Devlin (TV Play)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Devlin'' is a 1971 Australian television play. It was made as the pilot for a series but aired as a stand-alone television play.


Premise

At a seaside town, a priest who has spent time in prison in China falls in love with a widow. He keeps flashing back to his time in a Chinese prison.


Cast

* John Bell as Devlin *
Kerry McGuire Kerry McGuire is an Australian actress. For her performance in '' Olive'' she won the 1988 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Actress in a Telefeature. For her role in '' Against the Wind'' she won the 1979 Sammy Award for best ac ...
as Joan Hunter * Tony Ward as Father Michael *
Kenneth Tsang Kenneth Tsang Kong (; 5 October 1934 – 27 April 2022) was a Hong Kong actor. Tsang's career spanned 50 years and included a variety of acting roles. Tsang won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015. Early ...
as Yang


Production

It was based on a story story by Morphett. Director Tom Jeffrey liked the story and took it to the ABC who agreed to make it. Charles Russell was an American executive working at the ABC. Jeffrey says that Russell wanted to make the story "tougher" and closer to the real life saga of the Berrigan brothers. Filming took place on location at Fingal Bay. Jeffrey says he was unhappy with John Bell's performance originally but the actor improved after seeing the rushes. It was one of the first productions financed by the Australian Film Development Corporation.


Reception

Jeffrey said he "was not happy with the film" as "it was a mish mash. There were some lovely things out of it. One was the soundtrack was absolutely stupendous, the photography was good." No series resulted. ''The Age'' called it a "sensuous, poetic play" which "may qualify as the finest Australian TV drama yet produced." Jeffries would later clash with Charles Russell during the development for ''Seven Little Australians'' which resulted in the director leaving the ABC.


References

Australian television films 1971 television plays 1970s Australian television plays Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian English-language television shows {{Australia-tv-film-stub