Turning Point (1960 film)

Last updated

Turning Point
Genrethriller
Written by Denys Burrows
Directed by Raymond Menmuir
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer Raymond Menmuir
Running time75 mins
Production companyABC
Original release
Network ABC
Release24 February 1960 (1960-02-24) (live, Sydney) [1]
Release9 March 1960 (1960-03-09) (taped, Melbourne) [2]
Release5 April 1960 (1960-04-05) (Brisbane) [3]

Turning Point is a 1960 Australian television play. [4]

Contents

It was broadcast live on the ABC from Sydney on the night of 24 February. In Melbourne the ABC were doing a live broadcast of the play Eye of the Night . These two were the first in a series of ten plays made by the ABC in 1960 using local writers, others including The Astronauts and The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day . (Other plays possibly included Close to the Roof , Dark Under the Sun , The Square Ring , Who Killed Kovali? , and Swamp Creatures .) [5]

Plot

A murderer on the run, Chicka, stops in a remote South Australian town of Edenberrry. He kidnaps one of its women, Joan, when he thinks the town's policeman is going to arrest him. He runs off with her, punctures his petrol tank, but returns to kill her children after she runs away while he sleeps. The policeman arrives just in time to save the situation. [6]

Cast

Production

Early Australian TV drama production was dominated by using imported scripts but in 1960 the ABC was undertaking what has been described as "an Australiana drive" of producing local stories. [7] It was the first of ten Australian television plays to be produced by the ABC in Sydney and Melbourne in 1960. The writer Denys Burrows was also an actor; it was his first TV play. He based the settings and the character on a trip he made through central Australia. [8] "The township in the play and the dialogue is fictional, but the setting and characters are based on a town we passed through," said Burrows. "I remember the place well - it was 114 degrees in the shade when we arrived there. The people were most kind and I thought at the time what a story there would be in the way they had to live the struggle. I filed the idea away in my mind and it gradually matured." [3]

Burows described the town as "six shacks, a pub a lot of bare earth and a railway line." [9]

Rod Milgate had only been acting professionally for 12 months. Benita Harvey said the role was a departure for her as "because of my dark features I'm usually chosen for cosmopolitan roles." [3]

Outdoor scenes were to have been filmed on location south of Sydney. However on the day the crew went to film them, the sun stayed behind the clouds all day. These scenes were finally shot against a mock up background in the studio under large lamps. [3]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "an unsuccessful attempt to graft an unconvincing crime melodrama on to a documentary treatment of outback life... The author's observation is better than his plot-planning and when the life of the remote, heat-hammered cluster of shacks was allowed to move along its normal lines and at its own pace, there were moments of genuine interest and accomplishment—except that the pace of Raymond Menmuir's production... tended to be a bit slow. A competent cast... worked very effectively when they were allowed by the script to be real characters." [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Shell Presents</i> 1959 Australian TV series or program

Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.

<i>Stormy Petrel</i> (TV series) Television series

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.

<i>The Patriots</i> (TV series) Television series

The Patriots was an Australian television drama mini-series. A period-drama, it aired for 10 episodes on ABC in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reflections in Dark Glasses</span> 12th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"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.

Treason is a 1959 Australian television live drama, which aired on ABC about the 20 July plot during World War Two. Originally broadcast 16 December 1959 in Melbourne, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the program and shown in Sydney on 13 January 1960. It was an adaptation of a stage play by Welsh writer Saunders Lewis, which had previously been adapted as an episode of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Picnic Tomorrow</span> 11th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"No Picnic Tomorrow" is an Australian television drama one-off which aired in 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne. Part of the Shell Presents series of one-off television dramas and comedies, it was produced in Melbourne, but first shown in Sydney on 9 January 1960, and on 23 January 1960 Melbourne.

<i>Ballad for One Gun</i> 1963 Australian television film

Ballad for One Gun is a 1963 Australian television film about Ned Kelly broadcast on ABC.

"The Big Killing" is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC. A murder drama aired in a 70-minute time-slot, it was produced in ABC's Sydney studios. Producer was James Upshaw, whose previous works had included variety series The Lorrae Desmond Show.

Swamp Creatures is a 1957 stage play by the Australian author Alan Seymour. He later adapted it for radio and TV. It was Seymour's first produced play.

The Right Thing is a 1963 comedy Australian television play, that was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Tongue of Silver</span> 8th episode of the 1st season of Shell Presents

"A Tongue of Silver" is an episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. It starred John Meillon, who had been in Thunder of Silence in the same series.

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.

Dinner with the Family is a 1959 Australian TV play. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. It featured English star Jessie Matthews in her first Australian TV appearance - she was touring the country at the time - and was shot in Melbourne.

Murder Story is a 1958 Australian television play.

<i>Dark Under the Sun</i> 1960 Australian TV series or program

Dark Under the Sun is a 1960 Australian TV play. It was written by Brisbane author, Chris Gardner, who also wrote The House of Mancello (1962) and A Private Island (1964). Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The play concerned an interracial romance which led Filmink magazine to think it was "an indication that Australian television was willing to confront some of the nation’s trickier social issues head on." Other Australian TV plays to deal with racial issues included Burst of Summer. However the Aboriginal character is played by a white actor in blackface.

Eye of the Night is a 1960 Australian television play. It was written by Kay Keavney and directed by Christopher Muir.

Everyman is a 1964 Australian television play. It screened on the ABC and was directed by Christopher Muir, who filmed the whole script.

Who Killed Kovali? is a 1960 Australian television play. It had previously been filmed for British TV in 1957.

Seagulls Over Sorrento is a 1960 Australian television play. It was based on the popular stage play Seagulls Over Sorrento and was produced by Crawford Productions for Melbourne's HSV-7, airing on 1 May 1960 as an episode of "ACI Theatre". It screened on TCN-9 in Sydney on Sunday 12 June.

The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day was a 1960 Australian TV play based on the 1959 stage play of the same name by Peter Kenna.

References

  1. ↑ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 February 1960. p. 22.
  2. ↑ "Drama in Plays By Australians TV Series". The Age. 3 March 1960. p. 14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The day 'Turning Point' became 'boiling point'". TV Times. 31 March 1960. p. 9.
  4. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. ↑ Marshall, Valda (31 January 1960). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 80.
  6. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 3 March 1960. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (19 October 2020). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays – The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day". Filmink.
  8. ↑ "Hunt for Kidnapper". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 February 1960. p. 21.
  9. ↑ Marshall, Valda (21 February 1960). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 107.
  10. ↑ "Crime Story As Life Play On TV". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 February 1960. p. 6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.