Killer in Close-Up

Killer in Close Up
Killer in Close Up
	Ad from The Age 14 Nov 1957
Genre	Anthology
Written by	George F. Kerr
Directed by	Christopher Muir; William Sterling; Raymond Menmuir
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	ABC
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	9 September 1957 –; 13 August 1958

Killer in Close-Up was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television.

Production of the plays was split equally between the Melbourne and Sydney ABC stations, with the first and fourth being produced in Sydney, the second and third in Melbourne.^[1] Each ran for 25 minutes. The plays were produced by Christopher Muir, Raymond Menmuir and Will Sterling.

The title came from the use of the close up in television drama.^[2]

The drama plays were based on real-life cases, dramatised for television by George F. Kerr. They were, in order:

“The Robert Wood Trial” (4/9/57) ^[3]
“The Wallace Case” (20/11/57) ^[4]
“The Rattenbury Case” (18/6/58) ^[5]
“The Trial Of Madeleine Smith” (13/8/58) ^[6]

In Melbourne, the play aired against Chesebrough-Ponds Playhouse on HSV-7 (which consisted selections from US anthology series) and Douglas Fairbanks Theatre (aka Douglas Fairbanks Jr Presents, a British-American anthology production) on GTV-9, and was broadcast at 8:30PM.^[7] In effect, viewers had a choice of three different half-hour self-contained dramas during that night.

"The Robert Wood Trial"[]

It was broadcast "live" from Sydney on 4 September 1957, recorded and shown in Melbourne on 4 October 1957. It was directed by Raymond Menmuir.^[3]^[2]

Plot[]

Based on the 1907 Camden Town Murder, where Robert Wood was tried for the murder of a prostitute and was acquitted.

Cast[]

Brian Anderson
Leonard Bullen

Production[]

The first play used nine sets and twelve actors. The Sydney Morning Herald said its goal was "to show new techniques in Australian TV production and acting."^[8]

"The Wallace Case"[]

The Wallace Case was directed by Christopher Muir in Melbourne. It was broadcast live in that city on 20 November 1957.

Plot[]

In 1931, William Herbert Wallace is accused of murdering his wife.

Cast[]

Laurier Lange (aka Laurie Lange) as William Wallace
Noel Howlett as the judge
Brian James as the prosecutor
Norman Griffiths as the defence counsel
John Morgan
Robert Stevens
Campbell Copelin

Production[]

Muir used close ups extensively to build tension. George F. Kerr came down from Sydney to help with the production and acted asa narrator.^[4]

"The Rattenbury Case"[]

This episode was recorded live in Melbourne and aired on 18 June 1958. It was directed by Will Sterling.

The episode The Rattenbury Case may be held by the National Archives of Australia (per a search of their website).

Plot[]

Francis Rattenbury, a famous architect, is murdered.

Cast[]

Patricia Kennedy as Mrs Rattenbury
Edward Brayshaw as Stoner
John Morgan
Neil Fitzpatrick
James Haggart
Bettine Kauffmann
Laurie Lange
Brian Moll
Wynn Roberts
Nevil Thurgood

Production[]

It was the first TV performance from experienced actor Patricia Kennedy.^[5]

"The Trial of Madeleine Smith"[]

The play was broadcast "live" from Sydney on 13 August 1958.^[6]^[9] It aired Melbourne 25 October 1958.^[10]

Plot[]

In 1857 Glasgow, a girl is tried for the murder of her lover. From the first meeting between the lovers to the final verdict in Edinburgh Court.

Cast[]

Janette Craig as Madeleine Smith
Owen Weingott as Emile L'Angelier
Berys Marsh
Keith Jarvis
Gordon Glenwright
Keith Buckley
Mayne Lynton
Edward Smith
Royston Marcus
George F. Kerr as narrator

Production[]

Janette Craig was Miss NSW in 1957.^[10]

References[]

^ "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "LOOKING AHEAD ON CHANNEL 2 ABN". ABC Weekly. 4 September 1957. p. 33.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "TV Guide". The Age. 3 October 1957. p. 13.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ""Live" Drama written for TV medium". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 November 1957. p. 12.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Exacting first TV role for Patricia Kennedy". The Age. 13 June 1959. p. 13.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Play based on trial". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 August 1958. p. 11.
^ "TV Guide". The Age. 14 November 1957. p. 17.
^ "Television news". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 1957. p. 6.
^ "All the TV Programmes". The A.B.C. Weekly. Vol. 20 no. 33. 13 August 1958. p. 34.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "TV Guide". The Age. 17 October 1958. p. 36.

External links[]

[1] "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.

[close-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b "LOOKING AHEAD ON CHANNEL 2 ABN". ABC Weekly. 4 September 1957. p. 33.

[wood-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "TV Guide". The Age. 3 October 1957. p. 13.

[wallace-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ""Live" Drama written for TV medium". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 November 1957. p. 12.

