person or book cover
Script cover page (Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
form y separately published work icon Three-Legged Duck single work   film/TV   crime   thriller  
Issue Details: First known date: 1972... 1972 Three-Legged Duck
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Danny Scott, the hot tempered skipper of a fishing trawler, is lost at sea.

'Is it murder, as the grieving widow claims? Was it accidental? Or is Danny still alive, hiding out, until his "widow" joins him with the insurance money? Ryan finds out, treading a narrow and dangerous path through a maze of callousness, double-dealing and treachery.'

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


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

'OTTO SILVESKI: 30's Peter Aanesson type. Possibly Scandinavian. Professional fisherman, powerful, commanding, no-nonsense.

'GAIL SCOTT: 20's. Physically attractive wife of missing fisherman. It's hard to imagine why a woman like Gail ever married a pig like Danny ... until we get to know her better. Must drive. Should smoke.

'WALLY SCOTT: 30's. Roger Ward type. Dim-witted brother of missing fisherman. Physically imposing, but with a predominately gentle nature. Like some lumbering dinosaur that doesn't realise it's [sic] own strength. Suffers from claustrophobia, and stutters severely when under stress. Must drive.

'SENIOR SERGEANT WADE: Established character.

'NIGEL COX: Over-zealous, underhanded insurance investigator. The antithesis of everything that Ryan should be.

'HOOKER: Crew member and professional fisherman. Reasonably likeable man.

'DANNY SCOTT: 30's. The missing fisherman, Gail's husband and Wally's brother. His crew refers to him as Captain Bligh, Julie refers to him as a monster, and his own wife says quite certainly that everyone hated his guts. All are true. Drives.

'NAPOLEON: 60's. Professional fisherman of the "Old Salt" variety.

'BARMAN: At local pub.

'SECRETARY: Early 20's, few lines.

'HOTEL DRINKERS.'

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

      1972 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 61p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The Crawford Collection holds two copies of this script, both copied on green paper and both labelled 'Code: CIH'.
      • Copy 1 has a notation in black ink in the upper right-hand corner of the cover page indicating that it is copy number 15 of the script, but there is no indication of to whom this copy is designated. '4' has been written and circled in black felt pen on the cover page. There are no other annotations on this copy of the script.
      • Copy 2 has a notation in black ink in the upper right-hand corner of the cover page, indicating that it is copy number 7 of the script and is designated for Terry Stapleton. This copy is annotated in black ink (not the same ink that made the notation on the cover page): the annotations are alterations to and deletions of dialogue. Note, for example, page 6, where some of the sailor-protagonist’s more colourful language has been struck out. Annotations are minimal (though the above is not the sole example).
      • The file also contains the following ancillary material, access to which is restricted:
        1. Casting call sheets.
        2. Brief synopsis accompanied by cast and crew details.
        3. Brief synopsis accompanied by writer biography and casting notes.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC RYA : 24
Note: According to material held in the Crawford Collection, Conway was credited as director, Binns as assistant director, and Trevor as associate director.
Last amended 12 Mar 2019 08:57:28
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