The Sound of Thunder (film): Difference between revisions

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'''''The Sound of Thunder''''' is a 1957 Australian television play by Australian writer [[Iain MacCormick (writer)|Iain MacCormick]]. It starred Moira Carleton.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48206560 |title=TELEVISION PARADE |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=25 |issue=16 |location=Australia, Australia |date=25 September 1957 |accessdate=15 February 2017 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was described as "the longest and most ambitious play ABN [the ABC] has put over so far"<ref name="smh"/> although ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1957 Australian TV play)|The Importance of Being Ernest]]'', which followed on December 18, exceeded it by 12 minutes.
'''''The Sound of Thunder''''' is a 1957 Australian television play by Australian writer [[Iain MacCormick (writer)|Iain MacCormick]]. It starred Moira Carleton.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48206560 |title=TELEVISION PARADE |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=25 |issue=16 |location=Australia, Australia |date=25 September 1957 |accessdate=15 February 2017 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was described as "the longest and most ambitious play ABN [the ABC] has put over so far"<ref name="smh"/> although ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1957 Australian TV play)|The Importance of Being Ernest]]'', which followed on December 18, exceeded it by 12 minutes.


It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/60-australian-tv-plays-1950s-60s/|magazine=Filmink|title=60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> The ABC had previously broadcast ''[[Small Victory]]'' by MacCormick and would later do ''[[Act of Violence (1959 film)|Act of Violence]]'' (1958) by the same author.<ref name="smho">{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=March 23, 1959|page=19|title=Play By Local Writer}}</ref>
It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/60-australian-tv-plays-1950s-60s/|magazine=Filmink|title=60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> and was one of the first productions in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19580102&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|date=2 January 1958|page=8}}</ref>
The ABC had previously broadcast ''[[A Small Victory]]'' by MacCormick and would later do ''[[Act of Violence (1959 film)|Act of Violence]]'' (1958) by the same author.<ref name="smho">{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=March 23, 1959|page=19|title=Play By Local Writer}}</ref>


It was part of a cycle of four plays by MacCormick called "The Promised Years" which were based on personal war time experiences.<ref>{{cite magazine|pages=6–7|title=Story of a Play|magazine=ABC Weekly|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1286677824}}</ref>
It was part of a cycle of four plays by MacCormick called "The Promised Years" which were based on personal war time experiences.<ref>{{cite magazine|pages=6–7|title=Story of a Play|magazine=ABC Weekly|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1286677824}}</ref>

Revision as of 01:53, 30 April 2020

The Sound of Thunder
Directed byWilliam Sterling
Written byIain MacCormick
Production
company
ABC
Release dates
23 October 1957 (Melbourne, live)
11 December 1957 (Sydney)[1]
Running time
78 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

The Sound of Thunder is a 1957 Australian television play by Australian writer Iain MacCormick. It starred Moira Carleton.[2] It was described as "the longest and most ambitious play ABN [the ABC] has put over so far"[1] although The Importance of Being Ernest, which followed on December 18, exceeded it by 12 minutes.

It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare[3] and was one of the first productions in Melbourne.[4]

The ABC had previously broadcast A Small Victory by MacCormick and would later do Act of Violence (1958) by the same author.[5]

It was part of a cycle of four plays by MacCormick called "The Promised Years" which were based on personal war time experiences.[6]

Premise

In Italy in 1944, a small advance group of Allied soldiers arrives at an Italian farm to meet up with some partisan troops, with the aim of blowing up a supply dump. There is a love story between Pietro and Lucia.

Cast

  • Edward Brayshaw as Pietro
  • Judith Godden as Lucia
  • Robert Peach as the English Major Campe
  • Philip Staintin as Papa
  • Lewis Tegart as the Old Man
  • Alan Hopgood as Cpl Kutsky
  • Sydney Conabere as Seppi
  • Neville Thurgood as Cpl Little
  • John Morgan as Vincente

Production

The Sound of Thunder was the first of a cycle of war plays under the title of The Promised Years. The series was written for BBC television by English writer Iain McCormack. The plays deal with the effect of war on small groups of ordinary people of different nationalities, "small people in the big messup," according to McCormick.[1]

William Sterling went down to Melbourne to produce the play in September and October. It involved seven weeks of preparation, three weeks of rehearsals and two days of camera rehearsals before it was telecast, and filmed for Sydney TV. Judith Godden was in holiday in Melbourne when cast. Robert Peach was a compere of C.M.F. entertainment units in Melbourne.[1]

Sterling spent several weeks looking at amateur theatre in Melbourne. He was inspired by Italian neo realism. "It’s right on television,” he says. "You're watching ordinary people, close up, in highly emotional situations.” Among the amateurs he cast were Lewis Tegart, who had been acting in Little Theatre for 20 years but never professionally, and Alan Hopgood, who was a school teacher who had been performing in a university revue.[7]

It was filmed out of the Coppin Hall studios.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Ambitious Long Play". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 December 1957. p. 14.
  2. ^ "TELEVISION PARADE". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 25, no. 16. Australia, Australia. 25 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 15 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  4. ^ "Gaslight on TV with Melbourne Cast". The Age. 2 January 1958. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Play By Local Writer". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 March 1959. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Story of a Play". ABC Weekly. pp. 6–7.
  7. ^ "Amateurs". ABC Weekly. 11 December 1957. p. 46.
  8. ^ "Producers Confer". The Age. 26 September 1957. p. 11.
  9. ^ "Live Drama on ABV-2 by Iain MacCormick". The Age. 17 October 1957. p. 12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)