The Case of Private Hamp explained

Based On:	the novel Return to the Wood by James Lansdale Hodson
Director:	Colin Dean
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Runtime:	55 mins
Company:	ABC
Network:	ABC
Released:	(Sydney)^[1]
Released2:	(Melbourne)^[2]
Released3:	(Brisbane)^[3]

The Case of Private Hamp is a 1962 Australian television film which aired on the ABC. Despite the wiping of the era, a copy of the presentation exists as a kinescope recording.^[4]

It was based on a 1955 novel by James Lansdale Hodson which was turned into the 1964 film King and Country. The novel had been adapted for radio in Melbourne in 1957.^{[5] [6]}

Plot

The court martial of Private Arthur Hamp who was accused of desertion in Passchendaele, France, 1917. He is defended by Hargreaves.

Cast

• Edward Hepple as Private Hamp
• John Llewellyn as Lt Webb
• Ric Hutton as Captain Hargreaves
• John Armstrong as Cpl Haslem
• Donald Philps as Col Eckersley
• Rhod Walker as court martial president
• Richard Howe as Lt Midgeley
• James Scullin as Cpl Barnes
• Richard Parry as Captain O'Sullivan
• Ron Haddrick as padre
• John O'Sullivan as Johnson
• Don Pascoe as sergeant major

Production

Designer Jack Montgomery created trenches by mixing bran with black earth. The cast was all male. Ric Hutton had just appeared in a TV production of Madam Butterfly.^[7]

Hepple called it "a marvelous play about what I consider to be legalised murder. It should bring tears to the eyes of anyone who watches it."^[3]

Reception

The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald said it featured "capable acting"^[8]

The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald critic called it "a first rate piece of drama, with a case and a quality of acting that was well-nigh flawless."^[9]

The Woman's Weekly called it "one of the strongest and most moving plays yet presented on TV."^[10]

See also

• List of television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1960s)

External links

• The Case of Private Hamp on IMDb
• The Case of Private Hamp at National Film and Sound Archive

Notes and References

1. News: Sydney Morning Herald. TV Guide. 15 October 1962. 25.
2. News: TV Guide. The Age. 22 November 1962. 19.
3. TV Times. In the mud. 27 December 1962. 10.
4. Stephen. Vagg. 60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s. Filmink. February 18, 2019.
5. News: The Age. Three Nights of Parliament. 31 August 1957. 20.
6. Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Case of Private Hamp . Filmink . Stephen . Vagg . 29 March 2021 . 2023-05-06 . en-au . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210329002346/https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-tv-plays-the-case-of-private-hamp/ . March 29, 2021.
7. News: The Age. TV play Puts Deserter in Court Martial. 22 November 1961. 15.
8. News: Sydney Morning Herald. Army Play Televised. 18 October 1962. 8.
9. News: Sydney Morning Herald. 21 October 1962. 87. TV Merry Go Round. Valda. Marshall.
10. News: From convict girl to colonial lady . . 30 . 2 . Australia . 31 October 1962 . 8 July 2020 . 17 . National Library of Australia.