''Small Victory'' is a 1958 television play broadcast by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. It was set during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. It was directed by William Sterling and was shot in Melbourne where it aired 26 March 1958. It was based on a play by Australian author Iain MacCormick. The ABC later broadcast '' Sound of Thunder'' and '' Act of Violence'' (1959) by MacCormick. Australian TV drama at the time would customarily consist of adaptations of stories that had been tried overseas.

Plot

During the Korean War a group of people are trapped by North Korean troops at the Mission School of the Sacred Heart, including a priest, Father Riley, and a nun, Sister Annalissa. American war correspondent Thompson helps Korean orphan Sophie sneak into the Mission School.

Cast

* Beverley Dunn as Sister Annalissa * Brian James as Father Riley * Sydney Conabere as Thompson *Kira Daniels as Sophie *John Morgan as the political leader *Bettine Kaufman *Neville Thurgood as Sgt Little *Judith Godden *Laurier Lange *Tony Roberts

Production

BBC lighting expert W.R. Whitmore helped with the production (he was in Australia giving lectures on lighting in Sydney and Melbourne). Whitmore had helped light the BBC version. James, Dunn and Morgan had just appeared in the TV play ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...

''. It was one of a number of TV plays featuring Dunn. Director Will Sterling borrowed a machine gun from the army.

Reception

According to ''The Age'' the production was "well received".

References

External links