Funnel Web

Last updated
Funnel Web
Based onplay by Philip Grenville Mann
Written by Philip Grenville Mann
Directed by Bill Bain
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerJohn Garton
Running time60 mins [1]
Production companyABC
Original release
Network ABC
Release25 April 1962 (1962-04-25) (Sydney, live) [2]
Release30 May 1962 (1962-05-30)(Melbourne, taped) [3]
Release30 October 1962 (1962-10-30) (Brisbane) [4]

Funnel Web is a 1962 Australian TV play starring Grant Taylor and written by Phillip Grenville Mann. It screened on the ABC and was a suspense drama. [5]

Contents

Plot

A Canadian woman, Nina, is searching for her husband, Max Godfrey, who deserted her years ago. She finds him living in Sydney. Max has also defrauded his business partner. He decides to take steps to get rid of both his ex-wife and former business partner.

Cast

1956 British TV version

It was based on a story by Phillip Grenville Mann. He originally wrote it as a 30-minute TV play for British TV called "Dead or Alive". This aired in 1956 as part of the anthology series Theatre Royal, hosted by Lilli Palmer. The episode starred Australian actor Ron Randell and was directed by Don Chaffey, who would later work in Australia. [6] Other actors included Ralph Michael, Patricia Driscoll, Lloyd Lamble and John Miller.

Mann expanded the story into a full length stage play, which was performed in Britain.

Development

Mann adapted the story for Australian TV. [3] According to Filmink "A lot of TV plays around this time sound as though they were inspired by Dial M for Murder , which started as a TV play, i.e. tales of murder among the monied classes." [7] [8]

It was the last in a series of live TV plays by Australian authors on the ABC which had been announced in March 1962. [3] [9] The others were:

Production

It was Grant Taylor's second TV performance following Jenny and was shot in Sydney. [11] The set, including two office interiors and a beach house at Avalon, was designed by Francesca Crespi. Technical supervisor John Garton was a veteran of many ABC plays and operas. Director Bill Bain said "the play is an excellent vehicle for actors and producer, being slick, tight and dynamic." [4]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald praised "the meticulously chic settings designed by Francesca Crespi (a beach house at Avalon and a Sydney office interior) and the easy-limbed, masterful portrayal of the villain by Grant Taylor". [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Taylor (actor)</span> Australian actor (1917–1971)

Ronald Grant Taylor was an English-Australian actor best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neva Carr Glyn</span> Australian actress (1908–1975)

Neva Carr Glyn or Neva Carr Glynn was an Australian stage, film and radio actress born in Melbourne to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn, a humorous baritone and stage manager born in Ireland, and Marie Carr Glyn, née Marie Dunoon Senior, an actress with the stage name "Marie Avis". She had one half-sister Gwendoline Arnold O'Neill and two half-brothers Sacheverill Arnold Mola and Rupert Arnold Mola. She was named "Neva" after a great-aunt, who was a contralto of some quality. Both spellings of her surname appear in print roughly equally and apparently arbitrarily.

<i>The Patriots</i> (TV series) Television series

The Patriots was an Australian television drama mini-series. A period-drama, it aired for 10 episodes on ABC in 1962.

"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>Boy Round the Corner</i> 1962 Australian TV series or program

Boy Round the Corner is an Australian film which aired in 1962. Broadcast live on ABC, it was set in Sydney but produced in Melbourne. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.

<i>The Hobby Horse</i> (film) 1962 Australian television play

The Hobby Horse is a 1962 Australian television play which aired on ABC. Broadcast live, it was a drama set on a grazing property in northern New South Wales about a rodeo rider.

<i>Ballad for One Gun</i> 1963 Australian television film

Ballad for One Gun is a 1963 Australian television film about Ned Kelly broadcast on ABC.

<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.

Phillip Grenville Mann was an Australian actor, playwright, stage director and manager, and writer.

Jenny is a 1962 Australian TV drama.

Australian Plays is a 1969-1970 Australian anthology TV drama series that aired on the ABC. It consisted of six original Australian dramas.

<i>Dark Under the Sun</i> 1960 Australian TV series or program

Dark Under the Sun is a 1960 Australian TV play. It was written by Brisbane author, Chris Gardner, who also wrote The House of Mancello (1962) and A Private Island (1964). Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The play concerned an interracial romance which led Filmink magazine to think it was "an indication that Australian television was willing to confront some of the nation’s trickier social issues head on." Other Australian TV plays to deal with racial issues included Burst of Summer. However the Aboriginal character is played by a white actor in blackface.

Marriage Lines is a 1962 Australian television play directed by Christopher Muir.

<i>Murder in the Cathedral</i> (1962 film) Australian TV series or program

Murder in the Cathedral is a 1962 Australian television play adapted from T. S. Eliot's 1935 play Murder in the Cathedral, about Thomas Becket. It was one of a number of verse plays produced by the ABC.

<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.

"Flight into Danger" is a 1966 Australian TV play. It was based on a 1956 Canadian TV play by Arthur Hailey which had been filmed as the movie Zero Hour!. The episode aired on 14 September 1966 in Melbourne, on 5 October 1966 in Sydney, and on 12 October 1966 in Brisbane.

The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day was a 1960 Australian TV play based on the 1959 stage play of the same name by Peter Kenna.

<i>The Devil Makes Sunday</i> (1962 film) 1962 Australian TV series or program

The Devil Makes Sunday is a 1962 Australian television play by New Zealand-born author Bruce Stewart. It was broadcast live from Melbourne, and taped and shown in other cities at a later date.

"Write Me a Murder" is a television play that aired in 1965 as part of ABC's Wednesday Theatre. It was directed by Henri Safran. Murder mysteries were a popular subject matter on Australian television at the time.

References

  1. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 24 May 1962. p. 33.
  2. ↑ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 April 1962. p. 15.
  3. 1 2 3 "Viewers to See Drama in Its Third Form". The Age. 24 May 1962. p. 13.
  4. 1 2 "A Venomous Spider". TV Times. 25 October 1962. p. 23.
  5. ↑ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 April 1962. p. 15.
  6. ↑ Dead or Alive 1956 TV show at IMDb
  7. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (February 18, 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  8. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (April 27, 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Big Killing". Filmink. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Young Star's Work". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 March 1962. p. 13.
  10. ↑ "Drama Go Ahead with Six Australians with Ideas". The Age. 1 March 1962. p. 12.
  11. ↑ "Live Drama On Wednesday". The Canberra Times . 11 February 1963. p. 20. Retrieved 15 March 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Thriller Play on Channel 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 April 1962. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
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.