The Square Ring | |
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![]() Ad in SMH 18 Apr 1960 | |
Based on | play The Square Ring by Ralph Peterson |
Directed by | Raymond Menmuir |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Running time | 90 mins |
Production company | ABC |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | 20 April 1960 (Sydney, live) [1] |
Release | 10 August 1960 (Melbourne) [2] |
The Square Ring is a 1960 Australian TV play based on a stage play by Australian Ralph Petersen which had been successful on the stage in England and been filmed in 1953.
It was recorded live in Sydney. [3]
The story of six fighters who wait for their turn in the ring one night at a boxing ring in England. Ex champ Docker Starkie is trying to make a comeback; Eddie Burke is a new boy on the way up; Harry Coombers is a certain future champion; Rick Martell is planning on throwing a fight; Sailor Johnson is a broken-down has-been; Rawlings likes to read books before a fight.
Mixing with them all is the dressing room attendant Danny Felton who has seen fighters come and go and understand them. There is also associated characters like a stadium manager.
Sydney boxing trainer Ern McQuillan was the technical advisor for the story. Joe Jenkins, who appeared often on television as a dancer, makes his acting debut as Rowdie Rawlings. [5] He would later go on to appear in several Australian TV dramas such as The Emperor Jones , Two-Headed Eagle and The End Begins . [6] [7]
The Square Ring is a 1953 British tragi-comic drama, directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Maxwell Reed. The film, based on a 1952 stage play by Ralph Peterson, centres on one night at a fairly seedy boxing venue and tells the disparate stories of the fighters and the women behind them.
Blue Murder is an Australian live television play which aired in 1959 on ABC. Broadcast live in Sydney on 2 December 1959, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the broadcast so it could be shown in Melbourne.
"Reflections in Dark Glasses" is an Australian television film, or rather a television play, which aired in 1960. It aired as part of Shell Presents, which consisted of monthly presentations of stand-alone television dramas. It was written by Sydney writer James Workman, and is notable as an early example of Australian-written television drama. It was broadcast live in Sydney on 6 February 1960, then recorded and shown in Melbourne.
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Who Killed Kovali? is a 1960 Australian television play. It had previously been filmed for British TV in 1957.
Murder in the Cathedral is a 1962 Australian television play adapted from T. S. Eliot's 1935 play Murder in the Cathedral, about Thomas Becket. It was one of a number of verse plays produced by the ABC.
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 and a black lead actor, although no recordings are thought to have survived.
"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 Square Ring is a 1952 play by Ralph Peterson.
The Emperor Jones is a 1960 Australian TV play based on the play The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill. It starred Joe Jenkins, a dancer who was living in Australia. He played a triple role.
Joe Jenkins was an American dancer who moved to Australia and appeared in a number of TV plays. He was a rare black actor who played lead roles in Australian film industry at the time. He was the first black actor to play a lead role in an Australian TV drama.
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 Square Ring" is a 1959 British TV play for Play of the Week with Sean Connery. It was based on a 1952 stage play by Ralph Peterson that had been turned into a British film in 1953.