''Lady in Danger'' was a play by Australian writer

Max Afford Malcolm R. Afford (8 April 1906 – 2 November 1954) known as Max Afford, was an Australian playwright and novelist. Biography Early years Afford was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the youngest son of Robert D. Afford of "Glenleigh", Sta ...

. It was one of the few Australian plays to enjoy a run on Broadway. It was also adapted for radio and television.

Plot

Monica Sefton is the wife of a sacked reporter. She plans to write a thriller to restore the family fortune. She accidentally stumbles upon a Nazi spy ring.

Production history

1942 amateur production

The play was first produced by

Doris Fitton Dame Doris Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton, (3 November 18972 April 1985) was an Australian actress of stage and film and theatrical director and producer who founded and for 35 years headed The Independent Theatre Ltd. in Sydney, New South Wales. ...

at the Independent Theatre in Sydney in early 1942.

1944 professional production

The play was seen by representatives of J.C. Williamsons Ltd, the leading theatrical producers in the country, who bought the rights. Since Williamsons had not produced an Australian play in over 20 years this was seen as a positive step for Australian playwriting. The play made its professional debut on 15 March 1944 at the Theatre Royal in Sydney and was positively received. Afford said “The season at the Independent, gave me an opportunity to improve any weaknesses. Naturally, the professional production will be a more elaborate one particularly in the last act, which requires sliding panels and secret passages.” The play was published in 1944.

1945 Broadway production

The play was also optioned for production on Broadway, although it was rewritten by Alexander Kirkland to be set in Melbourne, Australia and be about a Japanese spy ring. The character of Bill Sefton was changed to an American soldier who was stationed in Melbourne, and his wife Monica now grew up in Japan, not Germany. The other characters played Australians. Kirkland finished his new draft by September 1944. Robert Cummings and Jane Wyman were announced as possible stars. ''Lady in Danger'' premiered in Detroit in March 1945.

Cast

* Ronald Alexander as Detective Dennis Marsh * Gary Blivers as Frederick Smith * Helen Claire as Monica Sefton * Vicki Cummings as Sylvia Meade * Clarence Derwent as Chief Inspector Burke * Elfrida Derwent as Miss Hodges * Paul Fairleigh as Karl Kurt * Hudson Faussett as Constable Pogson

Response

Reviews were not strong and it closed after twelve performances. The ''Cincinnati Enquirer'' said "there is not the tiniest suspicion of comedy throughout and the only mystery about the entire sorry affair is how in the name of things theatrical it was produced in the first place."

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

said "it had better have stayed down under." ''The Daily News'' called it "a tepid chiller." "That's not: too good, is it?" said Afford. "Still, ¥ don't suppose you can hitthe jackpot eveir time."

1955 radio adaptation

The play was adapted for radio on the ABC in 1955.

1959 television version

The play was adapted for television on the ABC in the 1950s.Leslie Rees, ''Australian Drama in the 1970s'', Angus & Robertson, 1978 p 232 Broadcast live in Sydney on 9 September 1959, a

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

recording ("telerecording") was made of the broadcast and shown in Melbourne on 24 September 1959. Cast included Madi Hedd,

James Condon James Thomas Condon (27 September 1923 – 14 February 2014) was an Australian actor of radio and stage, a scriptwriter and voice over, however best known for his numerous television roles in serials and television movies in Australia, particu ...

and

Queenie Ashton Ethel Muriel Ashton (11 November 190321 October 1999), known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio ...

. It is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.

Cast

as Bill Sefton * Madi Hedd as Monica Sefton *

as Mrs Lamprey * Richard Parry as Dr Norton * Alastair Duncan as Andy Meade * Peter Carver as Detective Burke *

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his career ...

as Inspector Marsh * James Elliott as Detective Pogson * Kevin Williams * Coralie Neville

Production

It was the first drama directed by

Colin Dean Colin Dean (1919-2007) was an Australian producer and director who worked in Australian TV in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked in the UK in the late 1940s, and returned to Australia in the 1950s. Select credits *''The Queen in Australia'' (1954) * ...

at the ABC. He was assigned the job by ABC's Director of Drama, Neil Hutchinson. "It was a 'try-out' to see if I can do it," said Dean. "It wasn't a substantial play." An especially trained cat was used for certain scenes.

Reception

''The Age'' said it "provided an interesting hour's entertainment... outstanding feature was the fine sustained acting from Madi Hedd... James Condon... was not quite as convincing." The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' called it a "neatly tailored thriller" which set "out to do nothing more ambitious than pass an entertaining hour" and "did just that and nothing more in a very competent live television production...

he cast He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

all played as though they had been doing this kind of thing for most of their working lives. Colin Dean's production aptly matched their efficiency and craftsmanship."

References

External links

Full text of play
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

* * * * * * * *
archive

Review of 1945 Broadway production
at ''Variety'' {{Colin Dean 1942 plays Australian plays 1959 television plays Australian television plays Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming English-language television shows Black-and-white Australian television shows Australian live television shows 1950s Australian television plays

Plot

Production history

1942 amateur production

1944 professional production

1945 Broadway production

Cast

Response

1955 radio adaptation

1959 television version

Cast

Production

Reception

See also

References

External links