form y separately published work icon Squaring Off single work   film/TV   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1973... 1973 Squaring Off
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'HUGH ROBINSON (ROBBO): Mid-thirties, professional safecracker, born and bred in Matlock but moved to Sydney after a couple of close brushes with the law. A likeable easy-going rogue with a touch of the blarney.

'BABS TAYLOR: About 40. Robbo's elder sister. Forthright and honest she lives in hope of reforming her brother and looks after his daughter Lisa. (Robbo's marriage broke up a few years previously, for reasons which should become obvious). A rugged, no-nonsense personality with a soft spot for Robbo.

'EARL TAYLOR: About 40. Earl married Babs about five years ago under the false impression that he could induce her to sell the property and thus live off the proceeds. Basically lazy, he has a patent aversion to farm life and suffers periodically from hay fever. (Must Drive)

'FRANK NASH / WES PARKER: Late thirties, early forties. Two heavies working out of Sydney. Tough, ruthless professionals with a score to settle. (One of them must drive)

'LISA ROBINSON: Robbo's fourteen year old daughter. Idolises her father but aware of his short comings [sic]: loves horses. She proves a major stumbling block in her father's plans to escape. (Does not have to ride)

'KEITH HARDING: Fifties. Manager of the Matlock Dairymen's co-op.

'TRUCK DRIVER: Thirties. Small part.

'JIMMY MULLIGAN/CHICKA DEMPSEY: Forties. Drunken pub brawlers.

'DRIVER AT ROADBLOCK: No lines.'


A character has been deleted from the character notes: 'HEATHER GREEN: Twenties. Receptionist at the Regal Motel'.

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: see The Writer in Australian Television History.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions ; Network Ten , 1973 .
      Extent: 48 min. 35 secs (according to the script)p.
      Note/s:
      • According to Storey, Jacob was credited as director, Sheen as film director, and Burstall as assistant film director.
      Series: form y separately published work icon Matlock Police Terry Stapleton , Ian Jones , Everett de Roche , Ian Jones , Terry Stapleton , Keith Hetherington , Patrick Edgeworth , Tom Hegarty , Douglas Tainsh , Graeme Koetsveld , Peter A. Kinloch , Sonia Borg , Don Battye , Robert Caswell , George T. Miller , Gwenda Marsh , Cliff Green , Vince Moran , Luis Bayonas , David William Boutland , Phil Freedman , Keith Thompson , Denise Morgan , C.F. Barnes , Robert Bruce , Alan Cram , Vern Perry , Martin Robbins , John Dingwall , George Mallaby , Jim Stapleton , Simon Wincer , Melbourne Australia : Crawford Productions Network Ten , 1971-1976 Z1638563 1971 series - publisher film/TV detective crime

      The Matlock Police series (originally simply titled Matlock) was commissioned from Crawford Productions by ATV-0, in response to the popularity of rival-network police dramas such as Homicide and Division 4. Crawford's was initially reluctant to create another police series, but ATV-0 pressured the company for some time. Eventually, Ian Jones and Terry Stapleton devised the concept of a regional (Victorian) police series to provide viewers with something different. The more relaxed atmosphere of the country-town setting also allowed the writers to delve into the private lives of the main characters, rather than focusing heavily on big-city organised crime. In this respect, the series was situated somewhere between Homicide/Division 4 and Bellbird. The series did, however, cover typical rural policing, including such issues as break and enters, domestic issues, itinerant workers, brawls, petty crime and robberies, road accidents, the occasional homicide, and cattle rustling. On other occasions, the Matlock police also assisted Melbourne police in locating criminals on the run (among other problems). The idea behind the show was to reflect the causes of crime in a small community and show the effects on both the community and the officers themselves.

      The fictional town of Matlock (loosely based on Shepparton in Victoria) is situated inland on the Central Highway, approximately 160 kilometres north of Melbourne. Although the town's population is only seventeen thousand, this increases to around seventy-five thousand when the district is included. The Matlock Police Station is typical of a Victorian country town, with a Uniform Branch and a Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB). The CIB is headed by Detective Sergeant Vic Maddern, who grew up in the Matlock district and is an accomplished bushman. Second in command is Detective Allan Curtis, aged in his mid-twenties. Previously from Melbourne, Curtis has just been sent to his first country posting (against his will) when the series begins. Head of the Uniform Branch is Sergeant Bert Kennedy, an Englishman who migrated to Australia in 1950. A thorough but also easy-going man with a good sense of humour, Kennedy is married to Nell and enjoys the country life in Matlock, so much so that he has knocked back promotion to avoid moving to Melbourne. Several constables are attached to the Uniform Branch, but the most prominent is a motorcycle cop, Constable Gary Hogan, who performs a wide variety of duties. Hogan is about thirty, a friendly, easy-going person who grew up in the country and is always willing to help in whatever work is going.

      Number in series: 121
      1973 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 62p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The script is copied on pink paper and labelled 'Episode 8W' on the cover page. There is no indication on the cover page of to whom this copy of the script was designated, but the cover page is annotated in lead pencil (numeric annotations).
      • The character notes are annotated in both blue ink and lead pencil (marking the deletion of a single character).
      • Page 38 is printed on shiny cream paper instead of the matte pink paper of the rest of the script, but nothing else about it indicates that it is an amended page.
      • There is a scribble in blue ink on page 19, then no further annotations on the script.
      • The file includes the following ancillary material, access to which is restricted:
        1. Cast list
        2. Videotape artists' roll (two identical copies)
        3. Casting call sheets

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC MAT : 121
Last amended 29 Mar 2017 16:59:30
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