''Silent Reach'' is a 1983 Australian mini-series based on the novel by

Osmar White Osmar Egmont Dorkin White (2 April 190916 May 1991) was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and writer. He is most famous for his vivid description of the New Guinea Campaign during World War II. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Robert ...

.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford University Press, 1996 p235.

Premise

Conwright Industries, a huge mining company, hire American intelligence agent Steve Sinclair to investigate a series of sabotage incidents.

Cast

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...

as Steve Sinclair *

Helen Morse Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film ''Caddie'', and starred in the 1981 minise ...

as Antonia Russell *

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy Order of Australia, AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, radio and television host as well as a personality and actor of theatre, television and film. He wa ...

as Chaster Fitzpatrick *

Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was an Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant ...

as Hamilton Wrightson *Peter Mountford as John Howard *

Justine Saunders Justine Florence Saunders (20 February 1953 – 15 April 2007) was an Australian stage, television and film actress. She was a member of the Woppaburra, an Australian Aboriginal people, from the Kanomie clan of Great Keppel Island in Queenslan ...

as Allison Burnie *

Tom E. Lewis Tom E. Lewis (25 August 1958 – 10 May 2018), also known by his traditional name Balang Lewis, and sometimes credited as Tommy Lewis was an Aboriginal Australian actor, musician, and artistic director. His first major role was the title role in ...

as Ben Burnie * Ron Graham as Father Valdera *

Betty Lucas Betty Helen Lucas (31 May 1924 – 7 April 2015), also known as Betty Lucas Peterson, was an Australian character actress and theatre director, known for her numerous roles on stage and television, starting from the post-WWII years in 1945. Ear ...

as Sister Beatrix

Production

Osmar White's novel was published in 1979. It was based on research trips White had taken to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The novel was published in the US, UK and Australia. It was White's tenth book and second novel. Film rights were bought in 1980 by AAV Productions, a subsidiary of David Syme & Co. The producer was Jill Robb, who announced they would make an eight-part television series. It eventually became a five-hour project. Robb could not initially get an Australian network interested in the project. She raised finance from Postwork Newsweek Stations in the USA along with the

Queensland Film Corporation The Queensland Film Corporation (QFC) was a government-funded film production company that existed in the state of Queensland, Australia, in the 1980s. History The Queensland Film Corporation was established by the ''Queensland Film Industry Deve ...

, the AFC and a consortium of private investors. This enabled her to finance the mini-series which she sold to the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

. The project was known during filming as ''The Alcheringa Stone''. The shoot took place in 1981 in Queensland, with location work in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Chatsworth (south of

Mt Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on c ...

), and Maryborough.

Reception

The mini-series was considered a ratings disappointment. ''The Age'' said the mini-series had "a lot going for it", saying the script and direction "are above the middlebrow soapie level... it looks good and is full of incident".

References

External links

''Silent Reach''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

1980s Australian television miniseries 1983 Australian television series debuts 1983 Australian television series endings Films financed by the Queensland Film Corporation Films shot in Queensland {{Australia-tv-prog-stub