Crawford Productions is an
Australian media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
production company, focused on radio and
television production
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
. Founded in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
by
Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist
Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the
WIN Corporation.
Founding and early years
Founded exclusively as a radio production company in 1945, Crawford Productions then specialized in drama, light entertainment, and educational programs. When
broadcast television
Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals.
Analog television systems were standardized b ...
was introduced to Australia in 1956, Crawford Productions was one of the few Australian radio production houses to successfully transition to the new medium.
Early Crawford TV productions included ''
Wedding Day'' (HSV-7, 1956), the first Australian-produced
sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
''
Take That!'' (HSV-7, 1957–59), ''The
Peters Club
''Peters Club'' was an Australian children's television series which reportedly debuted in 1958, and aired on GTV-9, running into 1959. At the time, many Australian TV series were only broadcast on a single station instead of being networked, wh ...
'' (GTV-9, 1958), ''
Raising a Husband'' (GTV-9, 1958) and the drama play ''
Seagulls Over Sorrento
''Seagulls Over Sorrento'' is a 1954 British war drama film made by the Boulting brothers based on the play of the same name by Hugh Hastings. The film stars Gene Kelly and was one of three made by Kelly in Europe over an 18-month period t ...
'' (HSV-7, 1960). They also produced segments of the ''Export Action'' documentary series, ''The Flying Dogtor'' cartoon series, and a local adaptation of the US game show ''
Video Village'' (HSV-7, 1962–66).
The company's production quality was known to be higher quality than that of their closest rival, the
Reg Grundy Organisation
Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...
, who specialized in quiz and game shows before transitioning to drama serials. Company co-founder Hector Crawford was well known as an
orchestral conductor and as a prominent figure in the ongoing campaign for local content regulations on Australian television.
During the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, Crawford Productions dominated Australian drama series. They gained an early foothold with their first major TV series, ''
Consider Your Verdict'' (1961–64), which presented dramatizations of court cases. Like other local producers, they faced heightened competition from imported overseas programming, as there were no local content regulations governing Australian television at the time. As a result of this ''de facto'' free-trade agreement, most programs shown on Australian TV content were imported from America. At the time when ''Homicide'' premiered in late 1964, more than 80% of all content broadcast on Australian TV came from America, and American productions enjoyed a virtual monopoly over the TV drama field. The report of the 1963 Vincent Commission into the Australian media found that 97% of all drama shows broadcast in Australia between 1956 and 1963 were American productions.
Australian producers competed against high-quality, high-budget imported programs that drew from an international talent pool and a skill-base that grew out of Hollywood. The competitive advantage enjoyed by imported content was exacerbated by the fact that the once-thriving Australian film industry had been decimated by competition from the major American studios. Since the beginning of the 1960s, film production in Australia had come to a standstill. Only one locally produced and funded feature film was made in Australia in the decade between 1959 and 1969. One of the major impacts of the suppression of the local film industry was a rapid erosion of skills and experience among local film-makers and an exodus of local talent to Britain and the USA.
''Homicide''
Crawford experienced mainstream success with its popular and long-running police drama ''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'', which premiered in October 1964 on the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...
. It became the first Australian TV drama series produced locally to become a major ratings success and compete effectively with imported American programming.
As video technology was still in its infancy in Australia at that time, Crawford Productions developed a highly efficient integrated production schedule to combine studio scenes recorded on videotape with location footage captured on film for each weekly episode. Encouraged by the success of ''Homicide'' (which continued in production until 1975) their next drama project was the ambitious espionage drama ''
Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
'' (1967), which was purchased by the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
. It starred
Tony Ward and also made a star out of the actor who played its villain,
Gerard Kennedy.
''Division 4'' and ''Matlock Police''
After ''Hunter'' ended in 1969, a new police drama, ''
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success ...
'' (1969) was conceived as a vehicle for Kennedy's talents and he became a dual
Gold Logie winner, the series also screened on the Nine Network; the other stars included former game show host and newsreader
Chuck Faulkner,
Terry Donovan, and
Ted Hamilton. Unlike ''Homicide'', which concentrated on murder plots, ''Division 4'' was set in a suburban Melbourne police station, and covered a broad range of police work, as well as occasionally featuring more light-hearted episodes. It too became an enduring popular success and earned Kennedy two
Logie Award
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine '' TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as th ...
s.
