Stormy Petrel (TV series): Difference between revisions

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*Walter Pym as Lt-Gen Keppel
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==Production==
==Radio play==
The series was based on a radio play which Rex Rienits had written in 1948. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113428949 |title=STARS OF THE AIR |newspaper=[[The Grenfell Record And Lachlan District Advertiser]] |volume=81 |issue=95 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 December 1948 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The play was a great success when broadcast. Rienits sold it to the BBC and the ABC rebroadcast it in 1953.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142629980 |title="THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH |newspaper=[[South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus]] |volume=LIII |issue=60 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 August 1953 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The series was based on a radio play which Rex Rienits had written in 1948. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113428949 |title=STARS OF THE AIR |newspaper=[[The Grenfell Record And Lachlan District Advertiser]] |volume=81 |issue=95 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 December 1948 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He later said that Blight had "been grossly maligned" and "that Hollywood did a terrible thing in representing him, in the person of Mr.
Laughton, as a cruel and brutal despot... However, Bligh undoubtedly
had a quick and blustering temper, and it was this temper, rather than any deep-seated viciousness that got him into trouble,both on the 'Bounty' and as Governor of New South Wales'".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142629980 |title="THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH |newspaper=[[South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus]] |volume=LIII, |issue=60 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 August 1953 |accessdate=1 October 2020 |page=2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION) |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>


The story of Bligh was told through the eyes of his wife Elizabeth, then John Hallet, then his daughter Mary.<ref name="real">{{cite magazine|magazine=ABC Weekly|title= Stormy, but the real Bligh identifier|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1538155534|date=6 May 1959|page=3}}</ref>

The play was a great success when broadcast. Rienits sold it to the BBC and the ABC rebroadcast it in 1953.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142629980 |title="THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH |newspaper=[[South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus]] |volume=LIII |issue=60 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 August 1953 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The play was broadcast again on radio in 1959.<ref name="real"/>
==TV Production==
It was directed by [[Colin Dean]] who called the Rum Rebellion "virtually the colony's first revolt against what was thought to be the tyranny of goverment vested in the person of the Governor himself."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51193491 |title=ABN plans third historical TV serial |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=29, |issue=35 |location=Australia, Australia |date=31 January 1962 |accessdate=1 October 2020 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>
It was directed by [[Colin Dean]] who called the Rum Rebellion "virtually the colony's first revolt against what was thought to be the tyranny of goverment vested in the person of the Governor himself."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51193491 |title=ABN plans third historical TV serial |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=29, |issue=35 |location=Australia, Australia |date=31 January 1962 |accessdate=1 October 2020 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>


Revision as of 11:26, 1 October 2020

Stormy Petrel
Ad in SMH 15 May 1960
Genrehistory
Created byRex Rienits
Directed byColin Dean
StarringBrian James
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
Release29 May (1960-05-29)[1] –
14 August 1960 (1960-08-14)

Stormy Petrel is an early Australian television drama. A period drama, the 12-episode serial told the story of William Bligh and aired in 1960 on ABC.

It was based on a script by Rex Rienits adapted from his 1948 radio serial.[2] The radio serial was rebroadcast in 1953.[3]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4] Stormy Petrel was a critical and popular success and led to the ABC making a number of period drama series set in Australia's past: The Outcasts (1961), The Patriots (1962), and The Hungry Ones (1963). It also inspired ATN-7, a commercial station, to make Jonah (1962). Telerecordings (also known as Kinescope recordings) of Stormy Petrel are held by National Archives of Australia.

Premise

The story of William Blight's governship of New South Wales leading up to the events of the Rum Rebellion.

Cast

Radio play

The series was based on a radio play which Rex Rienits had written in 1948. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."[5] He later said that Blight had "been grossly maligned" and "that Hollywood did a terrible thing in representing him, in the person of Mr. Laughton, as a cruel and brutal despot... However, Bligh undoubtedly had a quick and blustering temper, and it was this temper, rather than any deep-seated viciousness that got him into trouble,both on the 'Bounty' and as Governor of New South Wales'".[6]

The story of Bligh was told through the eyes of his wife Elizabeth, then John Hallet, then his daughter Mary.[7]

The play was a great success when broadcast. Rienits sold it to the BBC and the ABC rebroadcast it in 1953.[8]

The play was broadcast again on radio in 1959.[7]

TV Production

It was directed by Colin Dean who called the Rum Rebellion "virtually the colony's first revolt against what was thought to be the tyranny of goverment vested in the person of the Governor himself."[9]

