The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Scorpions13256 (talk | contribs)
200,940 edits
m Copying from Category:1965 television films to Category:1965 films non-diffusing subcategory using Cat-a-lot
add extra info
Line 9: Line 9:
| director = [[Henri Safran]]
| director = [[Henri Safran]]
| teleplay = [[Ric Throssell]]
| teleplay = [[Ric Throssell]]
|based_on = stage play ''Dr. Homer Speaks : 'Oh, Ai-lar-tsua Farewell''' by Ric Throssell
| producer =
| producer = John Hicks
|music=[[Nigel Butterley]]<br>Frank Lvons<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=22 July 1965|page=31|title=TV Guide}}</ref>
|music=[[Nigel Butterley]]<br>Frank Lyons<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=22 July 1965|page=31|title=TV Guide|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122309268/?terms=%22sweet%20sad%20story%22&match=1}}</ref>
| photographer =
| photographer =
| airdate = 28 July 1965 (Melbourne, Sydney)<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=Play Satirises Keeping Up|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QXJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k5YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4540%2C3831898|date=22 July 1965|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 July 1965|title=TV Guide|page=23}}</ref>
| airdate = 28 July 1965 (Melbourne, Sydney)<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=Play Satirises Keeping Up|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QXJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k5YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4540%2C3831898|date=22 July 1965|page=11}}</ref>
| length = 45 mins<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 July 1965|title=TV Guide|page=23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122769828/?terms=%22elmo%20and%20me%22&match=1}}</ref>
| length = 45 mins
| guests =
| guests =
| prev = [[Waiting in the Wings (film)|Waiting in the Wings]]
| prev = [[Waiting in the Wings (film)|Waiting in the Wings]]
Line 21: Line 22:
'''''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me''''' is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC as part of ''[[Wednesday Theatre]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/60-australian-tv-plays-1950s-60s/|magazine=Filmink|title=60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>
'''''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me''''' is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC as part of ''[[Wednesday Theatre]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/60-australian-tv-plays-1950s-60s/|magazine=Filmink|title=60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>


A satire about suburbia, it was written by Canberra-based writer [[Ric Throssell]], and based on a stage play titled ''Dr. Homer Speaks : 'Oh, Ai-lar-tsua Farewell'.''<ref>http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762798</ref> Aired in a 60-minute time-slot, it was produced in ABC's Sydney studios by [[Henri Safran]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762820 |title=WEDNESDAY |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=39 |issue=11,217 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=26 July 1965 |accessdate=20 March 2017 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
A satire about suburbia, it was written by Canberra-based writer [[Ric Throssell]], and <ref>http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762798</ref> Aired in a 60-minute time-slot, it was produced in ABC's Sydney studios by [[Henri Safran]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762820 |title=WEDNESDAY |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=39 |issue=11,217 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=26 July 1965 |accessdate=20 March 2017 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>


Per a search of their website, the National Archives of Australia may hold an (incomplete?) copy of this program, with running time listing as 43:44.
Per a search of their website, the National Archives of Australia may hold an (incomplete?) copy of this program, with running time listing as 43:44.
Line 28: Line 29:


==Plot==
==Plot==
"Digger" Smith returns from [[World War Two]] to his wife "Shirt" a baby girl, Betty, and a modest house in the suburbs. A happy, uncomplicated man, "Digger" Smith stays so until prosperity catches up with him and he makes strenuous efforts to "keep up with the Joneses." Betty's boyfriend is Elmo.
"Digger" Smith returns from [[World War Two]] to his wife Shirl a baby girl, Betty, and a modest house in the suburbs. A happy, uncomplicated man, "Digger" Smith stays so until prosperity catches up with him and he makes strenuous efforts to "keep up with the Joneses." Betty's boyfriend is Elmo.


