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The ship arrives in Sydney. Richard meets the new, temporary Governor, Colonel Paterson, who has taken over from Governer Bligh (the [[Rum Rebellion]] has just taken place). Paterson complains about the lack of decent servants and Richard recommends Elizabeth but Paterson is reluctant to employ a former convict.
The ship arrives in Sydney. Richard meets the new, temporary Governor, Colonel Paterson, who has taken over from Governer Bligh (the [[Rum Rebellion]] has just taken place). Paterson complains about the lack of decent servants and Richard recommends Elizabeth but Paterson is reluctant to employ a former convict.


Elizabeth arrives to track down Richard and impresses Paterson, who offers her the job of managing Government House. She persuades Richard to let some her fellow convicts on the ship join her as servants. Richard sings "Bells Suddenly Ringing" to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth arrives to track down Richard and impresses Paterson, who offers her the job of managing Government House. She persuades Richard to let some her fellow convicts on the ship join her as servants. Richard sings "You Walk By" to Elizabeth.


Elizabeth runs the house with great success but this causes the Governor's wife, Lydia, to become jealous and demand the convict leave. Paterson decides to grant Elizabeth a ticket of leave and loans her five pounds to set up an inn. Elizabeth sings "I'm on My Way".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=17 December 1959|title=TV Guide|page=29|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122237580/?terms=%22brett%2Bporter%22}}</ref>
Elizabeth runs the house with great success but this causes the Governor's wife, Lydia, to become jealous and demand the convict leave. Paterson decides to grant Elizabeth a ticket of leave and loans her five pounds to set up an inn. Elizabeth sings "I'm on My Way".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=17 December 1959|title=TV Guide|page=29|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122237580/?terms=%22brett%2Bporter%22}}</ref>


Elizabeth runs the inn but has trouble with the local soldiers. She decides to attend a party held by Paterson and his wife.
Elizabeth runs the inn, called the Silver Bottle, but has trouble with the local soldiers. She decides to gate crash a party held by Paterson and his wife. At the party, Lydia sings a song to her guests. Elizabeth arrives to make an appeal to Paterson, but upsets Lydia. Richard arrives at the party and dances with Elizabeth; he sings her a song, "Bells Suddenly Ringing".


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 69: Line 69:
*"The Whole Shebang" - sung by three convicts (Chris Christensen, Nat Levinson, Michael Walsh)
*"The Whole Shebang" - sung by three convicts (Chris Christensen, Nat Levinson, Michael Walsh)
*"You Walked By" - sung by Blacklock and Cole
*"You Walked By" - sung by Blacklock and Cole
*"So Much More:
*"So Much More"
*"Our Own Bare Hands"
*"Our Own Bare Hands"
*"The Argument"
*"The Argument"

Revision as of 01:03, 30 October 2020

"Pardon Miss Westcott"
Shell Presents episode
Advertisement in The Age, 17 Dec 1959
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 10
Directed byDavid Cahill
Teleplay byPeter Benjamin
Alan Burke
Featured musicPeter Stannard
Original air dates12 December 1959 (Sydney)
19 December 1959 (Melbourne)
Running time75 mins
Guest appearances
Wendy Blacklock
Queenie Ashton
Episode chronology
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"No Picnic Tomorrow"
List of episodes

Pardon Miss Westcott is a 1959 Australian TV play as part of the ATN-7 show, Shell Presents. It was a musical set in colonial Australia and was broadcast live. It was Australia's first television musical comedy.[1][2][3]

It ran for 75 minutes and featured eight new songs and a cast of nineteen.[4]

Plot

It is 1809 and Britain sends its convicts to the penal colony of New South Wales. On a convict ship travelling to Sydney, convicts sing "He-ho, you'll never go back".

Elizabeth Westcott is being transported after being given a five year sentence for killing a pig and serving it to a pompous magistrate at her father's inn. On the boat over she meets Richard Soames, an army officer being transferred to the NSW Corps. Elizabeth sings "Send for Me" to the convicts.

The ship arrives in Sydney. Richard meets the new, temporary Governor, Colonel Paterson, who has taken over from Governer Bligh (the Rum Rebellion has just taken place). Paterson complains about the lack of decent servants and Richard recommends Elizabeth but Paterson is reluctant to employ a former convict.

Elizabeth arrives to track down Richard and impresses Paterson, who offers her the job of managing Government House. She persuades Richard to let some her fellow convicts on the ship join her as servants. Richard sings "You Walk By" to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth runs the house with great success but this causes the Governor's wife, Lydia, to become jealous and demand the convict leave. Paterson decides to grant Elizabeth a ticket of leave and loans her five pounds to set up an inn. Elizabeth sings "I'm on My Way".[5]

Elizabeth runs the inn, called the Silver Bottle, but has trouble with the local soldiers. She decides to gate crash a party held by Paterson and his wife. At the party, Lydia sings a song to her guests. Elizabeth arrives to make an appeal to Paterson, but upsets Lydia. Richard arrives at the party and dances with Elizabeth; he sings her a song, "Bells Suddenly Ringing".

