Chance of a Ghost

Last updated

Chance of a Ghost
Genrethriller
Based onplay by James Carhartt and Nicholas Winter
Written byJames Carhartt
Directed by Royston Morley
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release26 February 1958 (1958-02-26) (Sydney, live) [1]
Release28 March 1958 (1958-03-28) (Melbourne, taped) [2]

Chance of a Ghost is a 1958 Australian television play directed by Royston Morley and written by James Carhartt based on a play by Carhartt and Nicholas Winter. It was based on a radio play. [3] Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. [4]

Contents

Plot

On New Year's Eve, a party of Americans have a celebrations at a penthouse where 20 years before a musical comedy star had been killed. One member of the party, Serena, becomes interested in the story. She becomes so obsessed she is "possessed" by the spirit of the dead woman and begins to look and behave like her.

Cast

Production

The idea for the plot came from a murder committed at the Medical Arts Building in New York. "For years afterwards no one would rent the place and it became known as the haunted penthouse," said James Carhartt who turned it into a play with Nicholas Winter. Carhartt was an American who moved to Sydney and he adapted the play for Australian television. [5] He wrote such plays for Australian radio as Finger Your Neck.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Anderson</span> Australian stage and screen actress (1897–1992)

Dame Frances Margaret Anderson,, known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award. She is considered one of the 20th century's greatest classical stage actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Lockhart</span> American actress (born 1925)

June Lockhart is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol and Meet Me in St. Louis. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on stage and in film. On two television series, Lassie and Lost in Space, she played mother roles. She also portrayed Dr. Janet Craig on the CBS television sitcom Petticoat Junction (1968–70). She is a two-time Emmy Award nominee and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning nearly 90 years, she is one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret O'Brien</span> American film, television and stage actress

Angela Maxine O'Brien is an American actress. Beginning a prolific career in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four, O'Brien became one of the most popular child stars in cinema history and was honored with a Juvenile Academy Award as the outstanding child actress of 1944. In her later career, she has appeared on television, on stage, and in supporting film roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Canterville Ghost</span> 1887 short story by Oscar Wilde

"The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in The Court and Society Review, 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American family who moved to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead English nobleman, who killed his wife and was then walled in and starved to death by his wife's brothers. It has been adapted for the stage and screen several times.

Adaptations of <i>A Christmas Carol</i> Works based on Charles Dickenss 1843 novella

A Christmas Carol, the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens (1812–1870), is one of the English author's best-known works. It is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy miser who hates Christmas but who is transformed into a caring, kindly person through the visitations of four ghosts. The classic work has been dramatised and adapted countless times for virtually every medium and performance genre, and new versions appear regularly.

Captain Carvallo is a traditional comedy play in three acts by Denis Cannan, telling the story of a philandering young army officer, Captain Carvallo.

Miss Mabel is a 1948 stage play by R. C. Sherriff. It has been adapted for television at least five times.

Treason is a 1959 Australian television live drama, which aired on ABC about the 20 July plot during World War Two. Originally broadcast 16 December 1959 in Melbourne, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the program and shown in Sydney on 13 January 1960. It was an adaptation of a stage play by Welsh writer Saunders Lewis, which had previously been adapted as an episode of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre.

If It's a Rose is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television comedy play, which aired in 1958 on ABC. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.

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.

His Excellency is a 1958 Australian television film.

Dark Brown is an early Australian television film, broadcast during 1957 on ABC.

One Bright Day is a 1958 Australian television play. It aired on the ABC and was directed by Ray Menmuir. It aired as part of Monday Night Theatre.

<i>The Duke in Darkness</i> 1942 psychological drama play

The Duke in Darkness is a 1942 play by Patrick Hamilton. A psychological drama set during the French Wars of Religion, it was first staged on 7 September 1942 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. It ran for 72 performances at the St. James Theatre, London, and had a brief run on Broadway in 1944.

An Enemy of the People is a 1958 Australian television play starring James Condon. It was based on the 1882 play by Henrik Ibsen and was updated to a contemporary Australian setting. It was broadcast live.

Small Victory is a 1958 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was set during the Korean War. It was directed by William Sterling and was shot in Melbourne where it aired 26 March 1958.

Gaslight is a 1958 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation based on the 1938 play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton. It starred Beverley Dunn.

<i>The Governess</i> (1958 film) 1958 Australian TV series or program

The Governess is a 1958 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation based on a play by Patrick Hamilton, which had been performed several times on Australian radio. It was directed by William Sterling who had previously directed an adaptation of Hamilton's Gaslight (1958).

A Rose without a Thorn is a 1958 Australian television play about King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine Howard. It was directed by Alan Burke from a play by Clifford Bax. The play was shown live in Sydney, recorded, then shown in Melbourne.

<i>Call Me a Liar</i> 1961 television film directed by William Sterling

Call Me a Liar is a 1961 Australian TV play. It was shot in Melbourne in studio with some location work. It was Channel 2's 49th live play.

References

  1. "Untitled". ABC Weekly. 26 February 1958. p. 7.
  2. "TV Guide". The Age. 27 March 1958. p. 26.
  3. "Advertising". The Canberra Times . Vol. 31, no. 9, 208. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 June 1957. p. 11. Retrieved 20 May 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  4. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. "Us Author in Australia Adapts Own Play for TV". The Age. 27 March 1958. p. 23.