Annette Andre played one of Bligh's daughters.[10]

Episodes

  • Ep 1 "The Assignment" – 15 May (Syd), 29 May (Melb) – Sir Joseph Banks offers Bligh the governership of NSW
  • Ep 2 "The Voyage Out" 22 May (Syd), 5 Jun (Melb) – Bligh takes the boat to Australia
  • Ep 3 "The Arrival" – 29 May (Syd), 12 Jun (Melb) – Bligh, his daughter Mary and Lt Putland arrive in Sydney, they meet MacArthur and his wife
  • Ep 4 "Enter John MacArthur" – 5 Jun (Syd), 19 Jun (Melb)
  • Ep 5 "Storm Clouds" – 12 Jun (Syd), 26 Jun (Melb)
  • Ep 6 "The Challenge" – 19 Jun (Syd), 3 July (Melb)
  • Ep 7 "The First Skirmish" – 26 Jun (Syd), 10 July (Melb)
  • Ep 8 "The Storm Gathers" – 3 July (Syd), 17 July (Melb) – Bligh clashes with MacArthur in a second court action
  • Ep 9 "The Storm Breaks" – 10 July (Syd), 24 July (Melb)
  • Ep 10 "Rebellion" – 17 July (Syd), 31 July (Melb)
  • Ep 11 ' Aftermath" – 24 July (Syd), 7 Aug (Melb)
  • Ep 12 "The Way Back" – 31 July (Syd), 14 Aug (Melb) – final episode – Bligh returns to England to give evidence at the court martial of Major Johnston. Bligh's widowed daughter Mary becomes betrothed to Macquarie's aide, Maurice O'Connell, while Bligh's secretary, Griffin, who loves Mary, looks on. Bligh is appointed Admiral.

Reception

Coming at a time when Australia produced few dramatic television series, The Age called it a "successful serial" and commented "These colorful – and factual – Australian series are a "must" for Australian television"[11][12] At the end of the series' run The Age called it "Channel 2's most consistent production."[13]

The Woman's Weekly said Dean was to be "cogratulated on a production (made difficult, I'm sure, by budget-balancing) marked by a simplicity that has been the trademark of some of the B.B.C. adaptations of famous classics. You may cock a snoot at Australian history, but "Stormy Petrel" makes Australian history come alive in absorbing TV."[14] At the end of the series' run the Woman's Weekly called it "an outstanding production."[15]

According to director Colin Dean "I got the results from Audience Research – the average audience for Stormy Petrel was the same as a years run in her Majesty's Theatre including matinees. I thought to myself – that is unbelievable. That is what we have been missing. We never had audiences like that before. What a great thing we done!"[16]

It was repeated by the ABC in 1974.[17]

Sequel

In November 1960 it was announced that Rex Rienits and Colin Dean would reunite on a sequel that would focus on William Redfern but feature many characters from Stormy Petrel.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Aust TV Serial About Bligh". The Age. 26 May 1960. p. 14.
  2. ^ "STARS OF THE AIR". Wodonga and Towong Sentinel (Vic. : 1885 – 1954). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. ^ ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 – 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 Section: South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. ^ "STARS OF THE AIR". The Grenfell Record And Lachlan District Advertiser. Vol. 81, no. 95. New South Wales, Australia. 16 December 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus. Vol. LIII, , no. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION). Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  7. ^ a b "Stormy, but the real Bligh identifier". ABC Weekly. 6 May 1959. p. 3.
  8. ^ ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus. Vol. LIII, no. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION). Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "ABN plans third historical TV serial". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 29, , no. 35. Australia, Australia. 31 January 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  10. ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2020). "Annette Andre: My Brilliant Early Australian Career". Filmink.
  11. ^ "Standard set by Petrel". The Age. 29 December 1960. p. 9.
  12. ^ "Serial on Bligh is Good TV". The Age. 9 June 1960.
  13. ^ Janus (18 August 1960). ""Petrel" Milestone for Australian TV". The Age. p. 27.
  14. ^ "They don't socialise". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, , no. 4. Australia, Australia. 29 June 1960. p. 57. Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  15. ^ "20th century wisdom". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, no. 11. Australia, Australia. 17 August 1960. p. 55. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Interview with Colin Dean". ABC Gore Hill.
  17. ^ "1960 series on Bligh was worth repeating". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 821. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 31 July 1974. p. 12. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "A.B.C. plans new historical serial". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, , no. [?]. Australia, Australia. 2 November 1960. p. 74. Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)


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