Autumn Affair is an Australian television soap opera made by and aired by Network Seven station ATN-7, and also shown in Melbourne on Nine Network station GTV-9. Television in Australia had only been broadcasting since 1956 and Seven Network was the first commercial station to make drama a priority.
Emergency is an Australian television series produced by Nine Network Melbourne station GTV-9 in 1959.
Whiplash is 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.
Rex Rienits was an Australian writer of radio, films, plays and TV. He was a journalist before becoming one of the leading radio writers in Australia. He moved to England in 1949 and worked for a number of years there. He later returned to Australia and worked on early local TV drama.
The Outcasts was a 1961 Australian television serial. A period drama, it was broadcast live, though with some film inserts. All 12 episodes of the serial survive as kinescope recordings. It was a sequel to 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.
The Patriots was an Australian television drama mini-series. A period-drama, it aired for 10 episodes on ABC in 1962.
The Hungry Ones was an Australian television mini-series. It was a period drama about a pair of husband and wife convicts trying to go straight, consisting of 10 30-minute black-and-white episodes, which aired on ABC. Unlike previous serials it was videotaped rather than performed live to camera.
The Purple Jacaranda was an Australian television mini-series which aired on ABC in 1964 based on a novel by Nancy Graham. Cast included James Condon, Margo Lee, Ronald Morse, Diana Perryman, Walter Sullivan and John Unicomb.
"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.
The General Motors Hour was an Australian radio and television drama series.
"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.
"Thunder of Silence" is an episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents, and the fourth made in Sydney. It was based on an American play by Stewart Stern which had been produced in the U.S. with Paul Newman and Inger Stevens. It aired live on 22 August 1959 in Sydney with a recorded version airing on 28 November 1959 in Melbourne.
"A Tongue of Silver" is an episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. It starred John Meillon, who had been in Thunder of Silence in the same series.
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.
Michael Plant (1930–1965) was an Australian screenwriter, actor and producer best known for co-creating Whiplash.
Delia C. Williams was a British-born Australian actor.
Walter Sullivan was an Australian actor, journalist and reviewer who worked extensively in radio, film, TV and theatre, over a career spanning 6 decades, he's stage and screen career spanning from 1948 and 1997.