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 34: Line 35:
*[[Lynette Curran]] as Betty
*[[Lynette Curran]] as Betty
*Chuck Kehoe as Elmo Senior
*Chuck Kehoe as Elmo Senior
*Brian Hannan as Elmo
*Brian Hannan as Elmo Junior
*Doreen Warburton as "Shirl"
*Doreen Warburton as Shirl
*Alexander Hay as a teacher
*John Armstrong as lift attendant
*John Armstrong as lift attendant
*Bill Mullikie as parson
*Bill Mullikie as parson
*Lynette Haddrick as Betty as a child
*Lynette Haddrick as Betty as a child (Ron Haddrick's own daughter)<ref name="smh">{{cite news|title=Play titles at suburbia|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 July 1965|page=22}}</ref>
*Max as Elmo as a Child
*Max Brophy as Elmo as a Child
==Original Play ''Dr Homer Speaks''==
It was based on a stage play by Ric Throssell that was first performed at the Canberra Festival in 1963 under the title ''Dr Homer Spakes''.<ref name="canberra">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105763546 |title=Leisure TV Drama Music Art Books Radio The Arts TELEVISION Budding Pinter in our midst |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=39, |issue=11,221 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=30 July 1965 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref><ref>[https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/14399 Dr Homer Speaks] at [[Ausstage]]</ref> It was the 25th play by Throssell who worked for the Department of External Affairs. He called the play a comic cartoon for the theatre.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104259628 |title=PLAYWRIGHT HARD AT WORK |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=37, |issue=10,462 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=16 February 1963 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> He also said it was a satire on crew cuts and king sized culture.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104589649 |title=Proceeds Of Play For New Theatre |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=37, |issue=10,477 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=6 March 1963 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>


The theatre viewer for the ''Canberra Times'' said "it has little to' recommend
it save an inconsequential humor. The situations are strained, the plot is weak, the dialogue empty and what message it may have is soon lost in boredom induced by strident over-emphasis. Last night's presentation did little to assist one to take it seriously as a work of art."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104590918 |title=PREMIER OF PLAY 'Dr. Homer' Is An Aberration |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=37, |issue=10,485 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=15 March 1963 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> This review prompted several responses.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104591717 |title=Letters To The Editor |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=37, |issue=10,450 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=21 March 1963 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>
==Production==
Throssell said the play was twice the length of the TV version. Dr Homer was a prologue character in the play who had been cut and Throssell said the style had been changed.<ref name="ric">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762798 |title=Canberra writer's play on ABC this week |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=39, |issue=11,217 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=26 July 1965 |accessdate=28 November 2020 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>

Ron Haddrick's real life daughter, Lynette, player his on screen daughter.<ref name="smh">{{cite news|title=Play tilts at suburbia|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 July 1965|page=22|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122769825/?terms=%22elmo%20and%20me%22&match=1}}</ref> It was the first and last time she acted as a child although she became an actor as an adult.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123878611/?terms=%22sweet%20sad%20story%22&match=1|date=21 August 1980|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|title=Father Knows Best, Says Lynette|first=Christine|last=Hogan|page=13}}</ref>

It was directed by Henri Safran who said "If they play could be described in one word, 'satire' would be as close as you could get."<ref name="harry">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122770052/?terms=%22elmo%20and%20me%22&match=1|first=Leicester|last=Cotton|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=30 July 1965|page=7|title="The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" on ABN2}}</ref>

Barbara Major did the design.<ref name="canberra"/>
==Reception==
==Reception==
The ''Sun Herald'' critic wrote "it was well done, whatever it was.... It was fast moving, all right. Elmo started out as a baby, and finished up as a grey-haired tycoon. Somewhere in the one hour of bafflement there was also Ron Haddrick brilliantly playing something or other, and Doreen Warburton as his wife. Accents switched from Australian to American, dollar bills floated from the sky, and it wound up in what looked like the Australian bush. Somewhere there was a message, but it escaped me. At any rate, it is good to see the A.B.C. with enough courage to tackle such an offbeat offering... Whatever it was, they did it extremely well."<ref>{{cite news|title=Well done whatever it was|date=August 1, 1965 | newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|page=104}}</ref>
The ''Sun Herald'' critic wrote "it was well done, whatever it was.... It was fast moving, all right. Elmo started out as a baby, and finished up as a grey-haired tycoon. Somewhere in the one hour of bafflement there was also Ron Haddrick brilliantly playing something or other, and Doreen Warburton as his wife. Accents switched from Australian to American, dollar bills floated from the sky, and it wound up in what looked like the Australian bush. Somewhere there was a message, but it escaped me. At any rate, it is good to see the A.B.C. with enough courage to tackle such an offbeat offering... Whatever it was, they did it extremely well."<ref>{{cite news|title=Well done whatever it was|date=August 1, 1965 | newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|page=104|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122770587/?terms=%22sweet%20sad%20story%22&match=1|first=Valda|last=Marshall}}</ref>

The TV critic for ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' wrote "the price of experimentation either by producer or audience is high and half way through ''The Sweet Sad Story''... many viewers must have switched off and gone to their beds shaking their heads and muttering 'I thought it was modern but it's beyond me'... a gallant effort t drag television out of its depressing orthodoxy...[but] a few hunks of raw and undissolved irony in a pale gruel of unreality."<ref name="harry"/>


''The Canberra Times'' called it "pleasant... Slight it was (and only 45 minutes in this version), but considerably entertaining. It was,I would say, as well written and better produced than an f.a.q. import from the BBC or Redif fusion. The satire was mostly gentle,
mostly familiar - to afficionados of Barry Humphries and univer sity revues, it was from time to time a little stronger, a little more jolting than we are accustomed to see on television...The satire was made at once more palatable and more beneficial by Mr Safran's choice of cast and designer."<ref name="canberra"/>
.
''The Age'' called it "clever but unconvincing."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title="The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" on ABC|first=Leceister|last=Cotton|date=30 July 1965|page=7}}</ref> A later review in the same paper called it "a bright effort, well staged, well acted and with an ingenious script."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=7 August 1965|page=23|title=Images on Melbourne Screens|last=Monitor}}</ref>
''The Age'' called it "clever but unconvincing."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title="The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" on ABC|first=Leceister|last=Cotton|date=30 July 1965|page=7}}</ref> A later review in the same paper called it "a bright effort, well staged, well acted and with an ingenious script."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=7 August 1965|page=23|title=Images on Melbourne Screens|last=Monitor}}</ref>


''The Bulletin'' said his "only possible reaction is to sit like a stunned mullet wondering was it all a ridiculous dream, and finally peering around to discover whether he is alone in all this."<ref>{{Citation
''The Bulletin'' said his "only possible reaction is to sit like a stunned mullet wondering was it all a ridiculous dream, and finally peering around to discover whether he is alone in all this."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Bulletin|date=7 August 1965|title=TELEVISION Tailor-made for Technicians |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-698917348|first=Dale|last=Miller}}</ref>
| title=The bulletin
| date=1880
| publisher=John Haynes and J.F. Archibald
| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682874575
| accessdate=2 April 2019
}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 61: Line 74:


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4119032/ ''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4119032/ ''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me''] at [[IMDB]]
*[https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/106300 The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me] at [[Ausstage]]
*[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C638056 ''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me''] at [[Austlit]]
*[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C638056 ''The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me''] at [[Austlit]]
*[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=13467162&isAv=Y The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me] at [[National Archives of Australia]]
{{Henri Safran}}
{{Henri Safran}}


Revision as of 02:05, 28 November 2020

"'The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 30
Directed byHenri Safran
Teleplay byRic Throssell
Based onstage play Dr. Homer Speaks : 'Oh, Ai-lar-tsua Farewell by Ric Throssell
Produced byJohn Hicks
Featured musicNigel Butterley
Frank Lyons[1]
Original air dates28 July 1965 (Melbourne, Sydney)[2]
Running time45 mins[3]
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Waiting in the Wings" 		Next →
"The Winds of Green Monday"
List of episodes

The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC as part of Wednesday Theatre.[4]

A satire about suburbia, it was written by Canberra-based writer Ric Throssell, and [5] Aired in a 60-minute time-slot, it was produced in ABC's Sydney studios by Henri Safran.[6]

Per a search of their website, the National Archives of Australia may hold an (incomplete?) copy of this program, with running time listing as 43:44.

According to one paper "throughout the play the author pokes his tongue at suburbia, materialism, education and television, among other things. "[7]

Plot

"Digger" Smith returns from World War Two to his wife Shirl a baby girl, Betty, and a modest house in the suburbs. A happy, uncomplicated man, "Digger" Smith stays so until prosperity catches up with him and he makes strenuous efforts to "keep up with the Joneses." Betty's boyfriend is Elmo.

Cast

  • Ron Haddrick as "Digger" Smith
  • Lynette Curran as Betty
  • Chuck Kehoe as Elmo Senior
  • Brian Hannan as Elmo Junior
  • Doreen Warburton as Shirl
  • Alexander Hay as a teacher
  • John Armstrong as lift attendant
  • Bill Mullikie as parson
  • Lynette Haddrick as Betty as a child
  • Max Brophy as Elmo as a Child

Original Play Dr Homer Speaks

It was based on a stage play by Ric Throssell that was first performed at the Canberra Festival in 1963 under the title Dr Homer Spakes.[8][9] It was the 25th play by Throssell who worked for the Department of External Affairs. He called the play a comic cartoon for the theatre.[10] He also said it was a satire on crew cuts and king sized culture.[11]

