Rex Rienits

Rex Rienits (17 April 1909 – 1971) was an Australian writer of radio, films, plays and TV. He was a journalist before becoming one of the leading radio writers in Australia. He moved to England in 1949[1] and worked for a number of years there.[2] He later returned to Australia and worked on early local TV drama.

Biography

Rienits worked as a journalist and boxing promoter in Wagga Wagga.[3] He moved to Sydney, where he continued to work as a journalist but also wrote for radio.

In 1939 he helped form the Playwright's Advisory Board.[4] In the mid-1940s he was hired by Henry Watt of Ealing Studios to prepare a research document on the Eureka Rebellion which formed the basis of the 1948 film Eureka Stockade.[5] He moved to England in 1949 and wrote scripts for radio, film and TV. His big breakthrough was a popular radio adaptation of Robbery Under Arms.[6]

The success of a script Assassin for Hire led to offers to do three more scripts starting with Wide Boy.[7] In December 1951 he was reportedly one of the highest paid freelancers in Britain.[8]

Rienits returned to Australia in late 1954.[9]

He later returned to London, where he died of a heart attack in 1971.[10]

Personal life

His first marriage ended in divorce in 1932.[11] His second wife Josephine died in 1954.[12]

Selected writings

Radio
  • Anti-Climax (1931) – a one-act play[13]
  • For Auction (1931) – a one-act play[14]
  • Art, for Art's Sake (1931) – a one-act play[15]
  • Midnight Interlufe (1931) – a one-act play[16]
  • Reunion (1938)[17]
  • Margaret Catchpole (1945)
  • He Found What He Wanted (1947)[18]
  • Stormy Petrel (1948) – serial[19] – rebroadcast in 1953
  • Robbery Under Arms (1949) – BBC radio adaptation of novel[20]
  • Fulfilment (1951)[21]
  • Wide Boy (1952)[22]
  • A Shilling for Candles (1953) adaptation of novel by Josephine Tey for BBC radio[23]
  • The Woman on the Beach (1953)[24]
  • Front Page Lead (1954)[25]
  • The Journey of Simon McEever (1954)[26]
  • Joseph Proctor's Money (1954) adapted from story by W. H. Lane Crawford[27]
  • Bligh Has a Daughter (1954)
  • Close to the Roof (1960)
  • John Lancaster (1961)
  • Flying Doctor (1958–63) – serial[28]
  • Holiday Task (1961)

Films

TV Plays

TV Series
  • The Passing Show (1951) (TV series) – writer of various episodes
  • BBC Sunday Night Theatre – episode "No Smoking!" (1952)
  • Patrol Car (1954) (TV series) – episode "Bombs in Piccadilly"
  • The Vise (1955) (TV series) – "Count of Twelve"
  • The Third Man (1959) – episode "Death in Small Installments"
  • Jazz Boat (1960) – screenplay (original story)
  • Jezebel (1963) – original story for episodes
  • Riptide (Australian TV series)Riptide (1969) – story for episode "One Way to Nowhere"

Mini-Series

Books
  • Eureka Stockade (1949) – non fiction
  • Wide Boy (1952) – fiction
  • Assassin for Hire (1952) – fiction
  • The Voyages of James Cook (1969) – non fiction

Plays
  • Slaves to Tradition (1931)[34]
  • Hide Out (1937) – co written with S Howard, produced at the Independent Theatre[35]
  • Lightning Strikes Twice (1944)[36]

(He also directed various plays including productions of Golden Boy[37])

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References
  1. "This Week In Town". The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 30 January 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  2. "London Penthouse". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 16 December 1953. p. 57. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  3. "PERSONAL". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 March 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. "LIFE and LETTERS". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 17 June 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. "EUREKA STOCKADE FOR FILM". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 November 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  6. "Australian's Television Play To Be Filmed". The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 5 November 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  7. "Australian Writer Succeeds in London". The Age (30, 161). Victoria, Australia. 29 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 5 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Hat-Trick By Film Script Man". The Newcastle Sun (10, 590). New South Wales, Australia. 20 December 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 5 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Home Again". ABC Weekly. 22 January 1955. p. 3.
  10. "Rex Rienits dies in London". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 5 May 1971. p. 24. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  11. "IN DIVORCE". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 30 November 1932. p. 7. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  12. "Author's loss". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 26 January 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  13. "BROADCASTING". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 23 January 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  14. "MONDAY'S PROGRAMMES". The Queensland Times. Ipswich, Queensland: National Library of Australia. 28 February 1931. p. 14 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  15. "2GB SYDNEY". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. National Library of Australia. 15 April 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  16. "2GB SYDNEY". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. National Library of Australia. 29 April 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  17. "BROADCASTING PUSH BUTTON TUNING". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 16 November 1938. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  18. "5KA". The News. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 June 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  19. "STARS OF THE AIR". Wodonga and Towong Sentinel. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  20. "Australian Classic For B.B.C." The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 18 December 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  21. "To-day's Radia Programmes". The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  22. "BROADCAST OF PLAY CANCELLED". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 7 February 1952. p. 9. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  23. http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/A_Shilling_for_Candles_%28BBC_Radio,_09/Jan/1954%29
  24. "Advertising". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 June 1953. p. 39. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  25. "MARGARET'S COLUMN". Illawarra Daily Mercury. Wollongong, NSW: National Library of Australia. 15 April 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  26. "TAKES ROLE OF SALESWOMAN". Illawarra Daily Mercury. Wollongong, NSW: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  27. "Women's Interests On The Air Easter In Athens". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 24 June 1954. p. 5 Section: Women's Section. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  28. Gifford, Denis (1985). The Golden Age of Radio. Batsford. p. 85. ISBN 0-7134-4235-2.
  29. "Australian's Television Play To Be Filmed". The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 5 November 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  30. "Latest Fiction". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 November 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  31. "Studio Gossip". The Sunday Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 19 August 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  32. "Perry Masan in three live shows". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 21 June 1961. p. 19. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  33. ""THE HUNGRY ONES"". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 10 July 1963. p. 17. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  34. "WINNING PLAY". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 15 May 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  35. ""HIDEOUT."". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 17 April 1937. p. 10. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  36. "THE AMATEUR THEATRE "HIAWATHA", AN ALL-GIRL SHOW". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 19 October 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  37. ""GOLDEN BOY" IS STRONG DRAMATIC FARE". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 13 December 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
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