Crawford's next venture was a rural police series ''
Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'' (1971), which was sold to the
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
. Like Crawford's other ventures it enjoyed success and popularity. It starred veteran Australian actor
Michael Pate, who had spent many years in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, and featured
Paul Cronin, who was later given his own spinoff series: ''
Solo One''. With the success of ''Matlock Police'', Crawford Productions cemented its position as Australia's leading drama production house and gained the unique distinction of having a successful weekly drama series running simultaneously on each of the three major commercial networks.
''Ryan'' and ''The Box''
In 1973, Crawford Productions created the action-adventure series ''
Ryan
Ryan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
*Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Australia
* Division of Ryan, an elector ...
'' (1973), starring
Rod Mullinar as a private investigator. This was an all-film colour production (at a time when Australian TV was still in black and white and transitioning to colour) made to target overseas sales, but it only lasted one series and 39 episodes. In 1974, Crawfords moved into the realm of
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
with its sex-comedy serial ''
The Box'', which was set in a TV station, UCV channel 12. With the top-rating 0-10 Network serial ''
Number 96
96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down.
In mathematics
96 is:
* an octagonal number.
* a refactorable number.
* an untouchable number.
* a semiperfect ...
'' as its lead in ''The Box'' was an instant success.
''Homicide'', ''Division 4'', and ''Matlock Police'' remained highly popular through the early 1970s, and ''The Box'' was a big hit in its premiere year, ranking as Australia's second highest-rated program for 1974. With a highly popular police drama on each commercial network, the production company was booming. However, in 1975 and 1976, ''Homicide'', ''Division 4'', and ''Matlock Police'' were all abruptly cancelled. It has been suggested that this was because Hector Crawford and several of the actors who featured in his shows figured prominently in the contemporary ''TV: Make It Australian'' campaign, agitating for stronger local content regulations to promote and protect local TV production.
Though the ratings for ''The Box'' were significantly lower when compared to the figures from its first year, the show continued until 1976. ''The Box'' was cancelled in early 1977 and production ended on the series 1 April 1977. The company also created
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
series ''
The Bluestone Boys'' (1976) which was set in a prison, and ''
Bobby Dazzler'', a vehicle for pop singer
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
, in 1977. ''
Bluey'' (1976) saw a return to police drama but with a new spin; however, the series was not a major success.
''The Sullivans'' and others
Greater success came with ''
The Sullivans
''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'' (1976–83), a critically acclaimed and highly popular World War II family serial co-starring
Lorraine Bayly and former Matlock lead Paul Cronin. Continuing the trend at that time for evening soap opera type shows on Australian television they later launched ''
Cop Shop'' (1977–84), a meld of soap opera with the Crawfords staple of police drama, and the series emerged as a popular success. ''Cop Shop'' featured George Mallaby and former ''
Bellbird'' star
Terry Norris. ''
Skyways Skyways may refer to:
* Skyway, walk bridge
*Skyways (British airline), defunct British airline also known as Skyways Limited
*Skyways (Swedish airline), defunct Swedish airline also known as Skyways Express
* ''Skyways'' (TV series), Australian TV ...
'' (1979–81) replicated the soap opera-meets-weekly adult drama hybrid of ''Cop Shop'' in an airport setting, with less success. Later programmes included legal drama ''
Carson's Law'' (1983–84), a vehicle for former ''The Sullivans'' star
Lorraine Bayly, children's series ''
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'' and the popular outback medical drama ''
The Flying Doctors''.
Acquisition
The company started life in small premises located in
Little Collins Street, Melbourne, moved to the now
heritage listed
Olderfleet Building in
Collins Street Collins Street or Collins St. may refer to:
Structures Places of worship
* Collins Street Baptist Church, a church in Melbourne, Australia
* Collins Street Independent Church, a church in Melbourne, Australia Skyscrapers
* 101 Collins Street, a sk ...
, then in 1972 to Southampton Crescent,
Abbotsford, and in 1982 to Middleborough Road,
Box Hill. In the 1980s, they set up an international branch Crawford Productions International, which its main purpose that Crawfords would film series for foreign companies, namely the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, and Crawford decided to co-finance with American network
HBO in order to develop a second series of the long-running ''
All the Rivers Run'', which premiered on HBO in 1983. That year, Nick McMahon and Mike Lake, had ankle from the company to serve as consultant executive producers for the programs that were produced by Crawfords. In 1987, Crawfords themselves was sold off to a diversified entertainment group, Ariadne Australia, and there would going to be a link between Crawford Productions and De Laurentiis Entertainment Limited, a subsidiary of the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group in which Ariadne is the second-largest stockholder in the group, and Crawfords' series wanted to be a cash flow underpinning the then-under construction DEL studios to produce their own projects, each of these were filmed.
