"Tragedy In A Temporary Town" is a 1959 episode of the Australian anthology drama show ''

Shell Presents ''Shell Presents'' was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between t ...

'' starring

Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...

. It was filmed "live" in Melbourne, then recorded and broadcast in Sydney. It was the third episode of ''Shell Presents'' and the first shot in Melbourne. It aired live on 16 May 1959 in Melbourne with a tapped version airing on 30 May 1959 in Sydney. The script had originally been filmed under the same title on ''

The Alcoa Hour ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa. Overview Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prec ...

'' in the U.S. in 1956.

Plot

In a small town, a group of migrant workers are employed at an aircraft factory and live in a trailer park. When a girl claims she has been attacked, a group of men, led by Frank Doran, attempt to find out who is possible. They seize a Mexican boy, Raphael Infante, and threaten to lynch him. A tolerant man called Alec Beggs attempts to stop them.

Cast

as Alec Beggs *George Fairfax as Frank Doran *Paul Karo as Raphael Infante *Marjorie Archibald as Mrs. Fisher *Carol Armstrong as Dotty Fisher *Susan Armstrong as Inez Infanti *John Cousins as Repulski *Marcel Cugola as Julio Infante, Raphael's father *Earl Francis as Mickey Doran *John Garry as Muller *Frank Gatliff as Matt Fisher, the parent of the teenage girl *Tim Goodlett as Anderson *

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 McCarthy * Edward Howell as Harry Phillips *Bettine Kauffmann as Dolores Infante

Production

The production starred Australian Michael Pate who was based in Hollywood from 1950 until the late 1960s. He made the film on a temporary return visit to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in late April to begin rehearsals. The play was shot in Melbourne.

Reception

The TV critic for ''The Age'' called it "promising" with an "outstanding performance" from George Fairfax. The TV critic for the ''Woman's Weekly'' called the production "a tragedy all right... the play was notably unrealistic, its star, Michael Pate, disappointing... a brave and expensive experiment for a commercial channel... utmiserable viewing." The TV critic for the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' said it "did not make its potential impact because of uninventive direction and, with the tension factor suffering accordingly, some lack of subtlety in the characterisations."

References

External links