Australian TV Plays: Rope (21 August 1957)

Based on Patrick Hamilton's classic play. The first depiction of gay characters in Australian TV drama?

The play was filmed again by ATN-7 in 1959.

Premise

Two friends, Granello and Brandon, commit murder for the thrill of it. They hide the body in their apartment and invite the family and friends of their victim over for a party.

Cast

John Meillon
Bruce Beeby
Don Pascoe
Roger Climpson
June Collis
Tom Farley
Keith Jervis

Original play

Very famous, due mostly to the 1948 Hitchcock film. Much adapted and revived. Hamilton wrote it when he was 25. It debuted in London in 1929. Hamilton's obit is here.

Frank Harvey played it on stage in Australia in 1933. A list of Australian stage productions is here.

Other adaptations

It was filmed by the BBC in 1939, 1947, in 1950 and 1953, by ITV in Oct 1957.

The BBC did it on radio in 1932, 1938, 1944, 1945, 1947 (with Dirk Bogarde), and 1953 (with Eric Portman). The 1932 radio production was a bit controversial - Val Gielgud writes about it in his book British Radio Drama 1922-1956 p 165-168. People wrote in letters of complaint. So too did the British Empire Union. Gielgud pointed out in p 168 that there had been more than one revival of the plan "and that they have passed off without protest of any kind".

The ABC did it for radio in 1953. There was a commercial version for radio in 1955.

Production

Rehearsals started in July 1957. Star John Meillon just finished a long run on stage in The Reluctant Debutante. It was recorded in Sydney under the direction of William Sterling and broadcast live.

A tape recording was later broadcast in Melbourne.

It was Meillon's first TV play.

Reception

According to an article in 19 September 1957 edition of The Age, the broadcast was well received by viewers during its Sydney telecast, and producer Sterling was happy with the quality of the kinescope/telerecording