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.
Muriel Myee Steinbeck was an Australian actress who worked extensively in radio, theatre, television and film. She is best known for her film performance portraying the wife of aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in Smithy (1946) and for playing the lead role in Autumn Affair (1958–59), Australia's first television soap opera.
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 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.
"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 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.
"Manhaul" is a 1962 Australian television film. It aired 8 September 1962 as part of The General Motors Hour, an occasional series which presented various one-off productions. It aired on 8 September 1962 on ATN-7 in Sydney, on 8 September 1962 on GTV-9 in Melbourne, and on 15 September 1962 on QTQ-9 in Brisbane, despite the two stations having severed their relationship with the formation of the Nine Network.
Rope is a 1957 Australian television film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton. It was presented in real time.
Turning Point is a 1960 Australian television play.
"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.
David Cahill was an Australian actor, writer-producer and director, notable for his work directing for television from its introduction in the 1950s through to 1970s. It has been claimed he was one of the best directors working in early Australian TV. His pioneering credits at ATN7 included Australia's first religious TV series, featuring a teenaged Annette Andre, and first long-running dramatic serial starring Muriel Steinbeck.
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.
Eye of the Night is a 1960 Australian television play. It was written by Kay Keavney and directed by Christopher Muir.
Who Killed Kovali? is a 1960 Australian television play. It had previously been filmed for British TV in 1957.
"Rope" is a 1959 Australian TV play based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. It was part of Shell Presents. It aired on 31 October 1959 in Melbourne, and a tapped version aired on 15 November 1959 in Sydney.
"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 Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day was a 1960 Australian TV play based on the stage play of the same name by Peter Kenna.
"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.
