The Twelve Pound Look is a 1956 live television play which aired on Sydney Australia station ABN-2 (part of ABC) during the opening night of the station.[3] Based on a British stage play by J.M. Barrie, it is significant as it was the very first drama produced for Australian TV.[4][5]
| The Twelve-Pound Look | |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy |
| Based on | play by J.M. Barrie |
| Directed by | Paul O'Loughlin[1] |
| Starring | Margo Lee Alexander Archdale |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins[2] |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 5 November 1956 |
The play was produced in Melbourne for the ABC the following year.
In the early days of Australian television it was common for dramas to be versions of overseas stories.[6]
Kinescope recording existed at the time, and a copy of the play was made - it survives, albeit without sound.[3]
Premise
editHarry Sims is a wealthy businessman who is about to be knighted. He is married to Lady Sims. On the eve of the ceremony Harry engages a typist, Kate, to answer letters of congratulation. Lady Sims and Kate have a conversation, then Kate meets Harry.
It is revealed that Harry and Kate used to be married, until she abandoned him for another man. Harry demands to know why and who the man was. Kate explains that there was no other man, she needed to leave him for her own self respect.
She leaves, with Lady Sims none the wiser to her true identity.
Cast of 1956 production
edit- Margo Lee as Kate
- Alexander Archdale as Sir Harry Sims
- Joan Lord as Lady Sims
Production
editThe play had been performed several times on ABC radio in Australia. The television adaptation was broadcast live from the Arcon Studios in Sydney (this was before the ABC's better known studios at Gore Hill were open).[7]
Thelma Afford did the designs. "All colour is reduced to a scale of nine grey tones," said Afford.[8]
The play was rehearsed at a studio in Forbes St.[9]
"We were probably all a bit nervous, but everything went very smoothly," recalls script assistant Ruth Page.[10]
Joan Lord was later in Elizabeth Refuses and The Wraith.[11]
The budget was £335.[12]
Reception
editAustralian Women's Weekly called the 1956 version "hard to fault. Acting, direction, camera work, make-up and lighting were all excellent."[13]
Filmink reviewing a silent copy wrote "It felt to be a very accomplished, smooth production. The leads can all act, the sets and costumes are impressive, and the camera work is absolutely fine (there were only two cameras but the cuts all make sense). Most of all, Margot Lee is terrific, full of life and spunk, even without sound, and O’Loughlin was smart enough to keep the camera on her most of the time. It is filmed theatre, but skilled filmed theatre – and because the production was so rehearsed there were no technical SNAFUs."[3]
Melbourne 1957 production
edit| The Twelve-Pound Look | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 1 April 1957[14] |
A different adaptation of the play aired in Melbourne on 1 April 1957. It cost more than the Sydney production, the final budget being a reported £684.[15][3]
It aired on ABV-2 (also part of ABC) and was also approx. 30 minutes.[16]
Archival status of this version is unknown.
Cast
edit- Henry Cuthbertson
- Elizabeth Wing
- Mary Ward
- Alfred Bristowe
Production
editHenry Cuthbertson was an ABC drama producer. Mary Ward had recently returned from overseas.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ruth Harris". ABC at Gore Hill.
- ^ "T.V. ABN identifier". ABC Weekly. 3 November 1956. p. 28.
- ^ a b c d Vagg, Stephen (30 January 2022). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: The Twelve Pound Look". Filmink. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "200,000 to see TV open". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 3 November 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Hutchinson, Neil (3 November 1956). "Television Drama" (PDF). ABC Weekly. p. 7.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
- ^ "RED IS DANGEROUS...EVEN ON TV". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 4 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 16 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "Fashion Designer Has Devised Her Tonal Scale for Film". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 October 1956. p. 22.
- ^ Twelve Pound Look at National Film and Sound Archive
- ^ "ABC TV Operations Opening Night". Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ Lane, Richard (2000). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. p. 41.
- ^ Day, Christopher (1981). "TV Drama". In Peter Beilby (ed.). Australian TV: The First 25 Years. Thomas Nelson. p. 135.
- ^ "TELEVISION PARADE". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 24, no. 24. Australia. 14 November 1956. p. 26. Retrieved 20 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 28 March 1957. p. 29.
- ^ Day, Christopher (1981). "TV Drama". In Peter Beilby (ed.). Australian TV: The First 25 Years. Thomas Nelson. p. 136.
- ^ "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.
- ^ "'Live' Barrie Drama Production on TV". The Age. 28 March 1957. p. Supplement 3.
