Australian TV Plays: Captain Carvallo (21 May 1958)

The first "live" play produced from the new studios of the A.B.C. in Melbourne, which had opened on 21 May 1958.

It was directed by William Sterling.

It was based on a play by Denis Cannan, who also wrote Misery Me, also filmed by the ABC.

Premise

The setting is the last summer of a long war in a mythical European country. In a farmhouse in disputed territory, Smila Darde, wife of Caspar Darde, a farmer and lay preacher who is also a partisan, is asked for billet Captain Carvallo, an enemy officer, who is accompanied by Private Gross.

Her husband and his fellow partisan, Professor Winke, a biologist, are commanded to kill Carvallo but they discover they like him too much. They decide on a plan that satisfies their leader and saves Carvallo's wife even though this involves risking the reputation of Smila.

They decide to blow up Carvallo's billet. Carvallo plans to desert and stay with Smila but she sends him away.

Cast

Neil Fitzpatrick as Captain Carvallo
Mary Ward as Smila Darde
Syd Conabere
Frank Gatliff as Professor Winks (the part Peter Finch played)
John Morgan
Mary Ward
Brian Moll
Judith Godden

Original Play

The play was first tried out in March 1950 at the Bristol Old Vic, where Cannan was acting at the time.

A few months later, Laurence Olivier restaged the play – at the St James's theatre in London, with James Donald in the lead role, opposite Diana Wynyard. Peter Finch, then under contract to Olivier, played Professor Winkle. Jill Bennett was also in the cast.

It opened at the St. James Theatre on 9 August 1950, as the second production under Sir Laurence Olivier's management. ABC director Paul O'Loughlin was present at that performance.

Kit Cornell starred in a US production of the play in 1950 but it closed "out of town" i.e. it did not reach New York despite being directed by Tyrone Guthrie.

The play had been performed in theatres in Australia in Melbourne in 1952.

Michael Parkinson wrote in his memoirs that he once appeared in a production.

Other adaptations

The play was adapted for British TV in 1951 (with Peter Finch for the BBC), 1956 (with Ann Todd for ITV), and 1964 (with Macnee and Laurence Harvey for the BBC).

It was adapted for Canadian TV in 1955. It had also been filmed in Canada in 1953 with Patrick Macnee.

It had been performed on Australian radio in 1957 with Ray Barrett.

Production

It was the first presentation at the ABC's new studio at Rippon Lea, Melbourne. At that point, the ABC were using a small studio at Rippon Lea and telecasting its bigger productions from Coppin Hall. A third studio at Rippon Lea would be open in September

The NAA have photos, not online but records here. They also have a script. Record is here.

Reception

TV Week said the acting "was extraordinarily good" but thought "the outstanding feature was the production and camerawork.