The Twelve-Pound Look (1956 film) explained

Genre:comedy
Based On:play by J.M. Barrie
Director:Paul O'Loughlin[1]
Starring:Margo Lee
Alexander Archdale
Country:Australia
Language:English
Runtime:30 mins[2]
Company:ABC
Network:ABC

The Twelve Pound Look is a 1956 live television play which aired on Sydney Australia station ABN-2 (part of ABC) during the opening night of the station. Based on a British stage play by J.M. Barrie, it is significant as it was the very first drama produced for Australian TV.[3] [4]

The play was produced in Melbourne for the ABC the following year.

In the early days of Australian television it was common for dramas to be versions of overseas stories.[5]

Kinescope recording existed at the time, and a copy of the play was made - it survives, albeit without sound.[6]

Premise

Harry Sims is a wealthy businessman who is about to be knighted. He is married to Lady Sims. On the eve of the ceremony Harry engages a typist, Kate, to answer letters of congratulation. Lady Sims and Kate have a conversation, then Kate meets Harry.

It is revealed that Harry and Kate used to be married, until she abandoned him for another man. Harry demands to know why and who the man was. Kate explains that there was no other man, she needed to leave him for her own self respect.

She leaves, with Lady Sims none the wiser to her true identity.

Cast of 1956 production

Production

The play had been performed several times on ABC radio in Australia. The television adaptation was broadcast live from the Arcon Studios in Sydney (this was before the ABC's better known studios at Gore Hill were open).[7]

Thelma Afford did the designs. "All colour is reduced to a scale of nine grey tones," said Afford.[8]

The play was rehearsed at a studio in Forbes St.[9]

"We were probably all a bit nervous, but everything went very smoothly," recalls script assistant Ruth Page.[10]

Joan Lord was later in Elizabeth Refuses and The Wraith.[11]

The budget was £335.[12]

Reception

Australian Women's Weekly called the 1956 version "hard to fault. Acting, direction, camera work, make-up and lighting were all excellent."[13]

Filmink reviewing a silent copy wrote "It felt to be a very accomplished, smooth production. The leads can all act, the sets and costumes are impressive, and the camera work is absolutely fine (there were only two cameras but the cuts all make sense). Most of all, Margot Lee is terrific, full of life and spunk, even without sound, and O’Loughlin was smart enough to keep the camera on her most of the time. It is filmed theatre, but skilled filmed theatre – and because the production was so rehearsed there were no technical SNAFUs."[6]

Melbourne 1957 production

Country:Australia
Language:English
Company:ABC
Network:ABC
Released:[14]

A different adaptation of the play aired in Melbourne on 1 April 1957. It cost more than the Sydney production, the final budget being a reported £684.[15] [6]

It aired on ABV-2 (also part of ABC) and was also approx. 30 minutes.[16]

Archival status of this version is unknown.

Cast

Production

Henry Cuthbertson was an ABC drama producer. Mary Ward had recently returned from overseas.[17]

See also

References

  1. Web site: Ruth Harris. ABC at Gore Hill.
  2. ABC Weekly. 3 November 1956. T.V. ABN identifier. 28.
  3. News: 200,000 to see TV open . . Victoria, Australia . 3 November 1956 . 29 May 2016 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  4. Neil. Hutchinson. Television Drama. ABC Weekly. 7. 3 November 1956.
  5. Stephen. Vagg. 60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s. Filmink. February 18, 2019.
  6. Forgotten Australian Television Plays: The Twelve Pound Look. Filmink. Stephen. Vagg. January 30, 2022. August 13, 2024.
  7. News: RED IS DANGEROUS...EVEN ON TV . . Australia . 4 September 1957 . 16 January 2020 . 10 . Trove .
  8. News: Sydney Morning Herald. 25 October 1956. Fashion Designer Has Devised Her Tonal Scale for Film. 22.
  9. http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;page=0;query=Id%3A460721|Id%3A460838;rec=1;resCount=10 Twelve Pound Look
  10. Web site: ABC TV Operations Opening Night . 29 May 2016 . 16 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160316184259/http://www.abctvgorehill.com.au/abchtm/tvbr_operations.htm . dead .
  11. Book: Lane, Richard. The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. 2000. 41.
  12. Book: Day, Christopher. 135. TV Drama. Peter Beilby. Australian TV: The First 25 Years. 1981. Thomas Nelson.
  13. News: TELEVISION PARADE . . 24 . 24 . Australia . 14 November 1956 . 20 February 2017 . 26 . National Library of Australia.
  14. News: TV Guide. The Age. 28 March 1957. 29.
  15. Book: Day, Christopher. 136. TV Drama. Peter Beilby. Australian TV: The First 25 Years. 1981. Thomas Nelson.
  16. News: The Age. Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast. 2 January 1958. 8.
  17. News: The Age. 'Live' Barrie Drama Production on TV. 28 March 1957. Supplement 3.

External links