"Photo Finish" is a 1965 Australian teleplay based on a play by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

. It screened on ABC and was produced by

Oscar Whitbread Oscar Ralph Whitbread (26 November 1929 – 16 May 2016) was an English-Australian producer who worked extensively in television. He moved to Australia in the late 1940s. Whitbread started his career at the ABC in 1956, where he served as the He ...

and starred

Frank Thring Francis William Thring (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred in Ho ...

. "Photo Finish" aired on 10 November 1965 in Melbourne and Sydney. Thring played the role on stage the year before. It was part of ''

Wednesday Theatre ''Wednesday Theatre'' is a 1960s Australian anthology show which aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC. Many of the episodes were imported from the BBC. However a number of episodes were made locally. Episodes 1965 1966 1 ...

''. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.

Plot

A writer is visited by ghosts from his past - himself at the ages of twenty, forty, and sixty.

Cast

as Sam Kinsale, aged 80 *

Elspeth Ballantyne Elspeth Ballantyne (born 20 April 1939) is an Australian retired actress, who appeared in productions in theatre, television and films over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child a ...

*Michael Duffield as the father *

Beverley Dunn Beverley Ruth Dunn (24 April 1933 – 27 November 2021) was an Australian veteran radio, stage, television and film actress based in Melbourne, Australia. Dunn had roles in films including ''Ground Zero (1987 film), Ground Zero'', ''Gross Mi ...

as the mother *Norman Ettling as the 40 year old *

Patricia Kennedy Patricia Helen Kennedy Lawford (May 6, 1924 – September 17, 2006) was an American socialite, and the sixth of nine children of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator ...

as Stella, the wife *Patsy King *Stanley Walsh as the 20 year old *

Raymond Westwell Raymond Westwell (6 January 1919 – 23 November 1982) was a British actor and director who worked for many years in Australia. He made his Australian TV debut in ''The Angry General''. He worked as a director of theatre, notably ''Camelot''. Sel ...

as the 60 year old

Production

A version of the play had been performed on ABC the previous year.

Reception

The ''Age'' said Thring "gave a striking performance" and praised the "sparkling dialogue". The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' called it "excellent".

References

External links

* 1965 television plays 1965 Australian television episodes 1960s Australian television plays Wednesday Theatre (season 1) episodes {{tv-episode-stub