''Tomorrow's Child'' is an Australian

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 one-off television play, which aired in 1957 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 ...

. Directed by

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'' and directing 12 episodes of '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He also produ ...

, it is notable as an early example of Australian television comedy and was Australia's first live hour long drama.

Synopsis

Promoted as ''A satirical comedy of the future'', it was set in a fictional police state.

Cast

* James Condon * Janette Craig * Queenie Ashton * Mayne Lynton * Tom Farley * Bernard Barber * Lola Brooks

Production

It was based on a 1947 play by John Coates, and written by

Alan Seymour Alan Seymour (6 June 192723 March 2015) was an Australian playwright and author. He is best known for the play ''The One Day of the Year'' (1958). His international reputation rests not only on this early play, but also on his many screenplays, ...

. Cast included

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 ...

, Janette Craig,

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 ...

, and Mayne Lynton. Craig and Ashton later were regulars on '' Autumn Affair'' (1958-1959), the first Australian-produced television soap opera.

Broadcast

It aired on Sydney station

ABN-2 ABN is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located w ...

on 9 April 1957. 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 194 ...

was made of the broadcast and shown in Melbourne on

ABV-2 ABV is the name of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Melbourne, Victoria. History The station began broadcasting on 19 November 1956 and is transmitted throughout the state via a network of relay transmitters. AB ...

on 26 April 1957, it is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.

References

External links

''Tomorrow's Child'' at IMDb

1957 ''Tomorrow's Child''
at

Austlit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

Original play
at