The Ridge and the River (radio drama) explained

The Ridge and the River
Format:	drama play
Runtime:	70 mins
Start Time:	7.30pm
End Time:	8.40pm
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Home Station:	2FC
Syndicates:	ABC
Director:	Eric John

The Ridge and the River is a 1953 Australian radio play based on the novel The Ridge and the River.

It was adapted for radio by Edmund Barclay. The play was originally broadcast in February then was recorded again in June with a slightly different cast.^[1]

The ABC recorded the play again in Sydney in February 1956, directed by Raymond Menmuir, and in Brisbane in September 1958.

Premise

An Australian commando patrol in the northern islands during the war is led by Corporal Shearwood. He is upset by the arrival of a young lieutenant who knows nothing of local island conditions.

Cast

February 1953 production

• Brian Wright as Narrator^[2]
• Nigel Lovell as Corporal Shearwood
• Rodney Taylor as Corporal Malise
• Reginald Goldsworthy as Private Wallace
• John Tate as Major Lovatt
• Bruce Stewart at Lieutenant Wilder
• Walter Sullivan as Private Manetta
• Robert Levis as Private Sweet
• John Ewart as Private White
• Ossie Wenban as Private Evans
• Sidney Chambers as Beetle the Cook
• Lloyd Berrell as Womai

June 1953 production

• George Simpson-Lyttle as Narrator
• Rodney Taylor as Corporal Shearwood
• John Meillon as Lieutenant Wilder
• Brian Wright as Major Lovatt
• Reginald Goldsworthy as Corporal Malise
• Barrie Cookson as Private Manetta
• Ossie Wenban as Private Evans
• Ben Gabriel as Private Wallace
• Richard Meikle as Private Sweet
• John Ewart as Private White
• Sid Chambers as Beetle, the Cook
• Gordon Chater as Womai
• Denys Burrows as Mummawa

1956 production

• Don Sanderson as Narrator
• Toby Harris as Corporal Shearwood
• Lew Luton as Lieutenant Wilder
• John Nash as Corporal Malise
• Geoffrey Baker as Major Lovatt
• Rex Hodell as Private Wallace
• Arthur Greenfield as Private Manetta
• Arthur Hall as Private Sweet
• Earle Cross as Private White
• John Bowen as Private Evans
• Alfred Raynor as Beetle, the Cook
• Bernard Barry as Womai
• John Miller as Mummawa

1958 production

• Clive Harburg as Narrator
• Donald McTaggart as Corporal Shearwood
• Kerry Francis as Lieutenant Wilder
• Brian Tait as Major Lovatt
• John Miller as Corporal Malise
• Rae Humphries as Private Wallace
• Hugh Curnow as Private Sweet
• Dick McCann as Private White
• Toby Harris as Private Evans
• Douglas Stark as Beetle, the Cook
• Bernard Barry as Womai
• Harold Cox as Mummawa

Notes and References

1. News: Plays and Players . . 13,522 . New South Wales, Australia . 12 June 1953 . 29 June 2023 . 14 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) . National Library of Australia.
2. News: Plays and Players . . 13,415 . New South Wales, Australia . 6 February 1953 . 21 September 2023 . 12 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) . National Library of Australia.