''Killer in Close-Up'' was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

produced for Australian television. Production of the plays was split equally between the Melbourne and Sydney ABC stations, with the first and fourth being produced in Sydney, the second and third in Melbourne. Each ran for 25 minutes. The plays were produced by

Christopher Muir } Christopher Muir (1931 - 2022) was an Australian director and producer, notable for his work in TV in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s he was head of ABC Television drama. Biography Most of his early childhood was spent in France, but he re ...

Raymond Menmuir Raymond Edward Menmuir (10 September 1930 – 26 March 2016) was a British-Australian director and producer. His career included producing 44 episodes of ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' and directing 12 episodes of ''Upstairs ...

and Will Sterling. The title came from the use of the close up in television drama. The drama plays were based on real-life cases, dramatised for television by

George F. Kerr George F. Kerr (15 April 1918 – 29 October 1996) was an English writer best known for his work in TV. He worked for eight years in British TV as a writer and script editor. He moved to Australia in 1957 and wrote several early TV dramas as well ...

. They were, in order: * “The Robert Wood Trial” (4/9/57) * “The

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

Case” (20/11/57) * “The Rattenbury Case” (18/6/58) * “The Trial Of

Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...

” (13/8/58) In Melbourne, the play aired against ''Chesebrough-Ponds Playhouse'' on HSV-7 (which consisted selections from US anthology series) and ''Douglas Fairbanks Theatre'' (aka '' Douglas Fairbanks Jr Presents'', a British-American anthology production) on GTV-9, and was broadcast at 8:30PM. In effect, viewers had a choice of three different half-hour self-contained dramas during that night.

"The Robert Wood Trial"

It was broadcast "live" from Sydney on 4 September 1957, recorded and shown in Melbourne on 4 October 1957. It was directed by

Plot

Based on the 1907

Camden Town Murder The Camden Town murder was a murder which took place in Camden Town, London in 1907. Robert Wood, an artist, was tried for the murder of prostitute Emily Dimmock and acquitted after a defence by Edward Marshall Hall. Januszczak, Waldemar"Wal ...

, where Robert Wood was tried for the murder of a prostitute and was acquitted.

Cast

*Brian Anderson *Leonard Bullen

Production

The first play used nine sets and twelve actors. The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' said its goal was "to show new techniques in Australian TV production and acting."

"The Wallace Case"

''The Wallace Case'' was directed by

in Melbourne. It was broadcast live in that city on 20 November 1957.

Plot

In 1931,

William Herbert Wallace William Herbert Wallace (29 August 1878 – 26 February 1933) was an Englishman convicted in 1931 of the murder of his wife, Julia, in their home in Wolverton Street in Liverpool's Anfield district. Wallace's conviction was later overturned by the ...

is accused of murdering his wife.

Cast

*Laurier Lange (aka Laurie Lange) as William Wallace *Noel Howlett as the judge * Brian James as the prosecutor *Norman Griffiths as the defence counsel *John Morgan *Robert Stevens *

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. ...

Production

Muir used close ups extensively to build tension. George F. Kerr came down from Sydney to help with the production and acted asa narrator.

"The Rattenbury Case"

This episode was recorded live in Melbourne and aired on 18 June 1958. It was directed by Will Sterling. The episode ''The Rattenbury Case'' may be held by the

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

(per a search of their website).

Plot

Francis Rattenbury Francis Mawson Rattenbury (11 October 1867 – 28 March 1935) was a British architect although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada, where he designed the province's legislative building among other public commissions. Divorc ...

, a famous architect, is murdered.

Cast

*Patricia Kennedy as Mrs Rattenbury *Edward Brayshaw as Stoner *John Morgan *Neil Fitzpatrick *James Haggart *Bettine Kauffmann *Laurie Lange *Brian Moll * Wynn Roberts *Nevil Thurgood

Production

It was the first TV performance from experienced actor Patricia Kennedy.

"The Trial of Madeleine Smith"

The play was broadcast "live" from Sydney on 13 August 1958. It aired Melbourne 25 October 1958.

Plot

In 1857 Glasgow, a girl is tried for the murder of her lover. From the first meeting between the lovers to the final verdict in Edinburgh Court.

Cast

*Janette Craig as

*Owen Weingott as Emile L'Angelier *Berys Marsh *Keith Jarvis *Gordon Glenwright *Keith Buckley *Mayne Lynton *Edward Smith *Royston Marcus *George F. Kerr as narrator

Production

Janette Craig was Miss NSW in 1957.

References

External links

''Killer in Close-Up'' on IMDb'The Robert Wood Trial''
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, ...

''The Wallace Case''
at

''The Trial of Madeleine Smith''
at

''The Ratternbury Case''
at

''The Rattenbury Case''
at

''Madeleine Smith''
at

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2019 1950s Australian television plays 1957 television plays Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming English-language television shows Australian live television series Black-and-white Australian television shows Australian anthology television series