The Survivor | |
---|---|
Based on | The Survivor by Thomas Keneally |
Written by | Thomas Keneally |
Directed by | Alan Burke |
Starring | Wyn Roberts Dinah Shearing Enid Lorimer Arthur Dignam |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Cinematography | Peter Hendry |
Running time | 75 minutes |
Production company | ABC |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | 5 March 1972 |
The Survivor is a 1972 Australian television film based on the novel Thomas Keneally of the same name. [1] The film was orignally broadcast on ABC on 5 March 1972. [2]
Thomas Keneally adapted the script himself. It was his first screenplay and he enjoyed the experience so much he wrote other scripts for the ABC such as Essington and Behind the Legend. [3]
The production was shot in Sydney. Director Alan Burke says Charles Russell was the main executive on it - he is credited as script editor although that does not give a guide as to the extent of his contribution. There was some location work done at Richmond Air Base. [4]
John Cameron, head of drama at the ABC at the time, said the novel was bought by the ABC because it had won a prize. He later said "that was a terrible book and a dreadful script" but claims Charles Russell improved it with some script editing although he says Russell "wasn't very happy with it." [5]
The Age thought the original novel was "one of the most tedious books ever published in Australia" but felt the television version "gripped the imagination as the book never could." [6]
Burke later recalled "I don't think I pulled it off. It was I think a bit inadequate... It just didn't add up somehow. I just didn't feel happy about it. Maybe it was partly the adaptation that Tom had said he tried the various styles, maybe that had something to do with the fact they didn't quite marry." [4]
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark, the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, which won the Booker Prize in 1982. The book would later be adapted into Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List, which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Andrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie–nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope and the ABC game show Randling. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique. He is also responsible for introducing the troupe of The Chaser to Australian audiences.
Walter Hill is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western genre. He has directed such films as The Driver, The Warriors, Southern Comfort, 48 Hrs. and its sequel Another 48 Hrs., Streets of Fire and Red Heat, and wrote the screenplay for the crime drama The Getaway. He has also directed several episodes of television series such as Tales from the Crypt and Deadwood and produced the Alien films.
And the Big Men Fly is an Australia-based play by Alan Hopgood, written in 1963, and has been adapted to numerous media including a TV series and film.
Boney is an Australian television series produced by Fauna Productions during 1971 and 1972, featuring James Laurenson in the title role of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. Two series, each of thirteen episodes, were filmed.
Dust in the Sun is a 1958 Eastmancolor Australian mystery film adapted from the 1955 novel Justin Bayard by Jon Cleary and produced by the team of Lee Robinson and Chips Rafferty. The film stars British actress Jill Adams, Ken Wayne and an Indigenous Australian actor Robert Tudawali as Emu Foot.
The Highest Honour is a 1982 Australian/Japanese co-production about Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau by Z Special Unit during World War II.
Charles Russell was an American movie and radio actor who appeared in 17 movies between 1943 and 1950. He was also a television producer who worked in Hollywood and Australia.
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.
Coralie Lansdowne Says No is a play by Alex Buzo about a woman's struggle for independence.
No Room to Run is a 1977 Australian television film about an American businessman who kills a man in Sydney. The lead actors, writer, producer and director were all American. It stars real-life husband and wife Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.
Rooted is a made-for-TV Australian film based on the play by Alex Buzo. It was produced for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and released in 1985.
"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.
Wuthering Heights is a 1959 Australian television play adapted from Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. It was directed by Alan Burke and based on a script by Nigel Kneale which had been adapted by the BBC in 1953 as a TV play starring Richard Todd. It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare.
Outpost is a 1959 Australian television play about Australian soldiers in New Guinea during World War Two. It was written for television by John Cameron.
The Marriage of Figaro is a 1960 Australian TV film. It was a filmed version of Mozart's 1786 opera, sung in English.
The Cousin from Fiji (1945) is a novel by Australian writer and artist Norman Lindsay.
A Curate in Bohemia is a 1972 Australian TV play based on the 1913 novel by Norman Lindsay of the same name. It was one of a series of adaptations of Lindsay works on the ABC in 1972.
Seven Little Australians was a 10-part TV series that aired on ABC Television in 1973. The mini-series was based on Ethel Turner's best-selling novel, Seven Little Australians.
Devlin is a 1971 Australian television play. It was made as the pilot for a series but aired as a stand-alone television play.