Captain Carvallo
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Captain Carvallo is a traditional comedy play in three acts by Denis Cannan, telling the story of a philandering young army officer, Captain Carvallo.
The comedy was an immediate success when it opened at the St. James Theatre on 9 August 1950, as the second production under Sir Laurence Olivier's management.
A television production of the play was broadcast on the BBC the following year, with Patrick Macnee in the lead. Cannan adapted the play himself for a Rediffusion production later that decade. In 1988 the play was revived at the Greenwich Theatre. A version aired on Australian television in 1958.[1]
Plot[]
Smila Darde, wife of Caspar Darde, a farmer and lay preacher who is also a partisan, is asked for billet Captain Carvallo, an enemy officer. Her husband and his fellow partisan, Professor Winke, a biologist, are commanded to kill Carvallo but they discover they like him too much.
Original production[]
The play was first tried out in March 1950 at the Bristol Old Vic, where Cannan was acting at the time. A few months later, Laurence Olivier boldly restaged the play – billed as a "traditional comedy" – at the St James's theatre in London, with James Donald in the lead role, opposite Diana Wynyard.[2] It was a great success, although Cannan preferred the Bristol production.[citation needed] "His play shimmers with ideas wittily juxtaposed, and it is funnier than the Crazy Gang", wrote the critic Harold Hobson.[citation needed]
Original cast (St. James Theatre, 1950)[]
Character | Actor |
---|---|
Captain Carvallo | James Donald |
Smilja Darde | Diana Wynyard |
Professor Winke | Peter Finch |
Caspar Darde | Richard Goolden |
Private Gross | Thomas Heathcote |
Anni | Jill Bennett |
The Baron |
1958 Australian TV version[]
Captain Carvallo | |
---|---|
Genre | comedy |
Based on | play by Dennis Cannan |
Directed by | William Sterling |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Cinematography | Ray Hammond[3] |
Running time | 60 mins |
Production company | ABC |
Distributor | ABN-2 |
Release | |
Original release | 21 May 1958 (Melbourne, live)[4] 16 June 1958 (Sydney)[5] |
It was the first "live" play produced from the new studios of the A.B.C. in Melbourne, which had opened on 21 May 1958.[6]
Cast[]
- Neil Fitzpatrick as Carvallo
- Mary Ward
- Syd Conabere
- Frank Gatliff
Production[]
The play had been performed in theatres in Australia in the early 1950s.[7]
It had been performed on Australian radio in 1957 with Ray Barrett.[8]
It was the first presentation at the ABC's new studio at Rippon Lea, Melbourne. At that point, the ABC were using a small studio at Rippon Lea and telecasting its bigger productions from Coppin Hall. A third studio at Rippon Lea would be open in September.[9]
See also[]
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)
References[]
- ^ Captain Carvallo (TV movie 1958) at IMDb
- ^ "PETER FINCH SCORES IN NEW STAGE PLAY". The Daily Telegraph. XV (121). Sydney. 11 August 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Untitled". The Age. 23 May 1958. p. 21.
- ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 March 1958. p. 33.
- ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1958. p. 16.
- ^ "Melbourne Comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1958. p. 15.
- ^ "Shrewd caricature in neat play". The Herald (23, 369). Melbourne. 18 April 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "RADIO PLAYS for NEXT WEEK A.B.C". ABC Weekly. 16 February 1957. p. 20.
- ^ "BBC Live Play to Open TV Studio". The Age. 20 March 1959. p. 11.
- 1950 plays
- Plays by Denis Cannan
- 1951 television plays