In Writing

Australian television play

In Writing
Based onplay by Raymond Bowers
Directed byKevin Shine
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time75 minutes.[1]
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release7 June 1961 (1961-06-07) (Sydney)
Release2 August 1961 (1961-08-02) (Melbourne)[2][3]
Release6 May 1962 (1962-05-06) (Brisbane)[1]

In Writing is a 1961 Australian television play by an Australian writer living in London, Raymond Bowers, and directed by Kevin Shine.

It was first presented on the BBC in London in 1956 and was also presented on stage and radio.[4][5]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[6] It was one of several thrillers filmed in the early days of Australian television.[7][8]

Plot

According to the Sydney Morning Herald it was "the story of an unusual murder in London involving a husband and wife, investigated in an unorthodox manner by Detective-Inspector Hurst."[4] James Peebles has befriended John Clostin's wife and Clostin is unhappy with that.

Cast

  • Leonard Teale as Detective Inspector Hurst
  • Ric Hutton as John Clostin
  • Anne Haddy as Mrs Clostin
  • James Workman as Pr Bowman
  • Richard Parry as James Peebles
  • Jack Ford as Sergeant
  • Carolyn Keely as waitress

Production

It was produced for British TV in 1956 with a cast including Bernard Lee and Terence Morgan.

It was Bowers' second script done for Australian TV the first being It's the Geography That Counts.[1]

The play was also performed on Australian radio in 1961.[9]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it an "unpretentious little suspense play which several times tripped over its own excess of ingenuity" and "suppressed far too many major facts to play fair with the audience."[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Salted with Strychnine". TV Week. 3 May 1962.
  2. ^ "Untitled". The Age. 27 June 1961. p. 12.
  3. ^ "27 Jul 1961". The Age. p. 31.
  4. ^ a b ""Live" Mystery Drama". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 June 1961. p. 11.
  5. ^ "BRITAIN'S AT HER GAYEST EVER!". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 24 December 1955. p. 4. Retrieved 9 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (20 March 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Reflections in Dark Glasses". Filmink. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  8. ^ Vagg, Stephen (27 April 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Big Killing". Filmink. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Radio plays". The Age. 6 April 1961. p. 22.
  10. ^ "Mystery Play on TV". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 June 1961. p. 9.
  • In Writing at IMDb
  • 1956 British TV production at IMDb


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