Tilley Landed On Our Shore

Tilley Landed On Our Shore is a 1969 Australian television play. It was part of the Australian Plays series.

Written by Pat Flower. Produced by John Croyston. Running time 55 minutes. Aired 12 November 1969.[1]

Plot

A comic account of Governor Phillips's 1788 landing in Australia. It is set in the modern day on the mythical island of Extrania, where Lieut. Tilley has been sent to establish a penal colony.[2]

Cast
  • Donald MacDonald as Lt Tilly
  • Michael Boddy
  • Frank Lloyd
  • Tom Farley
  • David Cameron
  • Ric Hutton
  • Noel Ferrier
  • Ruth Cracknell
  • Don Crosby
  • Barry Lovett
  • Lou Vernon
  • Edward Howell
  • Pat Bishop
  • Jack Allen
  • Tony Bazell
  • Reg Collins
  • John Gray
  • Ric Hunter
  • Sheila Kennelly
  • Colonel Crint and His Regiment of Foot and Mouth Deserters.

Production

Before the production aired, the script won the 1967 Dame Mary Gilmore Medal awarded in March 1968.[3] Judges called it "a superbly funny comment with a strong Australian history allegory on present attitudes to domestic and foreign affairs. A rare dramatic event — a satirical script. It has style in the best sense of the word. It hides unexpected social comment beneath well-constructed fun. The humour is visual as well as verbal, the TV medium is an integral part of its being."[4]

It was the first self contained drama by the ABC to be shot entirely on film with no videotaped segments. More than thirty people were in the cast and above-the-line costs were estimated to be somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000.[2]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald said "never have so many done to much for so little. It was a laboured hour of TV. There is only one word for it. Ouch."[5] The same paper later called the production one of the worst shows of 1969.[6]

References
  1. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 November 1969. p. 15.
  2. Hall, Sandra (15 February 1969). "Who's filming what". The Bulletin. p. 42.
  3. "Gilmore prize presented". Tribune (1551). New South Wales, Australia. 27 March 1968. p. 8. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ""Tilley" lands Gilmore TV prize". Tribune (1544). New South Wales, Australia. 7 February 1968. p. 8. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Tilley lands flat". Sydney Morning Herald. November 16, 1969. p. 126.
  6. "Safe, steady 1969". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 1969. p. 77.
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