Tomorrow's Child (film) explained

Based On:	play by John Coates
Screenplay:	Alan Seymour
Director:	Raymond Menmuir
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Runtime:	60 mins
Company:	ABC
Network:	ABC
Released:	(Sydney) (live)^[1]
Released2:	(Melbourne) (taped)^[2]

Tomorrow's Child is an Australian television film, or rather a live one-off television play, which aired in 1957 on ABC. Directed by Raymond Menmuir, it is notable as an early example of Australian television comedy and was Australia's first live hour long drama.^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] It was set in the future making it technically Australia's first science fiction drama.^[7]

Synopsis

Promoted as A satirical comedy of the future,^[8] it was set in a fictional police state.

Cast

James Condon as John Worthing
Janette Craig
Queenie Ashton
Mayne Lynton
Tom Farley
Bernard Barber
Lola Brooks

Craig and Ashton later were regulars on Autumn Affair (1958-1959), the first Australian-produced television soap opera.

Production

It was based on a 1947 play by John Coates, and written by Alan Seymour.^[9]

Broadcast

It aired on Sydney station ABN-2 on 9 April 1957. A kinescope was made of the broadcast and shown in Melbourne on ABV-2 on 26 April 1957, it is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.

References

News: Sydney Morning Herald. Advertisement. 9 April 1957. 7.
News: The Age. Police State Satire on TV. 25 April 1957. 15.
ABC Weekly. SEEN ON CHANNEL 2- . 6 April 1957. 19.
4 May 1957. ABC Weekly. Looking A head on Channel 2 (ABN) .
News: Sydney Morning Herald. Television news. 3 April 1957. 6.
Stephen. Vagg. 60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s. Filmink. February 18, 2019.
Filmink. Forgotten Australian TV plays: The Astronauts. Stephen. Vagg. 8 August 2024. 2021.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TXZWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xeQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4426%2C4455877 Sydney morning Herald 9 April 1957
News: U.K. NOT KEEN ON VICTORY PARADE . . Queensland, Australia . 20 March 1946 . 11 June 2016 . 2 . National Library of Australia.