Roundabout (1957 film)

Roundabout is a television movie, or rather a live television play, which aired on Australian television in 1957. Broadcast 4 January 1957 on ABC station ABV-2, it is notable as the first example of television drama produced in Melbourne.[3][4]

Roundabout
Ad from 4 Jan 1957
Based onplay by Michael Clayton-Hutton
Written byWilliam Sterling
Directed byBill Eldridge
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time30 mins[1]
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABV-2
Release4 January 1957 (1957-01-04)[2]

It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare.[5]

"Official" television broadcasting in the city had only begun two months earlier. There seems to have been a Melbourne production and a Sydney production, as happened with The Twelve Pound Look.

Plot

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The original TV listing in The Age newspaper described the plot as "a woman's reactions to her husband's suspected affair with another woman".[6]

Melbourne cast

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Production

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The show is based on a 1952 one-act play by Michael Clayton-Hutton.

A Melbourne production was aired live on 4 January 1957 over 30 minutes. Production was by Bill Eldridge.[7] Filming took place at ABC's studios at Ripponlea. Star Patrick Horgan was appearing on stage at the time and had to get in a taxi to the theatre after filming.[8] Beverly Dunn went on to appear in a number of live TV productions.[9]

Sydney production

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Roundabout
Based onplay by Michael Clayton-Hutton[10]
Directed byRaymond Menmuir
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release19 February 1957 (1957-02-19)[11]

A Sydney production was directed by Raymond Menmuir and aired February 19, 1957.[12][13]

Cast

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 3 January 1957. p. 20.
  2. ^ "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 4 January 1957. p. 18. Retrieved 11 May 2020 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "From School Plays to Success on TV". The Age. 19 September 1958. p. 20.
  4. ^ "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.
  5. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  6. ^ "ABC Channel 2". The Age. 3 January 1957. p. 11.
  7. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 3 January 1957. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Drama, Interviews "Live" on ABV-2". The Age. 3 January 1957. p. 15.
  9. ^ Lane, Richard (2000). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. pp. 132–134.
  10. ^ "TV—Channel 2 ABN". ABC Weekly. Vol. 19, no. 7. 16 February 1957. p. 31.
  11. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 January 1957. p. 14.
  12. ^ "TV—Channel 2 ABn". ABC Weekly. 19 February 1957. p. 39.
  13. ^ "TV, Radio Programs". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 February 1957. p. 13.
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