''The Astronauts'' is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, or rather a live television play, which aired in Australia during 1960 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Broadcast originally 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 ...

on 18 May 1960, 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 was made of the broadcast and shown in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 27 July 1960 (it is not known if it was also shown on ABC's stations in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

). '' FilmInk'' magazine said it may be the only Australian drama about the space race.

Plot

Four men (two Americans, an Englishman and an Australian) are training in Australia to become astronauts, and are preparing for the first manned space launch, for which only one of the men will be selected. Medical officers think the men are mentally and physically perfect. However, one of them has a physical defect.

Cast

Alan Hopgood Alan John Hopgood AM (29 September 1934 – 19 March 2022), also known as Alan Hopwood, was an Australian actor, producer, and writer. He wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film ''Alvin Purple'' and made appearances in television shows such as ...

as Dave Armstrong, the Australian astronaut *David Mitchell as Len Cassidy *Mark Kelly as Jeff Burrows *Tony Brown as Flight Lieutenant Peter Corbitt, the English astronaut *Keith Eden as Dr. Vaughan *Kurt Ludescher as a German scientist *Kendrick Hudson as a U.S. Air Force general *Marie Redshaw as Jill Corbitt, Peter's wife *Anne Harvey as Del Armstrong, Dave's wife *Collins Hilton as a steward

Production

Don Houghton, a Sydney writer, was prompted to write the drama after the announcement of the

Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959; these seve ...

. Houghton said "For the sake of the play I hope any attempt to put a man in space will not be made before May 18," when the show was being broadcast. He wrote the play in late 1959 and was worried "that my play will become a piece of history first -not a projection of the future as it is now." It was bought by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. Houghton said the drama was not science fiction, but rather highlighted the short step ahead of what was actually happening with space exploration. The play posed the question, "what sort of man is an astronaut?" During the broadcast on 18 May a conversation between two ABC employees was picked up accidentally; it was about the marriage between

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and

Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...

. The ABC said the wrong switch was turned on, saying it was "a human error for which the ABC offers its apology for any inconvenience."

References

External links

* 1960 television films 1960 films 1960s Australian television plays Australian drama television films Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian live television shows Black-and-white Australian television shows English-language television shows Films about astronauts Films directed by Christopher Muir {{Australia-tv-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links