Shadow on the Wall (Wednesday Theatre)

Last updated
"Shadow on the Wall"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 15
Directed by Christopher Muir
Teleplay by Ru Pullan
Original air date10 April 1968 (1968-04-10)
Running time30 mins
Episode chronology
 Previous
Next 
"Volpone"
List of episodes

"Shadow on the Wall" is the 15th television play episode of the second season of the Australian anthology television series Wednesday Theatre . It was recorded in 1967 as part of Australian Playhouse but was not aired until 10 April 1968 in Melbourne and Sydney as part of Wednesday Theatre. [1] [2] It was a rare contemporary Australian TV drama to address the Vietnam War. [3]

Contents

It ran for 30 minutes. [4] [5]

Premise

In a North Vietnamese village, there is conflict between a local priest and the local political commissar. [6]

Cast

Production

It was filmed at ABC's studios in Ripponlea in April 1967 for Australian Playhouse but was not screened until the following year, when it aired as an episode of Wednesday Theatre . [7]

Reception

The Age said it "might've been a good idea but it didn't come off" arguing the play was more suited to radio and that the actors and sets were not convincing and adding it "lacked conviction - and the climax was missed photographically." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Mitchell</span> British actor (1926–2015)

Warren Mitchell was a British actor, best known for playing bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in television, film and stage productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Burr</span> Canadian actor (1917–1993)

Raymond William Stacy Burr was a Canadian actor who had a lengthy Hollywood film career and portrayed the title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside.

<i>The Wednesday Play</i> British TV drama anthology (1964–1970)

The Wednesday Play is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction also featured. The series gained a reputation for presenting contemporary social dramas, and for bringing issues to the attention of a mass audience that would not otherwise have been discussed on screen.

<i>Armchair Theatre</i> British TV drama series (1956–1974)

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.

<i>Theatre 625</i> British TV drama anthology series (1964–1968)

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

The Shifting Heart is a play written in 1957 in Australia by Richard Beynon, it is an insight to the psychology of racism and its victims. In the background of 1950s Collingwood, Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Morphett</span> Australian screenwriter (1938–2018)

Anthony David Morphett was an Australian screenwriter, who created or co-created many Australian television series, including Dynasty, Certain Women, Sky Trackers, Blue Heelers, Water Rats, Above the Law and Rain Shadow. Morphett wrote eight novels, and wrote or co-wrote seven feature films, ten telemovies, twelve mini-series, and hundreds of episodes of television drama, as well as devising or co-devising seven TV series. He won 14 industry awards for TV screenwriting.

<i>Killer in Close-Up</i> 1957 Australian television film

Killer in Close-Up was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television.

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

Australian Playhouse was an Australian anthology TV series featuring the work of Australian writers.

"A Season in Hell" is a 1964 Australian TV movie broadcast on the ABC which originally aired as an episode of Wednesday Theatre. It was directed by Henri Safran from a script by Patricia Hooker and was shot at the ABC's Gore Hill Studios in Sydney. "A Season in Hell" aired on 1 April 1964 in Sydney, on 22 April 1964 in Brisbane, and on 29 April 1964 in Melbourne.

"A Touch of Gold" is the first television play episode of the second season of the Australian anthology television series Australian Playhouse. "A Touch of Gold" was directed by John Croyston and originally aired on ABC on 12 June 1967 in Melbourne and on 24 July 1967 in Sydney.

"The Tower" is a 1964 TV play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It aired on 2 December 1964 as a stand-alone in Melbourne and on 28 April 1965 as part of Wednesday Theatre in Sydney. It aired on 6 January 1965 in Brisbane. It was based on a play by Hal Porter and directed by Christopher Muir in the ABC's studios in Melbourne.

James Workman was a Scottish-born actor and writer who mostly worked in Australia.

"Course for Collision" is a 1966 Australian TV play.

"A Ride on the Big Dipper" is a 1967 Australian television play. It screened as part of Wednesday Theatre and had a running time of one hour.

Tom O'Sullivan is an Australian television, film and theatre actor. O’Sullivan was born in Perth, Western Australia, and later relocated to Sydney to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art where he graduated in 2003. His first television role was a guest role on the soap opera Home and Away and was followed by playing Tom Huppatz in the ABC TV mini-series Rain Shadow. In 2010, O'Sullivan played Sean 'Grunter' Sinclair in the crime drama Underbelly: The Golden Mile and joined the main cast of Nine Network drama Cops LAC playing Senior Constable Nathan Holt. He has also portrayed William Chambers in the TVNZ 1 drama When We Go To War and Michael Shrimpton in the Seven Network drama series Molly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic Four</span> 9th episode of the 1st season of Australian Playhouse

"Antarctic Four" is the ninth television play episode of the first season of the Australian anthology television series Australian Playhouse.

"Salome" is a 1968 Australian TV play starring Frank Thring. It was based on the 1891 play of the same name by Oscar Wilde and was reportedly the first time that play had been adapted for television.

John Croyston was an Australian writer, radio producer and director.

References

  1. "Vietnam Drama". The Age. 5 April 1968. p. 30.
  2. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1968. p. 34.
  3. Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2023). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Boy with Banner, Objector and Watch It". Filmink.
  4. "TV Guide". 8 April 1968. p. 34.
  5. "television". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 April 1968. p. 21. Retrieved 30 May 2020 via Trove.
  6. "TV Guide". The Age. 5 April 1968. p. 38.
  7. "39 Critics at a TV Taping". The Age. 6 April 1967. p. 31.
  8. Televiewer (18 April 1968). "Teletopics". The Age TV Radio Guide. p. 2.