A Little South of Heaven

Last updated

A Little South of Heaven
Based onradio play by D'Arcy Niland
Ruth Park
Written by George F. Kerr
Directed by Alan Burke [1]
StarringOwen Weingott
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerLes Weldon
Running time60 mins
Production companyABC
Original release
Release19 April 1961 (1961-04-19) (Sydney)
Release13 September 1961 (1961-09-13) (Melbourne, taped) [2] [3]

A Little South of Heaven is Australian live television play which aired in 1961 on ABC. It was based on a radio play by D'Arcy Niland and Ruth Park. [4] [5]

Contents

Plot

Set in Sydney. An Italian widow who has moved to Australia plans a marriage for her son Primo to an Italian, Serena, despite his affections for an Australian, Ruby. However he sends Serena the photo of Primo's more handsome cousin Franki. [6]

Cast

Radio play

It was based on a radio play that had been performed in Australia and on the BBC in 1960. [7] The BBC production starred Ina De La Haye and Robert Rietty.

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald TV critic called it "rather stale fare" as the plot and characters were too predictable, adding that thematically the play "a warm-blooded extension of an Immigration Department pamphlet; bur its mainspring was a device as old as comedy and diplomacy... A neat, visually fluent, but also stodgily predictable, 60 minutes of viewing." [8]

Val Marshall of the same paper thought it was almost as good as The Big Day , "a play that has remained pretty much par for the course for Australian TV drama ever since". She felt "in spite of some miscasting and an occasional spot where action bogged down in words... [it] came off remarkably well." [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Bruce Robert Stewart was an actor and scriptwriter best known for his scripts for television. Originally from New Zealand, he lived for several years in Australia, working in the theatre, before moving to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. There he worked on many projects for both the BBC and ITV, notably Out of the Unknown and Timeslip.

<i>Stormy Petrel</i> (TV series) Television series

Stormy Petrel is an early Australian television drama. A period drama, the 12-episode serial told the story of William Bligh and aired in 1960 on ABC. It was the first live TV serial from the ABC.

Bodgie is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television play with filmed sequences, which aired on ABC during 1959. Originally broadcast on 12 August 1959 in Sydney on ABN-2, a kinescope recording was made of the program and shown in Melbourne on ABV-2 on 2 September 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reflections in Dark Glasses</span> 12th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"Reflections in Dark Glasses" is an Australian television film, or rather a television play, which aired in 1960. It aired as part of Shell Presents, which consisted of monthly presentations of stand-alone television dramas. It was written by Sydney writer James Workman, and is notable as an early example of Australian-written television drama. It was broadcast live in Sydney on 6 February 1960, then recorded and shown in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful</span> 4th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful" is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television play, which aired live on 27 June 1959 in Sydney, and on 8 August 1959 in Melbourne. It aired as part of Shell Presents, a monthly presentation of standalone productions which aired from 1959 to 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne.

The Big Day (<i>Shell Presents</i>) 5th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"The Big Day" is an Australian television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. The fifth episode of the Shell Presents presentations of standalone television dramas, it originally aired 11 July 1959 on Melbourne station GTV-9, a video-tape was made of the broadcast and shown on Sydney station ATN-7 on 25 July 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Picnic Tomorrow</span> 11th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"No Picnic Tomorrow" is an Australian television drama one-off which aired in 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne. Part of the Shell Presents series of one-off television dramas and comedies, it was produced in Melbourne, but first shown in Sydney on 9 January 1960, and on 23 January 1960 Melbourne.

<i>The Sergeant from Burralee</i> 1961Australian television play

The Sergeant from Burralee is an Australian television play written by Phillip Grenville Mann. The play was also broadcast by the BBC and screened for West German television.

Swamp Creatures is a play by the Australian author Alan Seymour. He wrote it for radio, stage and TV. It was Seymour's first produced play.

Patricia Hooker was an Australian writer who worked extensively in England. She wrote for TV, radio and the stage.

The Little Woman is a 1961 Australian comedy TV play written by Patricia Hooker and broadcast on the ABC.

"Wall to Wall" is the sixth television play episode of the first season of the Australian anthology television series Australian Playhouse. "Wall to Wall" was written by Ann Kinloch and directed by Eric Taylor and originally aired on ABC on 23 May 1966 It starred Gwen Plumb and was shot in Sydney.

One Morning Near Troodos (1956) was a British TV play by Iain MacCormick which aired on the BBC as part of Sunday Night Theatre. It was the first British TV play about the Cyprus Emergency.

George F. Kerr was an English writer best known for his work in TV. He worked for eight years in British TV as a writer and script editor.

Eye of the Night is a 1960 Australian television play. It was written by Kay Keavney and directed by Christopher Muir.

The First Joanna is a 1943 play by Dorothy Blewett that was adapted for radio and television.

Who Killed Kovali? is a 1960 Australian television play. It had previously been filmed for British TV in 1957.

Quiet Night is a 1941 Australian play by Dorothy Blewett.

Kain is a 1966 play loosely based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. It was the first co production between the ABC and the BBC.

The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day was a 1960 Australian TV play based on the stage play of the same name by Peter Kenna.

References

  1. ↑ "LIVE DRAMA AND MUSIC ON ABC TELEVISION". The Canberra Times . 11 December 1962. p. 27. Retrieved 4 June 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Migrant's Home is South of Heaven". The Age. 7 September 1961. p. 12.
  3. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 7 September 1961. p. 31.
  4. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 7 September 1961. p. 16.
  5. ↑ Radio play details [ permanent dead link ] at AustLit
  6. ↑ "Drama Set in Sydney". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 April 1961. p. 11.
  7. ↑ The Age 12 Feb 1959
  8. ↑ "Sydney play on television". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 April 1961. p. 7.
  9. ↑ Marshall, Valda (23 April 1961). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 84.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.