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

'Tom Jessup, a hack journalist recently returned from the United States, is murdered in a sleazy hotel room. He is buried, apparently penniless and unmourned.

'But then, into Melbourne's International Airport, jets Ms. Terry Davis, a castrating American in the Germaine Greer mould, who presides over an international fashion empire. She summons Ryan and instructs him to find Jessup's murderer and the $250,000 she gave Jessup to set up an Australian branch of her organisation.

'Ryan - his masculinity bristling - does just that, but meantime there are two bizarre attempts on Terry's life and the exposure of a gigantic confidence trick. Ryan discovers elements in Ms. Davis' background and submits her to an emotional exorcism which leaves her older, sadder, - and infinitely more likeable.

'A feature of this episode is a quite unscheduled scene in which Ryan's Valiant Charger plunges into a lake at 70 m.p.h. The footage was so exciting (and, miraculously, no-one was hurt) that the script was hastily ammended [sic] to accommodate the event.'

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):

'TERRY DAVIS: American, early thirties, a Germaine Greer type. Extremely attractive, dynamic business woman who has built an empire. At the end of her association with Ryan, she softens considerably.

'ROBERT PRICE: 25-30. Practically everyone loathes him except his lover, Tom Jessup. He is a queer and there is some evidence of the fascination he holds for Jessup. He is given to hysterics, and forced to commit a murder. Drives a car.

'JOE MARTIN: 50's, a hardened, cynical but rather likeable newspaper editor who helps Ryan. Two solid scenes.

'THE CARETAKER: 40's - a large, brutish thug who has co-operated with Robert Price. The caretaker tangles with Ryan, so should look capable of fighting. He also has a dry line in stock criminal dialogue.

'JOHNNY QUINN: 35-45. A reporter acquaintance who helps Ryan. One scene, smart patter.

'LINDSAY: 50ish. Poses successfully as a man servant and conspires to kill Terry Davis. Handful of lines.

'MRS. AMES: 40ish - poses as a cook. One scene, no lines.

'MRS. DEWEY: 40-50. Prim and proper secretarial type at an employment agency. One scene with Tony in which she airs her views with impatience and without humour.

'MR. HEDLEY: 40-50. Everyone's idea of the manager of a funeral parlour. Solemn, solicitous, professionally mournful. One longish scene with Julie.

'THE FAKE TOM JESSUP: 40ish. Should be the same height and general type as the real one. Is murdered in the first segment but has a few lines with the caretaker and Price, and should be well cast to get the show off to a good start.

'THE REAL TOM JESSUP: 40ish. His main contribution is an extended chase and fight with Ryan. We don't see much of his face, but the glimpses we do get should suggest a ruthless attractiveness.

'SGT. CULLEN: Established.

'8/9 EXTRAS: (check budget) for airport arrival scene.'

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

      1972 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (from the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 75p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The script is copied on green paper and labelled with 'Code: CIX' on the cover page.
      • The script has a notation in black felt pen in the upper right-hand corner of the cover page, indicating that this is copy number 24 and that it is designated for 'M&L'. '8' is written on the cover page in black felt pen.
      • There are no other annotations on this copy of the script.
      • The Crawford Collection also contains a second copy of the script (unannotated), filed separately.
      • The file contains the following ancillary material:
        1. Publicity storyline with cast and crew details.
        2. One-page synopsis.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC RYA : 8
Note: According to material held in the Crawford Collection, Wincer was credited as director, Johnstone as assistant director, and Tanno as associate director.
Last amended 30 May 2013 16:32:38
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