The company was sold to
WIN Corporation in 1989. Subsequent Crawfords drama productions included ''
State Coroner'', ''
The Saddle Club'', and ''
Guinevere Jones''. The Crawford studios in Box Hill, Victoria were demolished in March 2006 and a
Bunnings Warehouse
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wes ...
opened on the site on 30 June 2006. In 2009, Crawfords Australia had an eight-acre studio complex in Melbourne.
While the company is still in existence, it currently does not produce television, concentrating instead on marketing DVD releases of the company's earlier dramas.
List of notable Crawford series
Note:
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
,
Network 10
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fi ...
(NRN) and
WIN Television have the free-to-air broadcast rights to those shows, not the other rival networks
*''
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead sin ...
'' (1957–1959) (comedy)
*''
Consider Your Verdict'' (1961–1964) (courtroom drama)
*''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'' (1964–1977) (police drama)
*''
Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
'' (1967–1969) (espionage drama)
*''
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success ...
'' (1969–1975) (police drama)
*''
Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'' (1971–1976) (police drama)
*''
Ryan
Ryan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
*Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Australia
* Division of Ryan, an elector ...
'' (1973) (private-eye drama)
*''
The Box'' (1974–1977) (soap opera)
*''
The Last of the Australians'' (1975–1976) (sitcom)
*''
Bluey'' (1976–1977) (police drama)
*''
The Sullivans
''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'' (1976–1983) (period drama, soap opera)
*''
Solo One'' (1976) (police drama)
*''
The Bluestone Boys'' (1976) (sitcom)
*''
Bobby Dazzler'' (1977–1978) (sitcom)
*''
Young Ramsay'' (1977–1980) (drama)
*''
Cop Shop'' (1977–1984) (soap opera)
*''
Skyways Skyways may refer to:
* Skyway, walk bridge
*Skyways (British airline), defunct British airline also known as Skyways Limited
*Skyways (Swedish airline), defunct Swedish airline also known as Skyways Express
* ''Skyways'' (TV series), Australian TV ...
'' (1979–1981) (soap opera)
*''
Holiday Island'' (1981–1982) (soap opera)
*''
All the Rivers Run'' (1983) (miniseries)
*''
Carson's Law'' (1983–1984) (period drama, legal drama)
*''
Special Squad'' (1984) (police drama)
*''
The Henderson Kids'' (1985–1987) (children's drama)
*''
Zoo Family
''Zoo Family'' is an Australian children's television series broadcast on the Nine Network on 23 June 1985. The series was produced by Crawford Productions.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p. 499 It was film ...
'' (1985) (children's drama)
*''
Fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
'' (1985) (film)
*''
Alice to Nowhere'' (1986) (miniseries)
*''
My Brother Tom
''My Brother Tom'' is a 1986 Australian television miniseries about sectarianism in a small country town.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p215
References
External links''My Brother Tom''at ...
'' (1986) (miniseries)
*''
The Flying Doctors'' (1986–1993) (drama)
*''
The Far Country'' (1988) (telemovie)
*''
All the Way'' (1988) (period drama)
*''
Acropolis Now'' (1989–1992) (sitcom)
*''
Jackaroo
A jackaroo is a young man (feminine equivalent jillaroo) working on a sheep or cattle station, to gain practical experience in the skills needed to become an owner, overseer, manager, etc. The word originated in Queensland, Australia, in the ...
'' (1990) (miniseries)
*''
The Feds
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1993–1996) (crime drama, telemovie series)
*''
Newlyweds
Newlyweds are people who have recently entered into a marriage. The time frame during which a married couple is considered newlywed varies, but for social science research purposes it may be considered as up to six months into the marriage.Rebecca ...
'' (1993–1994) (sitcom)
*''
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'' (1994) (children's drama)
*''
State Coroner'' (1997–1998) (courtroom drama, legal drama)
*''
The Saddle Club'' (2001–2009) (children's drama)
*''
Guinevere Jones'' (2002) (children's drama)
References
{{Authority control
1945 establishments in Australia
Television production companies of Australia
WIN Television
Network 10
Companies based in Melbourne