Blue Murder (1959 film)

Blue Murder is an Australian live television play which aired in 1959 on ABC. Broadcast live in Sydney on 2 December 1959, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the broadcast so it could be shown in Melbourne (it is not known if it was also shown on ABC's then-new stations in Adelaide and Brisbane).

Blue Murder
Ad from SMH 2 Dec 1959
Genrethriller
Written byGeorge F. Kerr[1]
Story byGeorge F. Kerr
Directed byRay Menmuir
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 mins
Production companyABC
Release
Original networkABC
Original release2 December 1959 (Sydney, live)[2][3]
25 February 1960 (Melbourne, tape)[4][5]

It is not known if the kinescope recording still exists. Filmink magazine wrote "it sounds as if it would be great, campy fun."[6]

Premise

On Sydney's north shore, an ageing actress, Thelma Lane-Forest, is killed by her bitter and untalented son, Ricky. The son's girlfriend, Jeanette, has a brother, Philip, who is a theatre critic. A journalist, Lundy, also becomes involved.

Cast
  • Ric Hutton as Ricky Lane-Forest
  • Nancye Stewart as Thelma Lane-Forest
  • Derani Scarr as Jeanette Gage
  • Colin Croft as Philip Gage
  • Hugh Stewart as Martin Johnson
  • Richard Davies as Lundy

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald felt the plot was illogical, but also called it a "neatly constructed thriller, very competently produced" with "enough gloss on the writing and production to overcome any lingering questions raised by logic; and the play succeeded admirably on its own chosen level - it was craftsmanlike, thoroughly professional and pleasantly diverting."[7]

The story was also adapted into a radio play which was broadcast in 1960.[8]

See also
  • List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)

References
  1. "Advertising". The Canberra Times. 35 (9, 697). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 September 1960. p. 15. Retrieved 8 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 November 1959. p. 12.
  3. "Advertising". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 December 1959. p. 21.
  4. "TV Guide". The Age. 25 February 1960.
  5. "Drama Set in Sydney Suburb". The Age. 25 February 1960. p. 14.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. J.M. (3 December 1959). "Live TV Show of Thriller". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8.
  8. "Advertising". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 September 1960. p. 15. Retrieved 27 May 2020 – via Trove.


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