[rattenbury-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Exacting first TV role for Patricia Kennedy". The Age. 13 June 1959. p. 13.

[smith-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Play based on trial". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 August 1958. p. 11.

[7] "TV Guide". The Age. 14 November 1957. p. 17.

[8] "Television news". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 1957. p. 6.

[9] "All the TV Programmes". The A.B.C. Weekly. Vol. 20 no. 33. 13 August 1958. p. 34.

[miss-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b "TV Guide". The Age. 17 October 1958. p. 36.

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show v t TV productions of Christopher Muir
TV plays	The Proposal (1957) Dark Brown (1957) Killer in Close-Up (1957) The Duke in Darkness (1957) Last Call (1958) Outpost (1959) Black Chiffon (1959) Antony and Cleopatra (1959) Till Death Do Us Part (1959) Dinner with the Family (1959) The Astronauts (1960) Uncle Martino (1960) Eye of the Night (1960) It's the Geography That Counts (1960) Waters of the Moon (1961) The First Joanna (1961) The Rivals (1961) Quiet Night (1961) Marriage Lines (1962) Martine (1961) Boy Round the Corner (1962) Fury in Petticoats (1962) The Teeth of the Wind (1962) She'll Be Right (1962) Man of Destiny (1963) A Piece of Ribbon (1963) The White Carnation (1963) The Physicists (1964) Six Characters in Search of an Author (1964) Luther (1964) Nude with Violin (1964) Everyman (1964) The Tower (1965) Boy with Banner (1966) (not screened) Topaze (1966) A Ride on the Big Dipper (1967) Shadow on the Wall (1968) The Party (1969)
Operas	Amahl and the Night Visitors (1957) Fidelo (1958) Albert Herring (1959) The Bartered Bride (1960) The Secret of Susannah (1961) Il Tabarro (1961) The Ambitious Servant Girl (1962) The Prodigal Son (1962) The Consul (1962) Bastien and Bastienne (1963) Simone Boccanegra (1963) Peter Grimes (1964) The Bloodless Sand (1964) Martha (1964) Carmen (1965)
Ballets	Giselle (1959) (1959) The Nutcracker (1960) Coppelia (1960) The Bloodless Sand (1961) Sylvia (1961) Caranval (1961) The Spider's Banquet (1963) One in Five (1963) Robert Pomie Ballet (1963) Hans Christian Anderson (1963) The New Horizon (1964) The Fir Tree (1964) Seven Deadly Sins (1965) She (1967)
Feature film	Libido (1973)
TV series	Lucky Colour Blue (1975) (TV series) Andra (1976) (TV series) Golden Pennies (1985) (TV mini series) Great Expectations: The Untold Story (1988)

show v t TV productions of William Sterling
TV plays	Elizabeth Refuses (1957) In the Zone (1957) Ending It (1957) Rope (1957) Sound of Thunder (1957) Captain Carvallo (1958) Killer in Close-Up (1958) The Small Victory (1958) Box for One (1958) Gaslight (1958) The Governess (1958 film) (1958) The Lark (1959) One Morning Near Troodos (1959) A Dead Secret (1959) Black Limelight (1959) Ned Kelly (1959) Treason (1959) Heart Attack (1960) The Public Prosecutor (1960) Mine Own Executioner (1960) Macbeth (1960) Dark Under the Sun (1960) Who Killed Kovali? (1960) Two-Headed Eagle (1960) The End Begins (1961) Shadow of Heroes (1961) Call Me a Liar (1961) Hedda Gabler (1961) Night of the Ding-Dong (1961) Burst of Summer (1961) The Lady from the Sea (1961) The Big Deal (1961) The House of Mancello (1962) The Ides of March (1961) Murder in the Cathedral (1962) Light Me a Lucifer (1962) The Devil Makes Sunday (1962) The Hobby Horse (1962) The Music Upstairs (1962) Village Wooing (1962) Barnstable (1963) The Prisoner (1963) Uneasy Paradise (1963) The Fighting Cock (1963) The Chinese Wall (1963) A Man for All Seasons (1964) The First 400 Years (1964) Othello (1965)
Revues	Wild Life and Christmas Belles (1958) Trip-Tease and High C's (1959)
Ballets	The Soldier's Tale (1959) The Forbidden Rite (1962)
Operas	The Pearl Fishers (1963)
TV series	Compact (1965) Quick Before They Catch Us (1966) The Three Musketeers (1966-67) The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967) Sherlock Holmes (1968) Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1969) The Expert (1969) Counterstrike (1969)
Feature film	Return Journey (1961) (incomplete) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

Killer in Close-Up

Contents

"The Robert Wood Trial"[]

Plot[]

Cast[]

Production[]

"The Wallace Case"[]

Plot[]

Cast[]

Production[]

"The Rattenbury Case"[]

Plot[]

Cast[]

Production[]

"The Trial of Madeleine Smith"[]

Plot[]

Cast[]

Production[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]