Dinner with the Family

Last updated

Dinner with the Family
Based onplay by Jean Anouilh
Written by Philip Albright [1]
Directed by Christopher Muir
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time75 mins [2]
Production companyABC
Original release
Network ABC
Release26 August 1959 (1959-08-26) (Melbourne, live) [3]
Release2 September 1959 (1959-09-02) (Sydney, taped) [4]

Dinner with the Family is a 1959 Australian TV play. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. [5] It featured English star Jessie Matthews in her first Australian TV appearance - she was touring the country at the time - and was shot in Melbourne. [6] [7]

Contents

Plot

A young man, Georges, married for money and is unhappy because he has fallen in love with Isabelle. To escape from reality one night he hires actors to play his parents and a butler and invites over Isabelle. But George's parents are determined to save their son's marriage and turn up with George's worthless friend Jacques. Barbara is Jacques' wife.

Cast

Production

The play had recently been performed in Little Theatre in Melbourne starring Sheila Florence. It was announced in July 1959 that the ABC would film it with Jessie Matthews playing Florence's role. [8] Star June Brunell had recently returned from England where she appeared in The Flying Doctors TV series. [9]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "a brave, but not really successful attempt to bridge the gap between quintessential theatre on the one hand, and the television screen on the other... Christopher Muir's production was precise, well-planned, and often Imaginative." [10]

The Age TV critic said "it was not the sort of play to set the Yarra on fire" but felt it was strong in the scenes in which Matthews appeared, although her role was relatively small. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Shifting Heart is a play written in 1957 in Australia by Richard Beynon, it is an insight to the psychology of racism and its victims. In the background of 1950s Collingwood, Melbourne.

<i>Tomorrows Child</i> (film) 1957 television film directed by Raymond Menmuir

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. It was set in the future making it technically Australia's first science fiction drama.

<i>Blue Murder</i> (1959 film) 1959 Australian TV series or program

Blue Murder is an Australian live television play which aired in 1959 on ABC. Broadcast live in Sydney on 2 December 1959, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the broadcast so it could be shown in Melbourne.

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.

"The Scent of Fear" is television play written by Ted Willis. It was originally written for British anthology series Armchair Theatre, adapted from the story "Stowaway" by Mary Higgins Clark which was reportedly based on a real story that happened in 1949. It was filmed for Australian TV in 1960.

<i>A Dead Secret</i> 1957 play

A Dead Secret is a 1957 crime play by Rodney Ackland. It is a murder drama set in 1911 London and is based on the Seddon murder trial. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool then transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 212 performances. The West End cast included Paul Scofield, Madge Brindley, Dinsdale Landen, Megs Jenkins, Harold Scott, Gretchen Franklin, Arthur Lowe, Maureen Delany and Laidman Browne.

<i>Rope</i> (1957 film) 1957 television film directed by William Sterling

Rope is a 1957 Australian television film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton. It was presented in real time.

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>Last Call</i> (1958 film) 1958 Australian TV film

Last Call is a 1958 Australian TV play set in a South American country. It was directed by Christopher Muir.

Heart Attack is a 1960 Australian television play written by George F. Kerr. It was recorded in Melbourne, broadcast "live" there, recorded and shown later on Sydney television. It was received with notably critical hostility. It was one of several thrillers filmed in early Australian television.

Christopher Muir was an Australian director and producer, notable for his work in TV in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s he was head of ABC Television drama.

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

<i>Mine Own Executioner</i> (TV play) 1960 Australian television play

Mine Own Executioner is a 1960 Australian television play based on Nigel Balchin's 1945 novel of the same name. It was shot in Melbourne, at a time when Australian drama was rare.

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

Hedda Gabler is a 1961 Australian television play based on the 1891 play by Henrik Ibsen. It was made at a time when Australian TV drama was rare.

<i>Light Me a Lucifer</i> 1962 Australian TV series or program

Light Me a Lucifer is a 1962 Australian television comedy film which aired on ABC. Written by John O'Grady, it starred Frank Thring as the devil, along with Wyn Roberts, Edward Howell, Joan Harris, Ken Goodlet and Lynne Flanagan. It was produced in Melbourne.

The End Begins is a 1961 Australian television play shot in ABC's Melbourne studios. Like many early Australian TV plays it was based on an overseas script. It was a rare Australian TV play with a science fiction theme and a black lead actor, although no recordings are thought to have survived.

Rope (<i>Shell Presents</i>) 9th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"Rope" is a 1959 Australian TV play based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. It was part of Shell Presents. It aired on 31 October 1959 in Melbourne, and a tapped version aired on 15 November 1959 in Sydney.

Ruth (<i>Shell Presents</i>) 7th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"Ruth" is a 1959 Australian television play. It was presented as part of the Shell Presents program and starred Lyndall Barbour. It was written by John Glennon, an American actor and writer who appeared in the production, and directed by Rod Kinnear. The play aired in Melbourne on 5 September 1959 and in Sydney on 19 September 1959.

"The Torrents" is a 1969 Australian TV play based on the stage play by Oriel Gray. It was filmed as part of the ABC anthology drama series Australian Plays. It was the second Gray play adapted by the ABC, after Burst of Summer. It aired on 10 December 1969 in Sydney and Melbourne.

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, Valda (30 August 1959). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 104.
  2. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 20 August 1959. p. 35.
  3. ↑ "TV Guide". 26 August 1959. p. 5.
  4. ↑ "All the TV Programmes". ABC Weekly. 2 September 1959. p. 31.
  5. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  6. ↑ "JESSIE MATTHEWS ON TV". ABC Weekly. 2 September 1959. p. 12.
  7. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (4 October 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Point of Departure and Man of Destiny". Filmink. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "Jottings". The Age. 18 July 1959. p. 7.
  9. ↑ "Untitled". The Age. 20 August 1959. p. 26.
  10. ↑ "Anouilh's Play Televised". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 1959. p. 5.
  11. ↑ Janus (3 September 1959). "Miss Matthews Intriguing". The Age. p. 14.
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.