The End Begins (film)

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The End Begins
Genrescience fiction
Written by Ray Rigby
Directed by William Sterling
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time75 mins [1]
Production company ABC
Original release
Network ABC
Release22 March 1961 (1961-03-22) (Melbourne, live) [2]
Release14 June 1961 (1961-06-14) (Sydney, taped) [3] [4]

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 [5] and a black lead actor, [6] although no recordings are thought to have survived. [7]

Contents

Plot

On an island off the west coast of Great Britain, a group of survivors of World War Three struggle to continue living. Hugh Packenham foresaw the oncoming conflict and fled to the island. His only neighbours are fisherman Shaun O'Donnell and his wife Barbara. Then other survivors seek refuge, including an African American sailor, and conflicts develop. [8] [9]

Cast

Productions

It was based on a British TV play by Ray Rigby, who wrote it in collaboration with his wife Jean when working as a booking clerk at Victoria station. He submitted it to the BBC and they filmed it in 1956 in a production starring Earl Cameron. [10] [11] Rigby later became well known for writing The Hill. His play was later adapted for Australian radio in 1964. [12]

The production was filmed in Melbourne. It was William Sterling's first production after returning to Australia following a trip overseas. Sterling said prior to broadcast:

This is perhaps the most controversial play the ABC has attempted on television. There are a number of dramatic developments that which are not comfortable, easy-way-out solutions of many of the moral and political problems of everyday life. The author's treatment is adult in every sense. This is the type of play television handles best. In fact, this is the first play in a long time that has made such a dramatic comment on contemporary affairs. [11]

The set was created by Douglas Smith who did the designs for Stormy Petrel. [8]

The cast included Joe Jenkins, a black American actor and dancer who came to Australia with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and decided to stay. [2] He was one of the few black actors to play a lead role in Australia at that time. [13]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald said it "had the merit of exploratory camera work" and called it "quite imaginative". [14]

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References

  1. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 March 1961. p. 33.
  2. 1 2 "Survival Drama". The Age. 16 March 1961. p. 12.
  3. ↑ "Atomic War Survivors". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 June 1961. p. 15.
  4. ↑ "Television". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 June 1961. p. 13.
  5. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  6. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (15 November 2020). "The Flawed Landmark: Burst of Summer". Filmink.
  7. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (2021). "Forgotten Australian TV plays: The Astronauts". Filmink. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Drama Assesses Human Valies". The Age. 16 March 1991. p. 13 – via Google News.
  9. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 March 1961. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ 1956 TV production at IMDb
  11. 1 2 "The world in ruins". TV Times. 10 August 1961. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "2CA". The Canberra Times . Vol. 38, no. 10, 784. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 February 1964. p. 16. Retrieved 10 September 2020– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (25 May 2020). "The A to Z of Non-White Aussie Movies and TV in White Australia". Filmink.
  14. ↑ "Drama of Atomic War Survivors on TV". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 June 1961. p. 7.
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