Treason (1959 film)

Treason is a 1959 Australian television live drama, which aired on ABC. Originally broadcast 16 December 1959 in Melbourne, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the program and shown in Sydney on 13 January 1960. It was an adaptation of a stage play by Welsh writer Saunders Lewis, which had previously been adapted as an episode of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre.[1]

Treason
Directed byWilliam Sterling
Based onplay by Saunders Lewis
Production
company
ABC
Release date
16 December 1959 (Melbourne, live)
13 January 1960 (Sydney, taped)
Running time
75 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[2]

Premise

Set during World War II. A group of officers, believing Germany to be losing the war, plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler so they can negotiate peace with the Allies.[3]

Cast

Production

The play was produced live in the Melbourne studios of the A.B.C. Director William Sterling called it "a study in mental conflict rather than a play of action and, therefore, particularly suited to TV close-up treatment."[4]

Authentic German decorations for the play, as well as the Graf Spee flag, were lent by the Military Collectors' Club, Melbourne.[5] Scenes which take place in a luxury French hotel were prefilmed in a Melbourne hotel.[4]

It was Frank Thring's Australian television play debut.[6]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald said Thring gives "an impressive performance" being "closely matched in honours by the sensitive work" of Howell.[6]

The Age called it "one of the very few top line dramas yet presented on Australian TV."[7]

See also
  • Blue Murder - Another ABC TV drama play of 1959
  • Misery Me - Another ABC TV drama play of 1959
  • List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)

References
  1. "TV Guide". The Age. 10 December 1959. p. 18.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  3. "Treason Against Hitler". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 January 1960. p. 11.
  4. Marshall, Valda (10 January 1960). "Top Westerns Leave the Field". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 74.
  5. "Authentic Insignia in Treason Drama". The Age. 10 December 1959. p. 13.
  6. Marshall, Valda (17 January 1960). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 88.
  7. "Plot to Kill Hitler Topline TV". The Age. 24 December 1959. p. 10.


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