Stormy Petrel (TV series)

Stormy Petrel was an early Australian television drama. A period drama, the 12-episode serial told the story of William Bligh and aired in 1960 on ABC.

Stormy Petrel
Genrehistory
Created byRex Rienits
Directed byColin Dean
StarringBrian James
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time30 mins
Release
Original networkABC
First shown inMay 29, 1960[1]
Original release1960

It was based on a script by Rex Rienits adapted from his 1948 radio serial.[2] The radio serial was rebroadcast in 1953.[3]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4] Other period drama series produced by ABC in the early 1960s included The Outcasts (1961), The Patriots (1962), and The Hungry Ones (1963). Additionally, in 1964 the broadcaster aired The Purple Jacaranda, a serial with a contemporary setting. Telerecordings (also known as Kinescope recordings) of the series are held by National Archives of Australia.

Cast
  • Brian James as William Bligh
  • Annette Andre
  • Alistair Duncan
  • Richard Perry
  • Ric Hutton as John Putland
  • Margo Lee
  • Delia Williams
  • Owen Weingott
  • Nat Levison
  • Nigel Lovell
  • Muriel Steinbeck
  • Charles McCallum

Production

The series was based on a radio play which Rex Rienits had written in 1948. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."[5] The play was a great success when broadcast. Rienits sold it to the BBC and the ABC rebroadcast it in 1953.[6]

Reception

Coming at a time when Australia produced few dramatic television series, The Age called it a "successful serial" and commented "These colorful - and factual - Australian series are a "must" for Australian television"[7][8]

The Woman's Weekly called it "an outstanding production."[9]

According to director Colin Dean "I got the results from Audience Research - the average audience for Stormy Petrel was the same as a years run in her Majesty's Theatre including matinees. I thought to myself - that is unbelievable. That is what we have been missing. We never had audiences like that before. What a great thing we done!"[10]

It was repeated by the ABC in 1974.[11]

References
  1. "Aust TV Serial About Bligh". The Age. 26 May 1960. p. 14.
  2. "STARS OF THE AIR". Wodonga and Towong Sentinel (Vic. : 1885 - 1954). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 Section: South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. "STARS OF THE AIR". The Grenfell Record And Lachlan District Advertiser. 81 (95). New South Wales, Australia. 16 December 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus. LIII (60). New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION). Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Standard set by Petrel". The Age. 29 December 1960. p. 9.
  8. "Serial on Bligh is Good TV". The Age. 9 June 1960.
  9. "20th century wisdom". The Australian Women's Weekly. 28 (11). Australia, Australia. 17 August 1960. p. 55. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Interview with Colin Dean". ABC Gore Hill.
  11. "1960 series on Bligh was worth repeating". The Canberra Times. 48 (13, 821). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 31 July 1974. p. 12. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.


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