Rex Rienits (17 April 1909 – 1971) was an Australian writer of radio, films, plays and TV. He was a journalist before becoming one of the leading radio writers in Australia. He moved to England in 1949 and worked for a number of years there. He later returned to Australia and worked on early local TV drama.
Rienits worked as a journalist and boxing promoter in Wagga Wagga. He moved to Sydney where he continued to work as a journalist but also wrote for radio.
In 1939 he helped form the Playwright's Advisory Board. In the mid-1940s he was hired by Henry Watt of Ealing Studios to prepare a research document on the Eureka Rebellion which formed the basis of the 1948 film Eureka Stockade. He moved to England in 1949 and wrote scripts for radio, film and TV. His big breakthrough was a popular radio adaptation of Robbery Under Arms.
He later returned to London, where he died of a heart attack in 1971.
His first marriage ended in divorce in 1932. His second wife Josephine died in 1954.
Anti-Climax (1931) – a one-act playFor Auction (1931) – a one-act playArt, for Art's Sake (1931) – a one-act playMidnight Interlufe (1931) – a one-act playReunion (1938)Margaret Catchpole (1945)He Found What He Wanted (1947)Stormy Petrel (1948) – serial – rebroadcast in 1953Robbery Under Arms (1949) – BBC radio adaptation of novelFulfilment (1951)Wide Boy (1952)A Shilling for Candles (1953) adaptation of novel by Josephine Tey for BBC radioThe Woman on the Beach (1953)Front Page Lead (1954)The Journey of Simon McEever (1954)Joseph Proctor's Money (1954) adapted from story by W. H. Lane CrawfordBligh Has a Daughter (1954)Close to the Roof (1960)John Lancaster (1961)Flying Doctor (1961) – serialHoliday Task (1961)Eureka Stockade (1949) – original research for screenplayAssassin for Hire (1951) – screenplay, based on his 1950 TV play – also a novelWide Boy (1952)Noose for a Lady (1953)River Beat (1954)Fabian of the Yard (1954)No Smoking (1955)Out of the Clouds (1955)Cross Channel (1955)Count of Twelve (1955)Walk Into Paradise (1956)Three in One (1957)Smiley Gets a Gun (1958)Assassin for Hire (September 1950) – aired on BBCThe Million Pound Note (1950) – based on the novel by Mark TwainJoseph Proctor's Money (1951) – TV playThe Bodgie (1959) – TV movieClose to the Roof (1960) – TV movieWho Killed Kovali? (1960) – TV movieThe Passing Show (1951) (TV series) – writer of various episodesBBC Sunday Night Theatre – episode "No Smoking!" (1952)Patrol Car (1954) (TV series) – episode "Bombs in Piccadilly"The Vise (1955) (TV series) – "Count of Twelve"The Third Man (1959) – episode "Death in Small Installments"Jazz Boat (1960) – screenplay (original story)Jezebel (1963) – original story for episodesRiptide (Australian TV series)Riptide (1969) – story for episode "One Way to Nowhere"Stormy Petrel (1960) – TV seriesThe Outcasts (1961) – TV scriptThe Hungry Ones (1963) – TV scriptEureka Stockade (1949) – non fictionWide Boy (1952) – fictionAssassin for Hire (1952) – fictionThe Voyages of James Cook (1969) – non fictionSlaves to Tradition (1931)Hide Out (1937) – co written with S Howard, produced at the Independent TheatreLightning Strikes Twice (1944)(He also directed various plays including productions of Golden Boy)
