The Case of Private Hamp

The Case of Private Hamp
Based on	the novel King and Country by James Lansdale Hodson
Directed by	Colin Dean
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
Production
Running time	55 mins
Production company	ABC
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	17 October 1962 (Sydney)[1]; 28 November 1962 (Melbourne)[2]; 1 January 1963 (Brisbane)[3]

The Case of Private Hamp is a 1962 Australian television film which aired on the ABC. Despite the wiping of the era, a copy of the presentation exists as a kinescope recording. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4]

It was based on a novel which was turned into the 1964 film King and Country. The novel had been adapted for radio in Melbourne in 1957.[5]

Plot

The court martial of Private Arthur Hamp who was accused of desertion in Passchendaele, France, 1917. He is defended by Hargreaves.

Cast

Edward Hepple as Private Hamp
John Llewellyn as Lt Webb
Ric Hutton as Captain Hargreaves
John Armstrong as Cpl Haslem
Donald Philps as Col Eckersley
Rhod Walker as court martial president
Richard Howe as Lt Midgeley
James Scullin as Cpl Barnes
Richard Parry as Captain O'Sullivan
Ron Haddrick as padre
John O'Sullivan as Johnson
Don Pascoe as sergeant major

Production

Designer Jack Montgomery created trenches by mixing bran with black earth. The cast was all male. Ric Hutton had just appeared in a TV production of Madam Butterfly.[6]

Hepple called it "a marvelous play about what I consider to be legalised murder. It should bring tears to the eyes of anyone who watches it."[3]

Reception

The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald said it featured "capable acting"[7]

The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald critic called it "a first rate piece of drama, with a case and a quality of acting that was well-nigh flawless."[8]

The Woman's Weekly called it "one of the strongest and most moving plays yet presented on TV."[9]

References

"TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 October 1962. p. 25.
"TV Guide". The Age. 22 November 1962. p. 19.
"In the mud". TV Times. 27 December 1962. p. 10.
Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
"Three Nights of Parliament". The Age. 31 August 1957. p. 20.
"TV play Puts Deserter in Court Martial". The Age. 22 November 1961. p. 15.
"Army Play Televised". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 October 1962. p. 8.
Marshall, Valda (21 October 1962). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 87.
"From convict girl to colonial lady". The Australian Women's Weekly. 30 (2). Australia. 31 October 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.

External links

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[1] "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 October 1962. p. 25.

[2] "TV Guide". The Age. 22 November 1962. p. 19.

[times-3] "In the mud". TV Times. 27 December 1962. p. 10.

[4] Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.

[5] "Three Nights of Parliament". The Age. 31 August 1957. p. 20.

[6] "TV play Puts Deserter in Court Martial". The Age. 22 November 1961. p. 15.

[7] "Army Play Televised". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 October 1962. p. 8.

[8] Marshall, Valda (21 October 1962). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 87.

[9] "From convict girl to colonial lady". The Australian Women's Weekly. 30 (2). Australia. 31 October 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.