The Twelve Pound Look (1956 film)

The Twelve Pound Look is a 1956 live television play which aired on Sydney Australia station ABN-2 (part of ABC) during the opening night of the station. Based on a British stage play by J.M. Barrie, it is significant as it was the very first drama produced for Australian TV.[3][4] In the early days of Australian television it was common for dramas to be versions of overseas stories.[5]

The Twelve Pound Look
Directed byPaul O'Loughlin[1]
Based onplay by J.M. Barrie
Production
company
ABC
Release date
5 November 1956 (Sydney)
1957 (Melbourne)
Running time
30 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£335[2]

Kinescope recording existed at the time, and a copy of the play was made - it survives, albeit without sound.

Premise

Sir Harry Sims' first wife Kate returns.

Cast of 1956 Production

Production

The play had been performed several times on ABC radio in Australia. The television adaptation was broadcast live from the Arcon Studios in Sydney.Thelma Afford did the designs.[6][7]

"We were probably all a bit nervous, but everything went very smoothly," recalls script assistant Ruth Page.[8]

Reception

Australian Women's Weekly called the 1956 version "hard to fault. Acting, direction, camera work, make-up and lighting were all excellent."[9]

Melbourne 1957 Production
Ad from The Age 1 Apr 1957

A different adaptation of the play aired in Melbourne on 1 April 1957.[10] It cost more than the Sydney production, the final budget being a reported £684.[11]

It aired on ABV-2 (also part of ABC) and was also approx. 30 minutes.[12]

Archival status of this version is unknown.

Cast
  • Henry Cuthbertson
  • Elizabeth Wing
  • Mary Ward
  • Alfred Bristowe
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See also
  • List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)

References
  1. "Ruth Harris". ABC at Gore Hill.
  2. Day, Christopher (1981). "TV Drama". In Peter Beilby (ed.). Australian TV: The First 25 Years. Thomas Nelson. p. 135.
  3. "200,000 to see TV open". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 3 November 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Hutchinson, Neil (3 November 1956). "Television Drama" (PDF). ABC Weekly. p. 7.
  5. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  6. "RED IS DANGEROUS...EVEN ON TV". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia, Australia. 4 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 16 January 2020 – via Trove.
  7. "Fashion Designer Has Devised Her Tonal Scale for Film". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 October 1956. p. 22.
  8. http://www.abctvgorehill.com.au/abchtm/tvbr_operations.htm
  9. "TELEVISION PARADE". The Australian Women's Weekly. 24 (24). Australia, Australia. 14 November 1956. p. 26. Retrieved 20 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "'Live' Barrie Drama Production on TV". The Age. 28 March 1957. p. Supplement 3.
  11. Day, Christopher (1981). "TV Drama". In Peter Beilby (ed.). Australian TV: The First 25 Years. Thomas Nelson. p. 136.
  12. "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.


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