Cirrus@Austlit

Billy Sloane's school principal describes him as sloppy, shoddy, unpunctual, and uncooperative, but also infuriatingly truthful. Things aren't going to well for Billy, though. It's exam time at school and his mother is dying in hospital. His father has taken in a lady 'friend' to look after him and the police are looking for his brother Jack in connection with a string of armed robberies. The only bright light in Billy's life is a sick pigeon he has found and is caring for. At least it's something he can write passionately about in his English exam. But then he's pulled out of class to be grilled about his brother by a detective. Billy's honesty is about to be put to the test.

'This play concerns a young author who becomes disillusioned with his work when his ambitious publisher orders him to turn out stereotyped novels purely for the sake of money.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 2 May 1966, p.23.

'Tired of hearing about Elsie's late husband Fred decided to resurrect him when a prowler is rumoured to be roaming the district.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 9 May 1966, p.19.

'[T]his play tells how an attractive girl suspects that her father is involved in theft and murder.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 16 May 1966, p.23.

'The play, written by Adelaide playwright, Anne Kinloch and produced by Eric Taylor concerns a sensitive and intelligent girl, Elizabeth Fletcher, denied the necessities of a woman's life, love and understanding . . . Elizabeth is resigned to her fate as a spinster, but goes through the motions of "attracting a man." One evening, a lad who had taken pity on her, the perpetual wall flower — brings her home from a local dance, obviously hoping to escape at the front door . . . Her father, however, refusing to "just let him go" invites him in and proceeds to extol her virtues as a housekeeper.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 23 May 1966, p.19.

'Searching for a missing friend Fred Taylor uncovers an uncanny situation and goes one step beyond violence to the brink of insanity.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 30 May 1966, p.19.

'A group of men, trapped in an Antarctic hut, fight a nightmare of fantasy and insanity.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 13 June 1966, p.15.

'In a moment of tragic irony, a harassed and henpecked businessman faces death alone.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 27 June 1966, p.19.

'Finding his wife's lover comfortably installed in his home, a husband uses an unexpected measure to meet the situation. And his answer suggests a new breed of men.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 11 July 1966, p.14.

'Marleen vies for the coveted award of Miss Marching Girl, but a richer and more sinister prize is her ultimate goal.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 18 July 1966, p.16.

'Many lives are at stake while giants of the engineering world struggle for supremacy.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 25 July 1966, p.14.

'Eager to acquire his wife's wealth, a man decides on murder, and soon finds that this art is — simultaneously — not as easy as, and far simpler, than he had imagined.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 1 August 1966, p.16.

'The Blind Balance of Justice weighs out the lives and destinies of two young people, whose meeting has brought about personal tragedy.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 8 August 1966, p.16.

'A big sister's attempts to handle a difficult male model—her younger sister's conquest—leads to a terrifying situation in the apparent safety of her own home.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 15 August 1966, p.14.

'When watchmaker meets a man with a very special wistwatch it sets his partner on the road to a spell in the cells.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 22 August 1966, p.14.

'A man finds himself with an unusual fellow-passenger on a long train journey.'

Source:

[Teleivison guide], The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 August 1966, p.8.

Nothing is known of the cast or storyline of this instalment of Australian Playhouse.

'16 year old Jennifer, alone in her aunt's apartment, discovers that a comedy of errors can lead to a moment of terror.'

Source

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 12 September 1966, p.16.

'When public opinion collides with private beliefs in a small town, the result is a tragedy of intolerance that destroys.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 19 September 1966, p.16.

Nothing is currently known of the cast or storyline of this instalment of Australian Playhouse.

'When a young man fears conscription, it brings him into direct conflict with his father, threatening a relationship that was treasured by both.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 3 October 1966, p.14.

'A very important Political Personage faces a crisis of State with a hard line of glib-tongued, high sounding, deep-probing string of political cliches.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 10 October 1066, p.16.

'A man and woman meet through the arrangement of mutual friends - and their few hours together open doorways to an understanding both deep and tenuous.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 17 October 1966, p.17.

Nothing is currently known of the cast or storyline of this instalment of Australian Playhouse.

Nothing is currently known of the plot of this instalment of Australian Playhouse.

Nothing is currently known of the cast or storyline of this production.

Centres on the stifling effect of small town life on Edith, the central character.

'Edith's life is tarnished by the unknown past of the man she loves, but only he can save her from the suffocation of small-town Australia in the 1890s.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Age 8 June 1967, p.7.

'Tim Douglas, a mischief maker, causes trouble for his friends, but is also trapped in the web of his own making.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 31 July 1967, p.15.

'There is trouble on the 7th floor of a large city business house, but a dedicated band of office cleaners mean to put it right.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 14 August 1967, p.15.

'In a civil war the loyalties of Yvette are put to the test - and she is forced to decide between the man she loves and her country.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 21 August 1967, p.17.

'A shy and lonely country girl discovers hope in the city when a sailor shows her the way to the 'patch of blue'.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 28 August 1967, p.19.

A contemporary television guide offers the following synopsis:

Toby Cambell [sic], the darling of the teenagers, loves both wife and brass guitar, but the idol of success demands that one be sacrificed.'

Source

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 4 September 1967, p.17.

According to a review in The Age,

The title part of played by Peter Whitford as an ambitious young businessman juggling for power. He believes that he must test his potential with women, but Vera [the secretary] doesn't respond to his overtures.

Source:

[Review], The Age, 3 August 1967, p.13.

'The jet-set niece of the quixotic Mr Paisley involves him in a tilt with vice at a notorious keep-fit club.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 18 September 1967, p.17.

'Red Ruby, Queen of Wooloomooloo, retired after 15 years in the 'business' when she receives an unusual inheritance - but inheritances are not always what they seem ...'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 25 September 1967, p.21.

'A TV variety compere discovers a new gimmick to prop up his sagging show. He notices the pleasantries often exchanged by strangers.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Age, 22 August 1967, p.12.

'The social machine breaks down — first in a late-night suburban train and second in an ancient lift. In both cases the man is faced with impenetrable and frightening problems.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 9 October 1967, p.17.

'Mr Caradoc finds that the eternal triangle contains problems of unexpected dimensions.'

Source:

[Television guide], The Canberra Times, 16 October 1967, p.17.

An elderly woman who refuses to leave her house even though it has been bought by developers is visited by a young woman who claims to be fleeing her abusive husband.

A middle-aged man refuses to leave his home, despite his friend's attempts to convince him.

In an austerely imagined twenty-first century, a man tries to die following proper procedures.