Australian TV Plays: Night Stop (20 March 1963)

Play by British writer Norman King filmed in Melbourne. One of director Patrick Barton's "new English plays" efforts.

Shown Sydney 12 June 1963.

Premise

In a Midlands market town on the River Trent, a young bargeman, Eddy, is determined to learn the truth about the death of his friend, Frank. He believes the truth can be found in the Midlands market town on the River Trent. His search leads him to an Army corporal who is celebrating his wedding, and to three friends, Julie, Gary and Ray. He realises they know more about Frank than they are letting on and all were with him on the night he died.

Cast

George Whaley as Eddy
Judith Arthy as Julie
Alan Hopgood as Gary
Reg Livermore as Ray
Leslie Wright as army corporal
Betty Berrell
Helen Douglas
Roma Johnstone
Terence Donovan
Charles Haggith
Joseph Szabo
Georgie Alcock

Original play

Norman King's play appeared for Armchair Theatre in 1962. It was one of a trilogy of plays King wrote for that show, all directed by Alan Cooke and set in Midland pubs: the others were The Fishing Match and The Cruel Kind. Review in The Observer is here.

Production

It was the second Australian TV production from Patrick Barton (after You Can't Win 'Em All) who seemed determine to turn the ABC into a top producer of British drama.

Many of the cast were relative newcomers to Australian screens. George Whaley had appeared many times on stage by only had a big TV part in The Rivals. Leslie Wright had just moved to Australia from Scotland.

Arthy had been in The Fantasticks and Jonah. "Julie is a terribly immature, introverted sort of girl," she said.

It was advertised as "live modern suspense drama."

Reception

The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald thought the script was "pointless sensation seeking... more than ordinarily tiresome. Why this weary reshuffling of mildewed dramatic effects in an English setting should have been called worth reproducing in it Melbourne studio is difficult to understand."