The Astronauts (film)

The Astronauts is a television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in Australia during 1960 on ABC. Broadcast originally in Melbourne on 18 May 1960, a kinescope recording was made of the broadcast and shown in Sydney on 27 July 1960 (it is not known if it was also shown on ABC's stations in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth).[1][2] 'Filmink magazine said it may be the only Australian drama about the space race.[3]

The Astronauts
Written byDes Houghton
Directed byChristopher Muir
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
Production
Running time60 mins
Production company(s)ABC
DistributorABC
Release
Original release18 May 1960 (Melbourne - live)
27 July 1960 (Sydney)

Plot

Four men (two Americans, an Englishman and an Australian) are training in Australia to become astronauts, and are preparing for the first manned space launch, for which only one of the men will be selected.

Medical officers think the men are mentally and physically perfect. However one of them has a physical defect.[4]

Cast
  • David Mitchell as Len Cassidy
  • Mark Kelly as Jeff Burrows
  • Tony Brown as Flight Lieutenant Peter Corbitt, the English astronaut
  • Alan Hopgood as Dave Armstrong, the Australian astronaut
  • Keith Eden as Dr. Vaughan
  • Kurt Ludescher as a German scientist
  • Kendrick Hudson as a U.S. Air Force general
  • Marie Redshaw as Jill Corbitt, Peter's wife
  • Anne Harvey as Del Armstrong, Dave's wife
  • Collins Hilton as a steward

Production

Don Houghton was prompted to write the drama after the announcement of the Mercury Seven. Houghton said "For the sake of the play I hope any attempt to put a man in space will not be made before May 18," when the show was being broadcast.[5]

Houghton said the drama was not science fiction, but rather highlighted the short step ahead of what was actually happening with space exploration. The play posed the question, "what sort of man is an astronaut?"[5]

References
  1. "Astronauts on TV". The Age. 12 May 1960. p. 3.
  2. "Television Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 1960. p. 14.
  3. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  4. "Wednesday Television". The Age. 12 May 1960. p. TV Guide Supplement.
  5. "Tv Drama About Men in Space". The Age. 21 April 1960. p. 15.


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