The Grey Nurse Said Nothing
( dir. David Cahill
)
Australia
:
Channel 7
,
1960
6464043
1960
single work
film/TV
crime
thriller
An Australian-made version of the Sumner Locke Elliott script initially produced as part of American anthology series Playhouse 90 the previous year. The Australian version had an entirely different cast and crew from the original American production.
The drama was intended as the flagship program for a planned anthology series called General Motors Hour, based on the radio series of the same name (see 'Harry Dearth Will Host G.M.H Drama Venture on TV'.)
Locke Elliott's script was based on the so-called 'Shark Arm Case' (1935), and Patrick Brady, the defendent in that trial, brought an application for an injunction to prevent ATN (Channel 7) from televising the court scene in The Grey Nurse Said Nothing, which his lawyer argued was defamatory. The application was denied (see 'Application to Stop T.V. Play Rejected').
According to the news article on Brady's planned injunction, lawyers for ATN/Channel 7 claimed that 'the production would have a cast of 72. It was the most ambitious T.V. play produced in Australia, and cost more than £4,000 to produce'.
Further Reading
