Genre | drama serial |
---|---|
Running time | 30 mins |
Country of origin | Australia |
Language(s) | English |
Written by | Morris West |
Produced by | Gordon Glenwright |
Narrated by | Paul Brickhill [1] |
Original release | 1954 |
No. of series | 1 |
The Great Escape is a 1954 Australian radio serial by Morris West based on the novel by Paul Brickhill produced by Gordon Grimsdale.
Grimsdale and West also did radio adaptations of Brickhill's books The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky . [2] [3] The three were all recorded in Sydney, where West had moved following the end of his first marriage. [4]
The Sydney Daily Telegraph said " it develops a pace and a tenseness that are rarely heard in a radio production. Most of the credit for this is due to the adapter, Mr. Morris West. . The actors— as generally happens when Australian actors are given the opportunity of a good script— are impeccablyin character." [5]
The Brisbane Telegraph called it "a really grand contribution to local radio. No pseudo heroics or passions- upon which so many of commercial r«.dio thrill spinners depend — just a drama so simply told and enacted as to make the throat achg with pity at the courage and the foolishness of men." [6]
The Adelaide Mail called it "an excellent follow-up for The Dambusters." [7]
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote The Great Escape, The Dam Busters, and Reach for the Sky.
Ronald Grant Taylor was an English-Australian actor best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940).
Blue Hills, created and written by Gwen Meredith, is an Australian radio serial about the lives of families, set in a fictional typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. The title "Blue Hills" itself derives from the residence of Dr. Gordon, the town's doctor.
Come In Spinner is an Australian novel by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James, originally published in 1951 and set in Sydney at the end of the Second World War.
A coffee palace was an often large and elaborate residential hotel that did not serve alcohol, most of which were built in Australia in the late 19th century.
Rudolf Pekárek was a Czech-Australian conductor.
John Forde Cazabon was an English actor and stage writer whose career began in Sydney, Australia.
Bush Christmas is a 1947 Australian–British comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring Chips Rafferty. It was one of the first films from Children's Entertainment Films, later the Children's Film Foundation.
Muriel Myee Steinbeck was an Australian actress who worked extensively in radio, theatre, television and film. She is best known for her performance as the wife of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in Smithy (1946) and for playing the lead role in Autumn Affair (1958–59), Australia's first television serial.
The Climate of Courage is a 1954 novel by Australian writer Jon Cleary. It was his fifth published novel. It is set during World War II and involves a group of Australian soldiers who have returned from service in the Middle East.
The 1954 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Port Adelaide Football Club and the West Adelaide Football Club, held at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday 2 October 1954. It was the 56th annual Grand Final of the South Australian National Football League, staged to determine the premiers of the 1954 SANFL season. The match, attended by 42,895 spectators, was won by Port Adelaide by a margin of 3 points, marking that clubs fifteenth premiership victory.
A number of survey parties were sent by the South Australian Government to the "Top End" of the Northern Territory during the years 1864–1870, preparatory to founding a settlement. This article describes those attempts and the people involved. It includes lists of all known participants.
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White Coolies is a 1954 memoir by Australian nurse Betty Jeffrey about her experiences in World War Two. This included surviving the sinking of the Vyner Brook, escaping a massacre, and being in a camp on Sumatra.
Reach for the Sky is a 1954 Australian radio serial based on the book of the same name by Paul Brickhill which was a biography of Douglas Bader. It was one of the most acclaimed Australian radio dramas of the 1950s, and a notable success for Rod Taylor who played Bader.
The Dam Busters is a 1954 Australian radio serial written by Morris West and produced by Gordon Grimsdale.
Man of Two Tribes is a 1953 Australia radio serial based on the stories of Arthur Upfield about Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte. Morris West adapted several of Upfield's stories.
The White Rabbit is a 1955 Australian radio serial by Morris West based on book The White Rabbit about F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas. It starred Bruce Stewart.
Shenandoah is a 1947 Australian radio serial about a horse that wins the Melbourne Cup. Episodes went for 15 minutes.
Murder's Not for Middle Aged is a 1953 Australian radio serial by Max Afford featuring his detective hero, Jeffrey Blackburn. It was the last of Afford's Blackburn serials.