HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Rope" is a 1959 Australian TV play based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. It was part of ''
Shell Presents ''Shell Presents'' was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN, ATN-7 and GTV (Australia), GTV-9, who split production of plays for ...
''. It aired on 31 October 1959 in Melbourne, and a tapped version aired on 15 November 1959 in Sydney. The play ''Rope'' had been filmed for Australian television by the ABC in 1957. It was one of several Patrick Hamilton adaptations done on Australian television. (Murder mysteries were popular on Australian television at the time.) It was also arguably one of the first depictions of queer characters on Australian television.


Plot

Two friends, Charles and Wyndham, murder someone for fun.


Cast

* John Glennon as Wyndham Brandon *Paul Karo as Charles Granillo *Walter Sullivan as Rupert *Feli Wittman as Simone *Tom Farley *Graeme Jones *Muriel Hearne


Production

The play was adapted by American actor-playwright John Glennon who also played one of the lead roles. According to ''Filmink'' "Glennon is one of a number of people who came down under in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s to help “instruct” Australians how to make television drama... This was very much in the long tradition of Australian cultural institutions being impressed by a foreign accent, particularly one from England or America." Sydney model Feil Wittman made her acting debut as Simone. Glennon made several changes to the play including cutting the time down from two hours to an hour, shifting the action from 1929 to present day New York, and moving the local from one room to a four-room penthouse. "Whereas the original dealt with distance," said Glennon, "you can now eliminate long speeches and convey the same idea by gesture or by a bit of business magnified a hundred fold by that eagle eyed camera."


Reception

The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' critic praised "John Glennon' s clever, perceptive and highly mannered performance... and the tensions which producer Rod Kinnear was able to generate by some thoughtful camera work, and some very skilful organisation on a large and attractive set." ''The Age'' TV credit praised the set, credit sequence and some of the acting but had reservations about some of the performances and the direction.


References


External links


"Rope"
at
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...
1950s Australian television plays Black-and-white television episodes 1959 television plays 1959 Australian television episodes Shell Presents Australian films based on plays {{tv-episode-stub