murder in mind … But who will pull the trigger first?
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