Rape of the Belt

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Rape of the Belt
Based onplay by Benn Levy
Directed by Henri Safran
Starring Tony Ward
Fernande Glyn
Reg Livermore
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time70 mins [1]
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release2 September 1964 (1964-09-02) (Sydney) [2]
9 September 1964 (Melbourne) [3]
4 November 1964 (Brisbane) [4]

Rape of the Belt is a 1964 Australian television film based on the play by Benn Levy. [5] [6]

Contents

Plot

Heracles and Theseus, two celebrated heroes, arrive at Themiscyra, the Amazons' capital, to accomplish the ninth of the Labours of Heracles, stealing Hippolyte's belt. They are confronted by Antiope and Hippolyte. [7]

Cast

Production

Benn Levy's play had been performed by the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1960. Star Tony Ward was best known at the time for presenting the show Seven Days. [5] Ward worked out for two months and grew a beard for the role. He injured his leg and used crutches during rehearsals. [8]

Some scenes were shot at Kurnell and Whale Beach. [4]

It was an early TV role for Reg Livermore. [9]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "amusingly lively and buoyant." [10]

Filmink called it "a fun watch". [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippolyta</span> Queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte, was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' zoster, the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt". Some English translations prefer "girdle". Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are so varied it is thought that they may be about different women. The name Hippolyta translates as "she who unleashes the horses", deriving from two Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose".

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References

  1. "TV Guide". 31 August 1964. p. 25.
  2. "Greek Myth Becomes Comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 August 1964. p. 23.
  3. "TV Guide". 9 September 1964. p. 14.
  4. 1 2 "Heracles Would Horrify Homer". TV Times. 4 November 1964. p. 10.
  5. 1 2 "Homer brought up to date". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 2 September 1964. p. 23. Retrieved 23 April 2020 via Trove.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. "TV Guide". The Age. 3 September 1964. p. 34.
  8. "Out of Character". The Age. 3 September 1964. p. 26.
  9. Livermore, Reg; McMicking, Rob (2003). Chapters and Chances. Hardie Grant Books. p. 57.
  10. "Levy Comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 1964. p. 12.
  11. Vagg, Stephen (24 April 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Rape of the Belt". Filmink.