form y separately published work icon What the Eye Doesn't See single work   film/TV   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1972... 1972 What the Eye Doesn't See
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection includes the following character notes:

'CLIVE WILLIAMS Man in his early 30's. Building contractor who has become involved in stolen goods racket to help overcome financial difficulties. Basically a bad businessman - when faced with crisis, is inclined to go to water. Sincere, quite good looking.

'SUSAN WILLIAMS His wife, mid 20's. Blinded in an accident not long before. Attractive - strong will, refuses to give in to her plight. Could have been Clive's strength had he been honest with her.

'VIN WILLIAMS Clive's elder brother. In his 40's. A tough parasitic no-hoper. Has been involved in crime most of his life - this time, goes too far. Sadistic quality.

'JENNY Clive's "girl Friday". Slightly kooky, pleasant, efficient, in her 20's.

'DOUG THOMAS Man in mid 30's. Building inspector - takes himself perhaps too seriously. Underneath, probably a normal bloke, but has a touch of the Government Official .... enjoys his title.

'NEDDY Gnarled old contact for stolen goods. Runs a very run-down garage. Lives for what he can get out of life. Cryptic in conversation.

'HERB ARMSTRONG Local bricklayer. About Clive's age, but smaller physically. Normal bloke - just wants his money.

'UNIFORMED CONST. (GRAEME) A slight hint of the know-it-all, very young, inexperienced, keen.

'GARAGE ATTENDANT Youngish. A friendly Stanley, who is perceptive enough to sense something wrong when Hogan is in car with Vin Williams.

'2ND CONST. At Wilga roadblock.'

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.

Affiliation Notes

  • Writing Disability in Australia

    Type of disability Blindness.
    Type of character Primary.
    Point of view Third person.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Note: Storey suggests that Jacob was credited as director and Bennett as film director.
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions ; Network Ten , 1972 .
      Extent: 46 min., 18 secs (according to the script)p.
      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: 56
      1972 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (from the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 68p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The Crawford Collection holds two copies of this script, both copied on pink paper and both labelled 'Episode 4N' on the cover page. Copy 1 has a notation in blue felt pen in the top right-hand corner of the cover page that reads, 'CH.O'. There is no indication on Copy 2 of to whom this copy of the script is designated.
      • Neither copy of the script shows any further signs of annotation.
      • The files contains the following ancillary material, access to some of which is restricted:
        1. Casting call sheets.
        2. Cast list: three identical copies.
        3. 17 copies of the cover page, all identical, stapled together.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC MAT : 56
Last amended 25 Feb 2019 16:16:41
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