Cast

Production

File:Cast photo from Pardom Miss Westcott.png
Wendy Blacklock
The Age 17 Dec 1959

The film was commissioned by ATN-7 from the writers of the musical Lola Montez, which had enjoyed a successful run on stage. The brief was to create a family musical for Christmas. The budget was £5,000[6]

The book was by Alan Burke, the music by Peter Stannard, and the lyrics were by Peter Benjamin.[1][7][8] It was broadcast live from ATN-7 studios in Epping, Sydney. The music was conducted by Tommy Tycho.

Michael Cole had been fired from Lola Montez. He was hired by the writers for this to make it up to him.[9]

According to Ailsa McPherson, who worked on the show as a script assistant, during the live broadcast the actor who played Colonel Paterson accidentally omitted over a page of dialogue in an earlier scene. The other actors continued because it was live, but it meant later plot points would be confusing. After the show went to air, they re-shot the scene and re-inserted it into the tape and kine.[10]

Songs

File:Pardon Miss Wescott sydney poster.png
SMH 12 Dec 1959
  • Overture (orchestra)
  • "He-ho, you'll never go back" - sung by male chorus of convicts at beginning
  • "Send for Me" - sung by Wendy Blacklock
  • "I'm On My Way" - sung by Wendy Blacklock
  • "Bells Suddenly Ringing" - love song sung by Michael Cole
  • "The Grog Song" - sung by taverners at The Silver Bottle
  • "How Could I See?" - sung by Blacklock and Cole
  • "The Whole Shebang" - sung by three convicts (Chris Christensen, Nat Levinson, Michael Walsh)
  • "You Walked By" - sung by Blacklock and Cole
  • "So Much More"
  • "Our Own Bare Hands"
  • "The Argument"
  • "Sometimes"
  • Finale

Reception

File:Pardon Miss Wescott 3 4 Jul 1960, Page 106 - The Sydney Morning Herald at Newspapers com.png
Wendy Blacklock, Michael Cole
SMH 4 Jul 1960

The Beacon Research Company estimated that 250,000 adults and 10,000 children watched the broadcast. More than 100 people rang in to congratulate on the broadcast on the night it aired.[11]

Critical

The critic from the Sydney Morning Herald wrote the musical "had an entertaining and beguilingly tuneful premiere in a smoothly organised live production" despite "the lack of colour and space in which create spectacle and the effects which properly, and uniquely-belong to the stage." However:

Nine numbers in a 75-minute show is pretty fair value, and the... tunes and lyrics were fluent, neatly turned and literate. Equally important. they arose naturally from the situations arranged by the... book, and always took the story-line, and characterisation, a step further. And at least one song, "Bells Suddenly Ring" is a possible hit tune. Moreover, the show proved that for those who are willing to use their imagination, there is plenty of theatrical material in our early history... Michael Cole acted and sang very attractively indeed: Wendy Blacklock brought the proper strength of character... but was not entirely at ease with her songs. Nigel Lovell.. was engaging and sympathetic, and Queenie Ashton, his snooty hypochondriac wife, was nicely acid. Chris Christiansen, Nat Levispn and Michael Walshe made a usefully funny convict trio, and Joy Hill danced with considerable verve and enthusiasm.[12]

Cast Album

A studio cast album, with some different performers from the television version, was released in December 1960.[13]

Songs on 1960 Cast Album

1. 'Overture' (Orchestra);
2. 'Heigh Ho, You'll Never Go Back' (male chorus);
3. 'Send For Me' (Elizabeth, Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark);
4. 'You Walk By' (Richard);
5. 'The Whole Shebang' (Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark);
6. 'I'm On My Way' (Elizabeth);
7. 'Grog Song' (chorus);
8. 'So Much More' (Elizabeth and Richard);
9. Our Own Bare Hands (Lydia);
10. 'The Argument' (Elizabeth, Richard, Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark);
11. 'Sometimes' (Richard);12. 'Finale' (Elizabeth, Richard, and Chorus).


Repeat

The show was repeated on Channel 7 in November 1960.

The Bulletin called it "bright and tuneful".[14]

The Sydney Morning Herald said "it came through even better on the second run than the first."[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "'Live' Telecast of New Musical". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 December 1959. p. 7.
  2. ^ Vagg, Stephen (23 December 2019). "Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed". Filmink.
  3. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  4. ^ "As Miss Westcott". The Age. 17 December 1959. p. 13.
  5. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 17 December 1959. p. 29.
  6. ^ "Australian TV is growing". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 October 1960. p. 38.
  7. ^ "TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS". The Biz. New South Wales, Australia. 9 December 1959. p. 19. Retrieved 9 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ Alan Burke obituary at Sydney Morning Herald
  9. ^ "Alan Burke interviewed by Bill Stephens in the Esso Performing Arts collection". National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ McPherson, Ailsa (2007). "Dramas and Dreams at Epping: Early Days of ATN-7's Drama Production". In Liz, Liz; Dolin, Tim (eds.). Australian Television History. ACH: The Journal of the History of Culture in Australia. Australian Public Intellectual Network. p. 161.
  11. ^ "Replay of the Musical". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 December 1959. p. 15.
  12. ^ "ATN's Live Musical". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 1959. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Pardon Miss Westcott cast album". TV memories.
  14. ^ "Shows". The Bulletin. 7 December 1960. p. 27.
  15. ^ Marshall, Valda (20 November 1960). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 111.
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