Dark Under the Sun

Dark Under the Sun is a 1960 Australian TV play. It was written by Brisbane author, Chris Gardner, who also wrote The House of Mancello (1962) and A Private Island (1964). Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The play concerned an interracial romance which led Filmink magazine to think it was "an indication that Australian television was willing to confront some of the nation’s trickier social issues head on."[2] Other Australian TV plays to deal with racial issues included Burst of Summer.[3]

Dark Under the Sun
Ad from the Age 23 Mar 1960
Written byChris Gardner
Directed byWilliam Sterling
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
Production
Running time60 mins
Production company(s)ABC
Release
Original networkABC
Original release23 March 1960 (Melbourne)[1]
27 April 1960 (Sydney)

It was aired on ABC and ran for an hour on Wednesday 27 April 1960 at 8.30pm. It was produced in Melbourne.[4]

Plot

A university-educated half-aboriginal man, Jim Robertson, falls for a white woman, his childhood playmate, Julie Handford. Social and family problems begin when they decide to get married. The play is set at a homestead near a Queensland banana plantation. Beryl Parker is a scheming friend.

Cast
  • Edward Brayshaw as Jim Robertson
  • Moira Carleton as Grannie Hill
  • Elizabeth Goodma as Julie Handford
  • James Lynch as Les Holland
  • Berys Marsh as Beryl Parker
  • John Norman as Dave Handford
  • Joyce Turner as Mr Handford

Production

In January 1960 the ABC announced the play would be one of several new TV plays from Australian writers. The others included Eye of the Night, The Turning Point and The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day.[5]

Director William Sterling said the play was written in the style of Paddy Chayevsky or Ted Willis - "a familiar social situation being shown in a simple, believable story with recognisable characters appearing in realistic situations and arguing their point of view forcefully without being mere mouthpieces for a particular opinion."[1]

Advertising called it "a dramatic live play by Chris Gardner on the problem of social assimilation in a Queensland community."[6]

Reception

The Age said it was "outstanding".[7]

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References
  1. "Untitled". The Age. 17 March 1960. p. 13.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  3. Vagg, Stephen (25 May 2020). "The A to Z of Non-White Aussie Movies and TV in White Australia". Filmink.
  4. "Drama on Racial Problem". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 April 1960. p. 15.
  5. "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 1960. p. 80.
  6. "Advertisement". The Age. 23 March 1960. p. 11.
  7. Janus (29 December 1960). "Year ABC Gave Us a Heart Attack - and Remedy". The Age. p. 9.


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