Hagen's Circus

Last updated
Hagen's Circus
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
Starring Thelma Scott
Written by Max Afford
Produced byPaul Jacklin
Original release1948
No. of episodes800 (estimated)

Hagen's Circus was a 1948 Australian radio serial created by Max Afford. [1] [2] It was set in a circus [3] and starred Thelma Scott as the owner. [4]

Thelma Scott played the lead role. Actors who appeared in it included Muriel Steinbeck, Guy Doleman and Charles Tingwell.

The show was the idea of producer Paul Jacklin who was determined to disprove an old radio adage that people disliked shows set in circuses. Jacklin hired Max Afford to script it. Afford researched the story visiting Wirth's Circus. [5]

It was one of the most popular Australian radio serials of its day and helped make the reputation of Guy Doleman. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Finch</span> English-Australian actor (1916–1977)

Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.

<i>His Majesty OKeefe</i> 1954 film by Byron Haskin

His Majesty O'Keefe is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Byron Haskin and starring Burt Lancaster. The cast also included Joan Rice, André Morell, Abraham Sofaer, Archie Savage, and Benson Fong. The screenplay by Borden Chase and James Hill was based on the novel of the same name by Laurence Klingman and Gerald Green (1952).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Randell</span> Australian actor (1918–2005)

Ronald Egan Randell was an Australian actor. After beginning his acting career on the stage in 1937, he played Charles Kingsford Smith in the film Smithy (1946). He also had roles in Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947), Kiss Me Kate (1953), I Am a Camera (1955), Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) and King of Kings (1961).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Coyne Long</span> Australian tennis player (1918–2015)

Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career, she won 19 Grand Slam tournament titles. In 2013, Long was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

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).

Blue Hills, created and written by Gwen Meredith, is an Australian radio serial about the lives of families, set in a fictional typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. The title "Blue Hills" itself derives from the residence of Dr. Gordon, the town's doctor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Doleman</span> New Zealand actor

Guy Doleman was a New Zealand born actor, active in Australia, Britain and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Afford</span> Australian playwright and novelist (1906–1954)

Malcolm R. Afford known as Max Afford, was an Australian playwright and novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry Norton-Smyser</span>

Norma-Jean Smyser, better known as Kerry Norton-Smyser, was an Australian actress who performed in stage shows, night-club acts, and radio shows in the early 1950s in Australia, and is best-remembered as Australia's "Blondie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenie Ashton</span> Australian actress

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Afford</span> Australian stage actor and costume designer (1907–1996)

Thelma May Afford was an Australian costume designer, theatre performer, and fashion journalist who worked in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Tom McCreadie (1907–1992), better known as T. O. McCreadie was an Australian film director and producer, who was also involved in distribution and exhibition for many years.

Lady in Danger was a play by Australian writer Max Afford. It was one of the few Australian plays to enjoy a run on Broadway. It was also adapted for radio and television.

Dark Enchantment is a 1949 Australian play by Max Afford.

Nigel Tasman Lovell was an Australian stage, radio, film and television actor, and producer of opera and both stage and radio drama.

Dossier on Dumetrius is a 1951 Australian radio serial by Lindsay Hardy. It was hugely popular and was adapted into a book and a film. There were also several sequels.

Silver Ridge is a 1954 Australian radio series by Max Afford. It was set in Australia at a time when that was relatively rare. The serial was one of Afford's last productions.

Stranger Come In is a 1951 Australian radio drama by Max Afford. It was unusual for Afford in that it dealt with contemporary social problems.

First Light Fraser was a popular Australian radio serial created by Maurice Francis. It began in 1942 and concerned a British secret agent who worked behind enemy lines, played by John Nugent-Hayward. The series was one of the most popular in Australia in its day. Several actors played Fraser.

Chips is a 1952 Australian radio drama series starring Chips Rafferty. It is not to be confused with his earlier series The Sundowner although it too was an outback adventure series.

References

  1. ""HAGEN'S CIRCUS"—THE SHOW OF SHOWS". North West Champion . New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 26 August 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "AND Write One". The Sunday Herald (Sydney) . No. 79. New South Wales, Australia. 30 July 1950. p. 2 (Features). Retrieved 26 August 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "CONTACT". The Sun . No. 11889. New South Wales, Australia. 4 March 1948. p. 1 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 26 August 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  4. ""HAGEN'S CIRCUS"—THE SHOW OF SHOWS". North West Champion . New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 26 August 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  5. Philp, Peter (2016). Drama in Silent Rooms. Eureka Media Communications. p. 260.
  6. "Heroes and heroines of soap operas What they look like—people Australians have come to know better than their nextdoor neighbors: radio serial personalities", Pix., Sydney, N.S.W: Associated Newspapers Limited (Vol. 23 No. 25 (17 December 1949)), 1938, ISSN   0032-0390, nla.obj-481062008, retrieved 26 August 2023 via Trove