A Season in Hell (Wednesday Theatre): Difference between revisions
typo |
→Production: add |
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
==Production== |
==Production== |
||
Patricia Hooker says the friendship of the two men always fascinated her, but felt it would be necessary to study in France to make the story authentic. When working on ''[[Concord of Sweet Sounds]]'' with [[Henri Safran]], the director became interested in her idea of a play about Rimbaud. Hooker said, "With his help it was possible to collect the information I needed, much of which had never been translated from the French."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|title=Sydney Woman's drama of Paris|date=15 March 1965 |page=13}}</ref> |
Patricia Hooker says the friendship of the two men always fascinated her, but felt it would be necessary to study in France to make the story authentic. When working on ''[[Concord of Sweet Sounds]]'' with [[Henri Safran]], the director became interested in her idea of a play about Rimbaud. Hooker said, "With his help it was possible to collect the information I needed, much of which had never been translated from the French."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|title=Sydney Woman's drama of Paris|date=15 March 1965 |page=13}}</ref> |
||
It was one of 20 TV plays produced by the ABC in 1964 (and one of only three Australian scripts).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=ABC Plans to Show Significant Works|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g5FVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vpYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6982%2C3380131|date=20 February 1964|page=13}}</ref> |
|||
==Reception== |
==Reception== |
||
Revision as of 11:52, 4 May 2020
| "A Season in Hell" | |
|---|---|
| Wednesday Theatre episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Henri Safran |
| Teleplay by | Patricia Hooker |
| Original air date | 24 March 1965 |
| Running time | 80 mins |
A Season in Hell is a 1964 Australian TV movie broadcast on the ABC. It was directed by Henri Safran from a script by Patricia Hooker and was shot at the ABC's Gore Hill Studios.[1] It originally aired as an episode of Wednesday Theatre. A search of their website suggests the National Archives may hold a copy, with running time listed as 1:16:22.
Running time was one hour and 20 minutes.[2]
It was a rare depiction of a gay relationship on Australian TV at the time.[3] It was filmed twice for TV in Australia.[4]
Plot
The relationship between Arthur Rimbaud (Alan Bickford) and Paul Verlaine (Alistair Duncan). Rimbaud arrives i Paris age 16 and in three years shocks and revolts all who knows him.[5][6]
Cast
- Alan Bickford as Arthur Rimbard
- Alistair Duncan as Paul Verlaine
- Marlon Johns as Madam Verlaine
Production
Patricia Hooker says the friendship of the two men always fascinated her, but felt it would be necessary to study in France to make the story authentic. When working on Concord of Sweet Sounds with Henri Safran, the director became interested in her idea of a play about Rimbaud. Hooker said, "With his help it was possible to collect the information I needed, much of which had never been translated from the French."[7]
It was one of 20 TV plays produced by the ABC in 1964 (and one of only three Australian scripts).[8]
Reception
The television critic for the Sydney Morning Herald thought the play "was thoughtfully and capably built on known episodes" from the two poets' lives but "suffered by its very episodic character, as well as from the impossibility of supplying several essentials to true story' s full realisation." He added "if the play was a gallant but incomplete effort, its production by Henri Safran was beautifully assured and sensitive, its camera work expert, while an excellent cast was headed by the impressive performances of Alastair Duncan as Verlaine and Alan Bickford as Rimbaud."[9]
The Bulletin said "Hooker’s script was essentially a duologue with vignettes, and, although too episodic and uneven in its construction and development, incorporated the visions and images of the poet into the context of the relationship with considerable success only occasionally did Rimbaud step out of the play and declaim. Henri Safran’s production had style and atmosphere. He suggested the deliberately underwritten homosexual tensions by inference rather than by presentation, and he evoked the claustrophobic relationship by isolating the two poets in tight two-shots."[10]
References
- ^ "WHAT TO STAY HOME FOR..." The Canberra Times. 22 March 1965. p. 23. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "WEDNESDAY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 11, 110. 22 March 1965. p. 24. Retrieved 20 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
- ^ Nigel Muir (3 December 1967). "Edinburgh orders Aust. play". The Sydney Morning Herald. London – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Season of the hellbent". The Canberra Times. 22 March 1965. p. 23. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A fine Season". The Canberra Times. 26 March 1965. p. 15. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Sydney Woman's drama of Paris". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 March 1965. p. 13.
- ^ "ABC Plans to Show Significant Works". The Age. 20 February 1964. p. 13.
- ^ "Sydney Author's TV Play". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 April 1964. p. 5.
- ^ Daniels, William (3 June 1964). "TELEVISION Royal Barge". The Bulletin. p. 49.
External links
 | This article related to an Australian made-for-TV movie is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |