''Call Me a Liar'' is a 1961 Australian TV play. It was shot in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in studio with some location work. It was Channel 2's 49th live play.

Plot

Sammy Moles lives in a world of make believe. For his employer's benefit he invents a wife and child and for his fellow lodgers he lies about his past, background and job. He meets a German girl called Martha.

Cast

* David Mitchell as Sammy Moles * Jane Oehr as Martha *

Barbara Brandon Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the comic strip ''Where I'm Coming From'', and for being the first nationally Print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated African-American ...

as landlady *

Campbell Copelin Campbell Copelin (1901–1988) was an English actor, who moved to Australia in the 1920s and worked extensively in film, theatre, radio and television. He had a notable association with J.C. Williamson Ltd and frequently collaborated with F. W. ...

as man on park bench * Rose du Clos as lady boarder *

Ken Goodlet Kenneth Edwin Goodlet (11 October 1921- 15 November 2006) was an Australian actor with extensive credits in film, radio, TV and theatre, known for Ned Kelly (1970), Bluey (1976) and The Long Arm (1970). Select Credits *''One Morning Near Trood ...

as Mr Pheeming *

Joe Jenkins Joseph Daniel Jenkins (October 12, 1890 – June 21, 1974) was an American right-handed Major League Baseball catcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1914 and the Chicago White Sox in 1917 and 1919. Jenkins was born in Shelbyville, Tennes ...

as Dr Bowker * James Lynch as solitary drinker * Stewart Weller as street musician *

Ligia Monamis ''Ligia'' is a genus of isopods, commonly known as rock lice or sea slaters. Most ''Ligia'' species live in tidal zone cliffs and rocky shore, rocky beaches, but there are several fully terrestrial species which occur in high-humidity environme ...

as Indian girl *

Nancy Cato Nancy Fotheringham Cato (11 March 19173 July 2000) was an Australian writer who published more than twenty historical novels, biographies and volumes of poetry. Cato is also known for her work campaigning on environmental and conservation issu ...

and Peter Oliver as English couple * Abdul Ghani as an African *

Ron Pinnell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

as father *

Reginald Newsom Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

as businessman * Cecile Glass as Finnish girl * Margherita Kean as bar girl * Shirley Young as mother

Production

It was based on a TV play by John Mortimer which had been performed in England in 1958. It was also adapted for Australian radio in 1961. The play was filmed again for British TV in 1963.1963 production
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

William Sterling gave the lead to Jane Oehr, a 19 year old second year university arts student who was relatively inexperienced as an actor. She had been in ''Macbeth'' and ''Night of the Ding Don''. David Mitchell has been in both those productions as well, along with ''

Who Killed Kovali? ''Who Killed Kovali?'' is a 1960 Australian television play. It had previously been filmed for British TV in 1957. It was made at a time Australian TV drama was rare. Plot Hungarian tennis player Ivor Kovali is playing in a semi-final at Wimbled ...

'', ''

Shadow of Heroes ''Shadow of Heroes, a play in five acts from the Hungarian Passion'' is a 1958 documentary drama by Robert Ardrey. It concerns the lead-up to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hungarian Uprising and its aftermath. Its premiere resulted in the re ...

'' and ''The Astronauts''.

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' TV critic said the production "had the lightness of heart and the deftness of touch so necessary to such a whimsical part-comedy, part-sentimental drama."

References

External links

* 1961 television plays Australian television films 1960s Australian television plays Films directed by William Sterling (director) {{Australia-tv-film-stub