form y separately published work icon The Final Dividend single work   film/TV   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1976... 1976 The Final Dividend
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Bluey, the man who usually has to dig through both his pockets to find enough to buy his round of drinks, is suddenly head-longed into an investigation where the unsuspecting have been ripped-off to the tune of two million dollars and a value of $250,000 is placed upon the life of a kidnapped young girl.

'Eric Holloway, a developer whose deceit won him the rip-off of millions - but very few friends amongst investors - has served his time and is released from prison. On the day of the release Holloway's 19-year-old daughter, Karen, is snatched before the terrified eyes of her parents. A demand of $250,000 is made for her safe return.

'At first sight, it is an obvious case of revenge in an effort to secure retribution. Ron Nelson is one of several who lost about that amount in the Holloway swindle. He has good and valid reasons to square the account.

'It becomes evident to the criminals who are holding Karen that she is a far more valuable property than their remuneration promised for the job would suggest. They decide to move into the stand-over business on their own behalf. But they lack the nous of the master-mind who originally planned the snatch.

'Things quickly get out of control and end in a disastrous show-down.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).


The script for this episode held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes:

'ERIC HOLLOWAY: 50 years old. Business man, land developer, a smooth type. He plays the concerns father with seeming genuineness, but the man of steel emerges when required. Must drive.

'MARGARET HOLLOWAY: 48 years old. Well born, went to the best schools, has slightly more class than her husband, who probably married her for her money. She is aware of this, and of his philanderings, but she still loves him and would do anything to keep him, except give him more money. She has strength of character and knows how to handle hired hands and this is exactly what the police represent to her.

'ALAN BREWSTER: 40 years old. A soft man, but he manages to hide this behind a brusque front until he thinks Karen has been murdered. Then he is lost. Must drive.

'KAREN HOLLOWAY: 19 years old. A soft, pretty girl but with a brain. She can play things coolly if she thinks she has a chance of achieving a positive result.

'SAM CARRUTHERS: 35 years old. An Englishman. A smooth type, would never think of himself as a common criminal. It's just an easy way to make money. Very cool, always controlled. Must drive.

'FRANK REYNOLDS: 35 years old. An Englishman. Similar type to Carruthers, but quieter. He's quite happy to let Carruthers do the talking. Very cool, always controlled.

'SUSIE BILLINGS: Late 30's. An attractive woman, good at business but has the same hidden softness as her brother, Alan Brewster.

'DINGO FERRIS: 30's. A hardened criminal, can commit murder when required, but only for money. Rides a motorbike.

'REGGIE BISHOP: 40's. An overworked businessman.

'TAXI DRIVER: 40's Typical loud mouth.'

'MAN: )

'WOMAN: ) Both elderly.'

Notes

  • This entry has been compiled from archival research in the Crawford Collection (AFI Research Collection), undertaken by Dr Catriona Mills under the auspices of the 2012 AFI Research Collection (AFIRC) Research Fellowship.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions , 1976 .
      Extent: 44min. 10secs. (according to the script)p.
      Series: form y separately published work icon Bluey Robert Caswell , Vince Moran , Everett de Roche , James Wulf Simmonds , Tom Hegarty , Gwenda Marsh , Colin Eggleston , David Stevens , Peter A. Kinloch , Keith Thompson , Gregory Scott , Peter Schreck , Denise Morgan , Monte Miller , Ian Jones , John Drew , David William Boutland , Jock Blair , Melbourne : Crawford Productions Seven Network , 1976 Z1815063 1976 series - publisher film/TV crime detective

      According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series, Bluey (and its Sydney-based rival, King's Men) 'constituted an attempt to revive the police genre after the cancellations of Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police'.

      Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, summarises the program as follows:

      Bluey is a maverick cop who breaks every stereotype image. He drinks, smokes and eats to excess, and therefore is rather large, but it is his unusual investigative methods that set him apart. He has bent or broken every rule in the book at some stage, to the point where no-one else wants to work with him. But he gets results, and is therefore too valuable to lose, so the powers-that-be banish him to the basement of Russell Street Police Headquarters where he is set up in his own department, a strategem that keeps him out of the way of other cops.

      Moran adds that 'Grills, Diedrich and Nicholson turned in solid performances in the series and the different episodes were generally well paced, providing engaging and satisfying entertainment.'

      The program sold well overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. But though it rated well domestically, it was not the success that the Seven Network had hoped for, and was cancelled after 39 episodes.

      Bluey had an unexpected revival in the early 1990s when selections from the video footage (over-dubbed with a new vocal track) were presented during the second series of the ABC comedy The Late Show as the fictional police procedural Bargearse. (The Late Show had given ABC gold-rush drama Rush the same treatment in series one.)

      Number in series: 3
      1976 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 73p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection is the original: typed on thin white paper and amended throughout with liquid paper. Amendments appear to be limited to corrections at the level of copy editing: for example, on page 5, 'THE LETTER' has been corrected to 'A LETTER' in the stage directions. The amendments are also relatively infrequent.
      • The script includes character notes.
      • The script contains no indication as to whose copy of the script this was.
      • The script is labelled 'Code 11508' and 'Episode No. Seven' on the cover page, but was aired as episode three.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC BLU : 3
Last amended 29 May 2013 10:01:20
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