Episode no. Season 1
Episode 4 Teleplay by Ross Napier Running time 60 mins Cast Stewart Ginn | Directed by David Cahill Produced by Brett Porter Initial release 1959 | |
Original air date 27 June 1959 (Sydney, live)
8 August 1959 (Melbourne) | ||
They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. It aired as part of Shell Presents, a monthly presentation of standalone productions which aired from 1959 to 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne.
Contents
In contrast with the first three episodes of Shell Presents, which were tragedies, this was a comedy. It was also the first based on an original Australian script.
It was broadcast live in Sydney and later shown in Melbourne via a video-tape recording.
Plot
Set in Sydney. Two men, after being released from prison, unintentionally become unvolved in a baby kidnapping plot.
Cast
Production
The original script, by Ross Napier, won third prize of £400in the £3,000 Shell Australian TV drama competition.
First prize when to a play about Victoria's "Black Friday" on 13 January 1939, "The Day Called Black," by Robin Cornfield. Second prize went to "The Bed by the Window" about a hospital murder by Paul Chidlow. The first prize for adaptations went to Charles Phillips for an adaptation of the Henry Lawson story "Send Around the Hat." Second prize went to Catherine Hamilton for an adaptation of the Emlyn Williams play, "The Druid's Rest". James Downing won third prize for adapting the Victorian Sardou story, "The Black Pearl." The judges, Harry Dearth, Royston Morley, and John McCallum, said the standard of entries was disappointingly low.
Australian's Governor General, Sir William Slim visited the set and watched dress rehearsals.
The budget of the show was £3,070.
Reception
The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the "chief fault" of the play was it "stretched half an hour's worth of material over an hour-long format" and "the direct, waist-high frontal attack of director David Cahill's cameras. A little more imagination in the choice of angles and distance would have considerably reduced this monotony of observation" however it praised the touches and thought "the actors served... [the writer] well.
The Woman's Weekly critic called it "embarrassingly bad to watch".
In 1992 June Salter said it was the worst play or show she had ever been in.