Australian TV Plays: Uneasy Paradise (26 June 1963)

An Australian play from 1963! Written by Laurence Collinson.

Premise

Neville is a gambler married to Sally. Neville is a big likable man who did well in the army, got a uni degree and looked like becoming a journalist but his early promise was not realised.

He loses much money at a club run by Paolo.

Cast

Peter Aanensen as Neville Black
Terri Aldred as Sally, his wife
Syd Conabere as Billy
Edward Howell as Paolo
Jules Caffari as Gambler
James Lynch
Douglas Kelly
Ian Boyce
Roly Barlee
Ron Pinnell
Stewart Weller
Lewis Tegart
Ray Angel

Production

The show was an original script written by Melbourne writer Laurence Collinson. It was based on a true story and was written as part of a challenge by William Sterling, who directed, at a UNESCO conference in Adelaide. Sterling challenged the audience to submit a TV play. The only one to take him up on it was Collinson.

Collinson was a former school teacher who worked for the publications branch of the Dept of Education in Melbourne. He had written a novel and plays.

His papers are at the National Library of Australia. According to them Collinson also did the adaptation of Nude with Violin plus two that don't seem to have been produced: The audition (Australia, 1964) The moods of love (Australia, 1964). See here He moved to England in 1964. (Moods of Love was a 1958 collection of poems - see here.)

"It is based on a true incident which took place in Melbourne," Collinson said, adding he was not interested in writing a gangster play but. "wanted to study the character of a gambler. My interest is less in action than in showing the effect of action on the main characters."

William Sterling decided to treat the subject matter "neo-realistically" .

TV Times said it was the first workshop type production attempted on ABV-2. Collinson attended all rehearsals and in the early stages exchanged ideas with the producer and the cast. Many of these were incorporated as they went along.

It was shot in Melbourne and went for 60 minutes.Sets and costumes designed by Douglas Smith from Sydney.

My thoughts on script

The study of a gambling addict, a salesman who is hooked on the cards much to the chagrin of his wife, Sally. It's not bad - believable enough look at addiction. I would have preferred more local colour.

Was this done for radio?

Reception

The Age criticised the writing saying, "if we must encourage local writers, then let us do so again without prejudice. But if works of a higher standard are sought to lift local drama, it would serve the ABC better to give up regular production and present plays on merit only..."

It was 1963 and they were still writing this.

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the plot "carried a spell of authenticity which was broken only by a contrived and comfortable ending" in which Sterling's production "exploited camera angles and action scenes vividly enough to make the-television medium, seem eminently suitable for an effective if somewhat sordid play that took all the tricks except the final, one of a satisfactory, ending."

Listened In liked the local colour but thought it lacked dramatic tension.

Phil Mann wrote to Collinson called it "a very nice piece of work. There was meat on the bones, and you told a story. It was heard to beat good honest storytelling."