Man in a Blue Vase

Last updated

"Man in a Blue Vase"
Shell Presents episode
Man in a Blue Vase 5 Mar 1960, Page 18 - The Sydney Morning Herald at Newspapers com.png
SMH ad 5 Mar 1960
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 13
Directed by Rod Kinnear
Teleplay by Richard Benyon
Original air date5 March 1960 (1960-03-05)
Running time60 mins
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Reflections in Dark Glasses"
Next 
List of episodes

"Man in a Blue Vase" is an Australian television one-off comedy presentation which aired in 1960. It was part of Shell Presents , which consisted of monthly presentations of standalone television dramas and comedies. It aired on 19 March 1960 on GTV-9 in Melbourne and on 5 March 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney, as this was prior to the creation of the Seven Network and Nine Network.

Contents

A set of pictures from the show appear in a 1960 edition of The Age [1]

Unlike most of the Shell Presents presentations, it wasn't aired live. Although produced in Melbourne, it aired in Sydney first. [2]

Plot

Set in a Polish-Jewish household in Melbourne. Aaron tries to prove his individuality by taking money from his wife Shirley's blue vase. Sister in law Esther tells Shirley that marriage is a state of war and she needs to take a stand. Aaron goes drinking and asks his brother in law Herman why he lets Esther bully him. Shirley gets advice from her mother in law, Reba. [3]

Cast

Production

The script was written by Richard Benyon (1925–99), author of the play The Shifting Heart . [4]

Reception

The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald said the play was "refreshing for its observation that there don't have to be lurid triangles or melodramatic boozing or homesacrificing career obsessions to put marriages on the rocks" but still lacks something of the warmth by which a Chayefsky allows his commonplace characters to arouse deeply compassionate interest in their everyday conflict, collaboration and compromise. Beynon's people... are carefully observed and their talk runs pretty naturally, but some want of rich detail in the writing and among... [the]players prevented them from making a compelling appeal." [5]

The Age wrote that "the story wasn't 'big' enough to carry an hour of television. Otherwise the drama is quite good. The cast performed well." [6]

Radio Adaptation

The play was adapted for radio in 1960. [7]

There was another adaptation in 1963. The cast: Nigel Lambert (Aaron), Mark Kelly (Herman), Miriam Karlin (Reba), Patricia Gallimore (Shirley), Amber Cecil (Esther), John Cazabon (Uncle Ben), Brian Harrison (Barman), and Brian Harrison (Taxi driver). [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

The Story of Peter Grey was an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network and first broadcast in July 1962. James Condon starred in the title role as a church minister.

<i>Shell Presents</i> 1959 Australian TV series or program

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reflections in Dark Glasses</span> 12th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful</span> 4th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful" is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television play, which aired live on 27 June 1959 in Sydney, and on 8 August 1959 in Melbourne. It aired as part of Shell Presents, a monthly presentation of standalone productions which aired from 1959 to 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne.

The Big Day (<i>Shell Presents</i>) 5th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"The Big Day" is an Australian television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. The fifth episode of the Shell Presents presentations of standalone television dramas, it originally aired 11 July 1959 on Melbourne station GTV-9, a video-tape was made of the broadcast and shown on Sydney station ATN-7 on 25 July 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Picnic Tomorrow</span> 11th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"No Picnic Tomorrow" is an Australian television drama one-off which aired in 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne. Part of the Shell Presents series of one-off television dramas and comedies, it was produced in Melbourne, but first shown in Sydney on 9 January 1960, and on 23 January 1960 Melbourne.

The General Motors Hour was an Australian radio and television drama series.

<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.

"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.

"Tragedy In A Temporary Town" is a 1959 episode of the Australian anthology drama show Shell Presents starring Michael Pate. It was filmed "live" in Melbourne, then recorded and broadcast in Sydney. It was the third episode of Shell Presents and the first shot in Melbourne. It aired live on 16 May 1959 in Melbourne with a tapped version airing on 30 May 1959 in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Other People's Houses</span> 2nd episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"Other People's Houses" is the second episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. It was based on a play by Tad Mosel and starred Diana Perryman and was directed by David Cahill. It aired on 2 May 1959 in Sydney and on 3 October 1959 in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder of Silence</span> 6th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Tongue of Silver</span> 8th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"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 Concert" is a 1961 Australian TV GTV-9's Melbourne studios. It was directed by Rod Kinnear. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The episode aired on 3 June 1961 in Melbourne, and on 10 June 1961 in Brisbane.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder on Sycamore Street</span> 3rd episode of the 1st season of The General Motors Hour

"Thunder on Sycamore Street" is a 1960 Australian television play directed by David Cahill. It was based on a script by Reginald Rose. It aired on 23 July 1960 in Melbourne and Sydney.

"The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" is a television play episode from the Australian television series The General Motors Hour. It was produced and directed by David Cahill, and is based on the real life murder of Jim Smith, the so-called Shark Arm case. It was made by Channel Seven who later called "the most ambitious dramatic production ever attempted in Australia... [written by] one of the world's foremost authors of television plays and the cast is Ihe largest ever assembled for an Australian television dramatic production.... the greatest care has been taken to achieve the maximum possible standard in the production of the play which covered a total period of approximately eight weeks." The episode aired on 28 May 1960 in Sydney and Melbourne, and on 11 June 1960 in Brisbane.

"Shadow of a Pale Horse" is a television play that was produced for Australian TV by Sydney station ATN-7, it was also shown in Melbourne on station GTV-9, as this was prior to the creation of the Seven Network and Nine Network. "Shadow of a Pale Horse" aired on 17 September 1960 in Melbourne and Sydney.

References

  1. "Domestic Tiff". The Age. 17 March 1960. p. 14.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  3. "Benyon's New Play". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 February 1960. p. 19.
  4. Richard Benyon at Austlit
  5. "Man In A Blue Vase On ATN". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 March 1960. p. 8.
  6. "Bright Spot in "Vase" Drama". The Age. 24 March 1960. p. 14.
  7. "2CA On The Air! 2CA". The Canberra Times . Vol. 38, no. 10, 635. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 September 1963. p. 20. Retrieved 3 March 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "2CA On The Air! 2CA". The Canberra Times . Vol. 38, no. 10, 635. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 September 1963. p. 20. Retrieved 19 February 2019 via National Library of Australia.