Cirrus

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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):

'HANNA LEITZ: About 56. Came to Australia from Poland in 1958. Speaks English with a heavy accent. A small woman whose life is dominated by her adoration for her dead son, and her formidable guilt complex on the other. Devout Orthodox Jew.
'CRAIG HENDERSON: 17, but looks younger. A golden headed boy, charming on the surface, but with a violent sadistic streak. Australian.
'MRS CONNOR: Garrulous busybody of Irish ancestry. Very loud, and about 45.
'ITALIAN DRUNK: Expansive drunken shearers cook. 40.
'MORGAN: Night manager of service station. 55?
'WARD SISTER: Mid 30s. Efficient, practical.
'OLD MAN: 70. All he lives for is his dog. Decrepit.
'FRANK HENDERSON: 45. Alcoholic crim. Has been in Pentridge most of his life. It is essential that neither he nor Rita (below) should be played for laughs.
'RITA: Frank's mistress. 40. Fat and blowsy. Please don't send her up.
'GARAGE MANAGER: 40. Cheerful Australian.
'ATTENDANT: 22. Mechanic. Australian.
'ETHEL JACOBS: The antithesis of Hanna. A cheerful, jolly woman. 50. Preferably Jewish.
'POLICE CONSTABLE ONE: Young, speaking
'POLICE CONSTABLE TWO: Young, speaking'.

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

Director: John Jacob ; David Hinrichsen

Note: Crawford Productions tribute website (crawfordproductions.tv) suggstes that Hinrichsen was credited as director and Jacob as studio director.

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work

Publisher: Crawford Productions ; Nine Network

Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions ; Nine Network , 1974 .

Extent: 48 min. 31 secs (according to the script)p.

Series: form y Division 4 Howard Griffiths , Charles E. Stamp , Douglas Tainsh , Luis Bayonas , Everett de Roche , Gwenda Marsh , Ted Roberts , Roger Simpson , Sonia Borg , Colin Eggleston , Michael Harvey , Phil Freedman , John Dingwall , Jonathan Dawson , Ray Chamula , David William Boutland , Tom Mclennan , Ian Jones , Keith Hetherington , Tom Hegarty , David Stevens , Terry Stapleton , Mark Randall , John Orcsik , Don Battye , Melbourne : Crawford Productions , 1969 Z1814717 1969 series - publisher film/TV detective crime Abstract
Division 4, which Don Storey notes in Classic Australian Television was 'the only drama series on Australian television to rival the popularity of Homicide', was created as a vehicle for Gerard Kennedy, who had risen to popularity playing the complicated enemy agent Kragg in spy-show Hunter, after Tony Ward's departure left Hunter's future in doubt.
According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series:
The series differed from Homicide in being more oriented to the situation and milieu of a suburban police station staffed by a mixture of plainclothes detectives and uniformed policemen. This kind of situation allowed Division 4 to concentrate on a range of crimes, from major ones such as murder to minor ones such as larceny.
Though set in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Yarra Central, 'Sets were constructed that were replicas of the actual St Kilda police station charge counter and CIB room, with an attention to detail that extended to having the same picture hanging on the wall', according to Storey.
Division 4 ended in 1976. Storey adds:
Division 4's axing was a dark day for Australian television, as within months the other two Crawford cop shows on rival networks, Matlock Police and Homicide, were also axed. It was widely believed, and still is, that the cancellation of the three programs was an attempt by the three commercial networks--acting in collusion--to wipe out Crawford Productions, and consequently cripple the local production industry.
Number in series: 253

1974 .

Script cover page (from the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)

Div4Ep253CoverScan_FXYt.jpg

Extent: 63p.
(Manuscript) assertion

Note/s:

The script is copied on a combination of blue and white paper and labelled 'Episode VV4' on the cover page. A notation in the upper right-hand corner of the cover page reads 'Jan Randall'. According to the Crawford Productions tribute website (crawfordproductions.tv), Janet Randall worked in the publicity department.

The script includes covering the prayers of the primary character, a devout Orthodox Jew. The prayers are 'Blessing Over the Sabbath Candles' and 'The Mourners Kaddish'. At the bottom of this page, a note reads (in all caps) 'See Bronwyn Binns who has details of advice on the religious aspects of this script.'

There is an annotation on page 43 in black ink, noting the change of a scene from film to live (something that is also listed on the memo of alterations). There are no other annotations on this copy of the script.

The file also contains the following ancillary material:
1. A one-page memo from '"Division 4" script editing department' to 'All concerned with the production of "Division 4" episode VV4 "The Woman from Poland".' The memo outlines a series of changes from the deletion of entire scenes to the relatively minor alteration of dialogue. The memo also has 'Jan Randall' hand-written in the top right-hand corner.

Holdings

Held at: AFI Research Collection

Local Id: SC DIV : 253

Note:
AFI Research Collection record

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Last amended 22 May 2013 15:45:29

John Jacob

David Hinrichsen

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