The theatre viewer for the Canberra Times said "it has little to' recommend it save an inconsequential humor. The situations are strained, the plot is weak, the dialogue empty and what message it may have is soon lost in boredom induced by strident over-emphasis. Last night's presentation did little to assist one to take it seriously as a work of art."[12] This review prompted several responses.[13]

Production

Throssell said the play was twice the length of the TV version. Dr Homer was a prologue character in the play who had been cut and Throssell said the style had been changed.[14]

Ron Haddrick's real life daughter, Lynette, player his on screen daughter.[7] It was the first and last time she acted as a child although she became an actor as an adult.[15]

It was directed by Henri Safran who said "If they play could be described in one word, 'satire' would be as close as you could get."[16]

Barbara Major did the design.[8]

Reception

The Sun Herald critic wrote "it was well done, whatever it was.... It was fast moving, all right. Elmo started out as a baby, and finished up as a grey-haired tycoon. Somewhere in the one hour of bafflement there was also Ron Haddrick brilliantly playing something or other, and Doreen Warburton as his wife. Accents switched from Australian to American, dollar bills floated from the sky, and it wound up in what looked like the Australian bush. Somewhere there was a message, but it escaped me. At any rate, it is good to see the A.B.C. with enough courage to tackle such an offbeat offering... Whatever it was, they did it extremely well."[17]

The TV critic for The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "the price of experimentation either by producer or audience is high and half way through The Sweet Sad Story... many viewers must have switched off and gone to their beds shaking their heads and muttering 'I thought it was modern but it's beyond me'... a gallant effort t drag television out of its depressing orthodoxy...[but] a few hunks of raw and undissolved irony in a pale gruel of unreality."[16]

The Canberra Times called it "pleasant... Slight it was (and only 45 minutes in this version), but considerably entertaining. It was,I would say, as well written and better produced than an f.a.q. import from the BBC or Redif fusion. The satire was mostly gentle, mostly familiar - to afficionados of Barry Humphries and univer sity revues, it was from time to time a little stronger, a little more jolting than we are accustomed to see on television...The satire was made at once more palatable and more beneficial by Mr Safran's choice of cast and designer."[8] . The Age called it "clever but unconvincing."[18] A later review in the same paper called it "a bright effort, well staged, well acted and with an ingenious script."[19]

The Bulletin said his "only possible reaction is to sit like a stunned mullet wondering was it all a ridiculous dream, and finally peering around to discover whether he is alone in all this."[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 22 July 1965. p. 31.
  2. ^ "Play Satirises Keeping Up". The Age. 22 July 1965. p. 11.
  3. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 July 1965. p. 23.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. ^ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105762798
  6. ^ "WEDNESDAY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 11, 217. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 July 1965. p. 14. Retrieved 20 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "Play tilts at suburbia". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 July 1965. p. 22.
  8. ^ a b c "Leisure TV Drama Music Art Books Radio The Arts TELEVISION Budding Pinter in our midst". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, , no. 11, 221. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 July 1965. p. 13. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  9. ^ Dr Homer Speaks at Ausstage
  10. ^ "PLAYWRIGHT HARD AT WORK". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, , no. 10, 462. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 February 1963. p. 14. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  11. ^ "Proceeds Of Play For New Theatre". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, , no. 10, 477. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 March 1963. p. 9. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  12. ^ "PREMIER OF PLAY 'Dr. Homer' Is An Aberration". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, , no. 10, 485. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 March 1963. p. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  13. ^ "Letters To The Editor". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, , no. 10, 450. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 March 1963. p. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  14. ^ "Canberra writer's play on ABC this week". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, , no. 11, 217. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 July 1965. p. 13. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  15. ^ Hogan, Christine (21 August 1980). "Father Knows Best, Says Lynette". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 13.
  16. ^ a b Cotton, Leicester (30 July 1965). ""The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" on ABN2". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 7.
  17. ^ Marshall, Valda (1 August 1965). "Well done whatever it was". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 104.
  18. ^ Cotton, Leceister (30 July 1965). ""The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" on ABC". The Age. p. 7.
  19. ^ Monitor (7 August 1965). "Images on Melbourne Screens". The Age. p. 23.
  20. ^ Miller, Dale (7 August 1965). "TELEVISION Tailor-made for Technicians". The Bulletin.

External links


Stub icon

This article related to an Australian made-for-TV movie is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sweet_Sad_Story_of_Elmo_and_Me&oldid=991064156"