Based on the famous play by Pirandello. This was during the ABC's arty phase.
Premise
This new adaptation of the play is set in a television studio, where a re hearsal is in progress for a new costumed serial. The actors and actresses are amazed when a family of six, dressed in mourning clothes, suddenly arrives in the studio and interrupts the producer. The six characters have a compelling and tragic story to tell.
Pirandello uses these characters to show that reality is an elusive thing when anybody attempts to re-enact it. In spite of the tragic implications, the story is told with humour.
The father is a commanding man whose ideas on life have caused his family extreme misery. The mother is a sad, uneducated woman who obeys her hus band’s every wish. The step-daughter is a brazen young woman, cynical and with a great deal of experience of life. The son is a solitary figure who finds him self a misfit because his mother abandoned him when she went off with an other man while his father sent him away into the country. The boy and girl are two silent and mysterious members of the family who play a” tragic part in the climax of the play.
The story tells what hap pens when the father sets out to seduce a girl, and finds that she is his daughter.
Cast
- Norman Kaye as the father
- Patricia Kennedy as the mother
- Lance Bennett as the son
- Cheryl Fisher as the daughter
- Marea Letho as the step daughter
- Michael Norman as the boy
- Terry Norris as the producer
- Marie Renshaw
- Ray Angel
Original play
The play debuted in 1921. The play can be borrowed here.
It had its American premiere in 1922 and an off Broadway revival in 1963.
Other adaptations
It was adapted for BBC radio in 1959.
It was adapted for BBC TV in 1954, directed by Royston Morley. They also filmed it in 1964.
It was done for BBC radio in 1946, 1947 and 1959.
It was performed on stage in Sydney in 1964. It was on stage in Melbourne in 1963.
Production
Philip Grenville Mann did the adaptation.
It was shot in Melbourne. Some scenes were shot at Flinders St Station, Melbourne.
Christopher Muir directed.
Reception
It aired in Melbourne Nov 1963 but didn't show in Sydney until August 1964. Too arty?
The Bulletin said it "came up surprisingly well."
The Sydney Morning Herald called it "a stimulating and dramatically rewarding effort."
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| SMH TV Guide 17 Aug 1964 |
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| Canberra Times 19 Aug 1964 p 21 |
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| The Age TV Guide 21 Nov 1963 p 3 |
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| SMH TV Guide 10 Aug 1964 p 4 |
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| The Bulletin 5 Sept 1964 p 51 |
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| SMH 20 Aug 1964 p 9 |
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| The Age 27 Nov 1963 p 24 |
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| The Age 27 Nov 1963 p 24 |
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