The Big Day (Shell Presents): Difference between revisions
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'''''The Big Day''''' is an Australian television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. |
'''''The Big Day''''' is an Australian television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. The fifth episode of the ''[[Shell Presents]]'' presentations of standalone television dramas, it originally aired 11 July 1959 on Melbourne station [[GTV (Australia)|GTV-9]], a video-tape was made of the broadcast and shown on Sydney station ATN-7 on 25 July 1959 (this was prior to the formation of the Nine Network and Seven Network). |
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Written by Sydney writer John Ford,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GFsRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TKsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4943%2C1475638 newspaper=The Age|title=TV Guide|date=9 July 1959|page=15}}</ref> it is significant as an early example of Australian-written television drama. |
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''Shell Presents'' was a monthly series presenting locally produced television dramas and comedies. Most of these were adaptations of overseas dramas such as ''Johnny Belinda'' and ''[[One Bright Day (play)|One Bright Day]]'', but a few were locally-written. |
''Shell Presents'' was a monthly series presenting locally produced television dramas and comedies. Most of these were adaptations of overseas dramas such as ''Johnny Belinda'' and ''[[One Bright Day (play)|One Bright Day]]'', but a few were locally-written. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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A drama about a costing clerk's last day of working in a city office prior to his retirement. |
A drama about a costing clerk's last day of working in a city office prior to his retirement. On the same day his son is arrested for joy riding in a car. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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*[[Edward Howell (actor)|Edward Howell]] |
*[[Edward Howell (actor)|Edward Howell]] as Horace Skeats |
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*Elizabeth Wing |
*Elizabeth Wing |
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*[[Don Battye]] |
*[[Don Battye]] |
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*Frank Rich |
*Frank Rich |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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The play was written by John Ford, a Sydney |
The play was written by John Ford, a Sydney journalist.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/whitlam-adviser-and-highflyer/2007/01/11/1168105113282.html|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|first=Gary|last=Scully|title= Whitlam adviser and high-flyer John Ford, 1926-2006|date=12 January 2007}}</ref> |
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It was the second original Australian episode of ''Shell Presents'', following ''[[They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful]]''. That play had come third in a Shell-sponsored competition for new Australian TV plays. Ford wrote ''The Big Day'' for this competition but was unable to submit it in time. However it was picked up for production. His writing style was compared with [[Paddy Chayefsky]] but Ford said, "I wasn't conscious of writing in any particular style when I started the play. All I have tried to do is portray a day in the life of an extremely ordinary little bloke, the kind of person who lives a dull existence from one week to the next."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=14 June 1959|title=TV Merry Go Round|first=Val|last=Marshall|page=70}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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The TV critic for the ''Woman's Weekly'' called it "beautifully done, well acted and produced... an hour of very real and moving entertainment. All the Australians in it were just ordinary people, not the usual well-known theatrical Australian types but the kind of people you'd find any- where in the world."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44798327 |title=Good telecasts make TV real magic box |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=27, |issue=10 |location=Australia, Australia |date=12 August 1959 |accessdate=1 March 2017 |page=58 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> |
The TV critic for the ''Woman's Weekly'' called it "beautifully done, well acted and produced... an hour of very real and moving entertainment. All the Australians in it were just ordinary people, not the usual well-known theatrical Australian types but the kind of people you'd find any- where in the world."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44798327 |title=Good telecasts make TV real magic box |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=27, |issue=10 |location=Australia, Australia |date=12 August 1959 |accessdate=1 March 2017 |page=58 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> |
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The critic for the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' thought the play demonstrated "television 's ability to make dramatic entertainment of undramatic people and events... except for about 45 seconds of gross overstatement in the middle of the play, and a sentimental twist at the end which weakens its main argument" the main conflict was "cleverly conducted and neatly contrived". He thought Kinnear's "direction was generally efficient, and, in one or two scenes and the opening documentary titles, more imaginative than in some previous unlively live productions."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|title=Aust. Play On ATN|date=27 July 1959 |page=5}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*''[[Reflections in Dark Glasses]]'' - Shell Presents episode |
*''[[Reflections in Dark Glasses]]'' - Shell Presents episode |
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Revision as of 11:52, 1 March 2017
| "The Big Day" | |
|---|---|
| Shell Presents episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Rod Kinnear |
| Teleplay by | John Ford |
| Original air dates | 11 July 1959 (Melbourne, live) 25 July 1959 (Sydney, taped) |
| Running time | 60 mins |
The Big Day is an Australian television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in 1959. The fifth episode of the Shell Presents presentations of standalone television dramas, it originally aired 11 July 1959 on Melbourne station GTV-9, a video-tape was made of the broadcast and shown on Sydney station ATN-7 on 25 July 1959 (this was prior to the formation of the Nine Network and Seven Network).
Written by Sydney writer John Ford,[1] it is significant as an early example of Australian-written television drama.
Shell Presents was a monthly series presenting locally produced television dramas and comedies. Most of these were adaptations of overseas dramas such as Johnny Belinda and One Bright Day, but a few were locally-written.
Archival status of the program is unknown.
Plot
A drama about a costing clerk's last day of working in a city office prior to his retirement. On the same day his son is arrested for joy riding in a car.
Cast
- Edward Howell as Horace Skeats
- Elizabeth Wing
- Don Battye
- Roslyn De Winter
- Syd Conabere
- Tony Brown
- Dudley Burton
- John Morgan
- Frank Rich
Production
The play was written by John Ford, a Sydney journalist.[2]
It was the second original Australian episode of Shell Presents, following They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful. That play had come third in a Shell-sponsored competition for new Australian TV plays. Ford wrote The Big Day for this competition but was unable to submit it in time. However it was picked up for production. His writing style was compared with Paddy Chayefsky but Ford said, "I wasn't conscious of writing in any particular style when I started the play. All I have tried to do is portray a day in the life of an extremely ordinary little bloke, the kind of person who lives a dull existence from one week to the next."[3]
Reception
The TV critic for the Woman's Weekly called it "beautifully done, well acted and produced... an hour of very real and moving entertainment. All the Australians in it were just ordinary people, not the usual well-known theatrical Australian types but the kind of people you'd find any- where in the world."[4]
The critic for the Sydney Morning Herald thought the play demonstrated "television 's ability to make dramatic entertainment of undramatic people and events... except for about 45 seconds of gross overstatement in the middle of the play, and a sentimental twist at the end which weakens its main argument" the main conflict was "cleverly conducted and neatly contrived". He thought Kinnear's "direction was generally efficient, and, in one or two scenes and the opening documentary titles, more imaginative than in some previous unlively live productions."[5]
See also
- Reflections in Dark Glasses - Shell Presents episode
- They Were Big, They Were Blue, They Were Beautiful - Shell Presents episode
- List of television plays broadcast on ATN-7
References
- ^ newspaper=The Age "TV Guide". 9 July 1959. p. 15.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help); Missing pipe in:|url=(help) - ^ Scully, Gary (12 January 2007). "Whitlam adviser and high-flyer John Ford, 1926-2006". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Marshall, Val (14 June 1959). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 70.
- ^ "Good telecasts make TV real magic box". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 27, , no. 10. Australia, Australia. 12 August 1959. p. 58. Retrieved 1 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Aust. Play On ATN". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 July 1959. p. 5.
External links
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