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The Angry General

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The Angry General
Written byAllan Trevor
Directed byPatrick Barton
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 mins
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release11 March 1964 (1964-03-11) (Melbourne)[1]
15 April 1964 (Sydney)[2]
15 July 1964 (Brisbane)[3]

The Angry General is a 1964 Australian television play written by Australian author Allan Trevor.[4][5][6]

Premise

The play is set in London in the present day. Former wartime minister, Lord Athol Medway, publishes his memoirs attacking the leadership of Major-General Forbes Barrington-Hunt in the war during a disastrous commando raid. Barrington-Hunt sets out to clear his name.[7]

Cast

Production

It was one of 20 TV plays produced by the ABC in 1964 (and one of only three Australian scripts).[8] It was the first one that year to originate in Melbourne.[9]

It was a play by Australian actor and author Allan Trevor and was produced in Melbourne. Trevor called the play "a study in motives — the motives that make people accept what is not right to achieve their own ends." He said the plot was "based very loosely on the case history of one of the numerous generals 'bowlerhatted' for no apparent reason during World War II."[10] Trevor added that "It has as a leading character a 62 year old man still vital enough to dominate a television play. Dramatic events do not all happen to the young, clean cut chaps with wavy hair who turn up so often."[11]

It was the Australian TV debut of Raymond Westwell. He had only acted once before in Australia, in a stage production of Ross, but worked as a director of theatre, notably Camelot. He said he accepted the role "because he was getting a bit rusty as far as acting was concerned. This will help keep me fresh and flexible."[3] His wife Joan MacArthur had a role playing the wife of Westwell's character.[9]

Reception

The TV critic for The Sydney Morning Herald thought that despite "a liberal sprinkling of cliches and a pattern of stilted patches in its dialogue" the play "maintained a high degree of tension... Two major merits distinguished it. One was the originality of its theme, and the other a consistently capable standard of acting."[12]

References

  1. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 5 March 1964. p. 37.
  2. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 April 1964. p. 17.
  3. ^ a b "A "Corner" in Generals". TV Times. 8 July 1964. p. 15.
  4. ^ "Training For The Showring". The Canberra Times. Vol. 38, no. 10, 820. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 April 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 19 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "New series on 3". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 754. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 31 July 1967. p. 13. Retrieved 19 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. ^ "ANGRY GENERAL". The Canberra Times. Vol. 38, no. 10, 820. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 April 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 19 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "ABC Plans to Show Significant Works". The Age. 20 February 1964. p. 13.
  9. ^ a b "Rare Dramatic Combination". The Age. 5 March 1964. p. 27.
  10. ^ "Australian Play Has a War Theme". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 April 1964. p. 13.
  11. ^ Marshall, Valda (12 April 1964). "Quiz stars in contest on ATN". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 84.
  12. ^ "The Angry General Produced on ABN". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 April 1964. p. 8.


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