Australian TV Plays: Photo Finish (10 Nov 1965)

Adaptation of a play by Peter Ustinov.

Premise

A writer, Sam Kinsale, is visited by ghosts from his past - himself at the ages of twenty, forty (as a disgruntled fiction writer), and sixty (as a rich, popular hack novelist).

Cast

Frank Thring as Sam Kinsale, aged 80
Elspeth Ballantyne
Michael Duffield as the father
Beverley Dunn as the mother
Norman Ettling as the 40 year old
Patricia Kennedy as Stella, the wife
Patsy King
Stanley Walsh as the 20 year old
Raymond Westwell as the 60 year old

Original play

It was based on a play by Peter Ustinov. I think that first premiered in 1962. It was on Broadway in 1963. It was Ustinov's 15th play and his first return to the London stage in 6 years.

A copy of the complete text is here.

Other adaptations

An extract from the play had been performed on ABC-TV in 1963. It was called Ustinov in Orbit and was a 55 minute special where Ustinov talked through different productions of the play in four different countries. A review of that is here.

Frank Thring played the part on stage in 1964 in Melbourne; Michael Duffield was in that version too. There was a production in Sydney at the Ensemble in October 1965 with Max Cullen. That version was still playing when the TV play aired. A review of it is here.

It was filmed for BBC2 who showed it in January 1965. That is very quick. Did David Goddard push for it?

Production

Oscar Whitbread directed. Frank Thring was chosen to star because he resembled Ustinov (and had played it on stage). "It's an absolutely marvelous play and Sam's a wonderful, wonderful character to play," said Thring.

Reception

The Age said Thring "gave a striking performance" and praised the "sparkling dialogue".

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "excellent".