"The Monkey Cage" is the 10th

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

episode of the first season of the Australian anthology television series ''

Australian Playhouse ''Australian Playhouse'' was an Australian anthology TV series featuring the work of Australian writers. It ran for two series consisting of 40 episodes. Among the featured productions were works by Pat Flower who was the main writer havi ...

''. "The Monkey Cage" was written by Ruth Funner and directed by Wilf Buckler and originally aired 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 ...

on 20 June 1966. The episode was shot in Brisbane. 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 ...

have a version of the episode.

Plot

Joe is a city building caretaker with an ail-too attractive wife. In the course of trying to throw out one of her admirers (David Yorston) the two get trapped in the lift. When fire breaks out they sink their personal difference in frantic attempts to call for help. Eventually, the firemen (Stanley Smith) turns up, averts danger, but makes little effort to free the prisoners when he finds the wife alone in the apartment.

Cast

* John Gray as Joe * Stanley Smith * David Yorston * Peter Hitcner

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' called it "a slight but entertaining piece admirably suited to its medium... The situation is treated with humour, the dialogue contains some good lines and the players and producer... all combine to give a lighthearted half-hour's amusement." ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' said "it had one attractive feature, the acting of John Gray, who deserved a better vehicle."

References

External links

* * * 1966 television plays 1966 Australian television episodes 1960s Australian television plays Australian Playhouse (season 1) episodes {{tv-episode-stub