form y separately published work icon Shell Presents series - publisher   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 1959... 1959 Shell Presents
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A loose anthology series, made in Sydney by ATN-7 and in Melbourne by GTV-9, and aired throughout 1959.

As with many early Australian anthology series, the contents were a combination of locally written material and overseas works; in this case, however, local content made up 50% of the series.

Notes

  • Only Australian-written instalments are individually indexed. Other known instalments include:

    • Johnny Belinda, based on a play by American playwright Elmer Harris (aired 4 April 1959).
    • Other People's Houses, by American playwright Tad Mosel (aired on 2 May 1959).
    • Tragedy in a Temporary Town, by American script-writer Reginald Rose (aired 16 May 1959).
    • Thunder of Silence, by American script-writer Stewart Stern (aired 22 August 1959).
    • Ruth, written by American actor John Glennon, who also starred (aired 5 September 1959).
    • A Tongue of Silver, by Irish playwright Michael Dyne (aired 17 October 1959).

Includes

form y separately published work icon Pardon Miss Westcott Alan Burke , Peter Benjamin , Peter Stannard (composer), Sydney : Australian Television Network , 1959 Z1518386 1959 single work film/TV musical theatre

In response to the success of Lola Montez, Peter Stannard, Alan Burke, and Peter Benjamin were commissioned by ATN-7 and Shell to write a family-orientated musical for television. That production, Pardon Miss Westcott, was performed and broadcast live around Australia a few weeks before Christmas in 1959. Starring Wendy Blacklock and Michael Cole, it was orchestrated by ATN-7's musical director, Tommy Tycho, along with Julian Lee.

The musical begins in Sydney in 1809, just after Governor Bligh's departure and before Governor Macquarie's arrival, and tells the story of Elizabeth Westcott, a convict transported for serving a pompous magistrate at her father's inn in England his own lamb. She is assigned to work at Government House and quickly rules the roost. When she is granted a ticket of leave, Miss Westcott opens an inn in Pitt Street, with the help of an assortment of saints and sinners. A serving army officer, Richard, who was also on board the convict ship, is captivated by her and eventually overcomes the social gap between them by getting himself into trouble. All ends well.

Sydney : Australian Television Network , 1959
form y separately published work icon Reflections in Dark Glasses James Workman , Melbourne : Australian Television Network , 1959 7187971 1959 single work film/TV

A woman searches for her missing son, who may have been taken by her husband.

Melbourne : Australian Television Network , 1959
form y separately published work icon They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful Ross Napier , Sydney : Australian Television Network , 1959 7188083 1959 single work film/TV

Two people recently released from gaol inadvertently become involved in a baby-kidnapping.

Sydney : Australian Television Network , 1959
form y separately published work icon The Big Day John Ford , Melbourne : Nine Network , 1959 7188202 1959 single work film/TV

In Melbourne, a costing clerk spends his last day at work before his retirement.

Melbourne : Nine Network , 1959
form y separately published work icon No Picnic Tomorrow Barbara Vernon , Melbourne : Nine Network , 1960 8033944 1960 single work film/TV

'Set in a suburb of Melbourne, the play concerns a young Greek boy and an Australian girl who plan to marry. However, the boy's mother, adhering to tradition, arranges a marriage between her son and a Greek girl, who is coming to Australia from Greece.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Age, 21 January 1960, p.16.

Melbourne : Nine Network , 1960
form y separately published work icon Man in a Blue Vase Tom Kirkwood , Richard Beynon , Melbourne : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1960 8131023 1960 single work film/TV

A man's removal of his wife's housekeeping money from its blue vase causes conflict in both his marriage and his extended family.

Melbourne : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1960

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Last amended 8 Aug 2023 15:45:32
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