Cast
- Muriel Steinbeck as Julia Parrish [2]
- Queenie Ashton as Granny Bishop
- Leonard Bullen as Steve Meadows
- Janette Craig as Meg Parrish
- John Juson as Mark
- Diana Perryman as Julie
- Owen Weingott as Larry Muir [3]
| Autumn Affair | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Screenplay by | Richard Lane |
| Directed by | |
| Starring | Muriel Steinbeck |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 156 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 15 mins |
| Original release | |
| Network | ATN-7 |
| Release | 24 October 1958 – 1959 |
Autumn Affair is an Australian television series made by and aired by Network Seven station ATN-7, and also shown in Melbourne on Nine Network station GTV-9. [1] Television in Australia had only been broadcasting since 1956 and Seven was the first commercial station to make drama a priority. It premiered 24 October 1958 and continued until 1959. The series was the first ever Australian television soap opera. It was also the second regular Australian-produced dramatic television series of any kind, with previous locally produced drama consisting of religious series The House on the Corner , and one-off plays largely aired on ABC.
The love lives of a middle aged widow, Julia, and her daughter, Meg.
The program was conceived from a conversation between radio writer Richard Lane and Len Mauger, station manager of Seven. There was a quarter hour gap in the schedule and Mauger was keen to develop use of video tape for drama. It was decided to make a 15-minute show using skills developed by those involved in The House on the Corner . [4]
Originally conceived as Julia: An Early Autumn Affair, the title was later shortened to just Autumn Affair.
Many of the actors and writers involved in the production had previously worked on radio soap opera, and were inexperienced with television acting.
Episodes were fifteen minutes in duration, recorded as kinescopes in black and white, and were screened Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:45 AM. a part of the station's Today breakfast program. [5] [6]
There were three main conditions for the production:
The series went into production without a sponsor, as the station ATN7 wanted to gain experience in television drama production.
The cast comprised just six regulars; the story focused on Julia (Muriel Steinbeck), a widow in a love triangle situation with two men.
Filmink later wrote that "Steinbeck was... a natural choice to play the lead... She laughed, loved and suffered with jolly good decency – the quintessential Muriel Steinbeck part." [7] Ailsa McPherson, who worked on the show as script assistant, wrote "for performance quality Autumn Affair relied heavily on Muriel Steinbeck's professionalism and her photographic memory. She had a prodigious capacity to remember lines and to be almost word perfect after reading them aloud only three or so times. It saved the episode on a good many occasions." [4]
The series was well-received when originally broadcast. [8]
Richard Lane wrote every episode. There were only two main sets and a could of small side pieces. Actors also would leave the series - Janette Craig accepted the role of Bubba in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and had to be written out. [4]
David Cahill left the show after directing 72 episodes. He was replaced by Ken Hannam. [4] The series ended in 1959 after 156 episodes.
In a 1960 article in Sydney Morning Herald, it was noted that although mistakes were made during the production of the series due to inexperience, it nevertheless paved the way for improved locally produced drama productions. [9]
Actors who appeared in the show included Muriel Steinbeck, Queenie Ashton, Diana Perryman (MBE (died 1979)(the sister of actress and singer Jill Perryman), Janet Craig, Leonard Bullen and Owen Weingott. [10]
Cast members Queenie Ashton and Janette Craig had previously appeared in a 1957 ABC TV play together called Tomorrow's Child , [11] though it is not known if a copy of the production still exists.
Every episode except for two of this series are held by the National Film and Sound Archive. [5]
In 1964 HSV-7 Melbourne repeated the series, along with early 1960s Australian soap opera The Story of Peter Grey . [12] In 1964 CTC-7 in Canberra screened the series along with Peter Grey, [13] the station having not been in operation during the original run of the series. CTC kept the repeats on their schedule into 1966. [14]
A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
Emergency is an Australian television series produced by Nine Network Melbourne station GTV-9 in 1959.
The Story of Peter Grey was an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network and first broadcast in July 1962. James Condon starred in the title role as a church minister.
Whiplash was a British/Australian television series in the Australian Western genre, produced by the Seven Network, ATV, and ITC Entertainment, and starring Peter Graves. Filmed in 1959-60, the series was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in September 1960, and in Australia in February 1961.
Brian James was an Australian radio, stage, television and film actor.
Ethel Muriel Ashton, known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio and television soap opera roles, although she did also feature briefly in films.
Muriel Myee Steinbeck was an Australian actress who worked extensively in radio, theatre, television and film. She is best known for her performance as the wife of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in Smithy (1946) and for playing the lead role in Autumn Affair (1958–59), Australia's first television serial.
Jonah is an Australian television drama series which aired for 20 episodes starting from 15 October 1962 on the Seven Network. Produced during an era when commercial television in Australia produced few dramatic series, Jonah was a period drama, and was inspired by the success of ABC's period drama mini-series like Stormy Petrel.
Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.
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.
Tomorrow's Child is an Australian television film, or rather a live one-off television play, which aired in 1957 on ABC. Directed by Raymond Menmuir, it is notable as an early example of Australian television comedy and was Australia's first live hour long drama.
"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.
Killer in Close-Up was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television.
The House on the Corner is an early Australian television program which aired from 1957 to 1958. A 10-minute segment on Sydney station ATN-7, it was a drama about a family, and was produced by the Christian Television Association. Cast included Harry Howlett, his wife also played a role, as well as Rosemary Barker and Annette Andre.
"Johnny Belinda" was a 1959 Australian TV adaptation of the 1940 play by Elmer Harris which had been filmed in 1948. It was the first "live" one hour drama on commercial television in Australia.
Owen Ash Weingott was an Australian actor, director and drama teacher. Although primarily working in theatre, he appeared on radio and television in serials and made for television films and voice overs. Weingott was vice-president of the Australian actors union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. He appeared in the very first Australian soap opera Autumn Affair, opposite Muriel Steinbeck, and is well known for his role as Mr. Walter Bertram, a demented school principal in the first season of Home and Away
"Other People's Houses" is the second episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. It was based on a play by Tad Mosel and starred Diana Perryman and was directed by David Cahill. It aired on 2 May 1959 in Sydney and on 3 October 1959 in Melbourne.
"Thunder on Sycamore Street" is a 1960 Australian television play directed by David Cahill. It was based on a script by Reginald Rose. It aired on 23 July 1960 in Melbourne and Sydney.
Diana Perryman credited also as Diane Perryman, was an Australian actress, who appeared in stage, film and television.
Janette Craig is an Australian actress best known for her performance as Bubba in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959).
