If It's a Rose
| If It's a Rose | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Dario Niccodemi translated by Robert Rietti |
| Directed by | Raymond Menmuir |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 mins |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 26 March 1958 (Sydney, live)[1] 23 April 1958 (Melbourne, taped)[2] |
If It's a Rose is an Australian television movie, or rather a live television comedy play, which aired in 1958 on ABC. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[3]
Duration was 60 minutes, in black-and-white. Archival status of the program is unknown. Annette Andre was a relatively unknown 18 year old.[4][5]
A version had been performed on British TV in 1954.[6]
Plot
Set in Italy. Over the course of one day, Mario is courting Anna.
Cast
- Annette Andre as Anna
- Don Pascoe as Mario
- Ethel Lang as the maid
Production
It was recorded live in Sydney.[7] It was an early television performance from Annette Andre who later recalled:
Even though I had been performing on stage from a very young age... I still had to overcome the exquisite torture of stage fright when I did my first TV drama. For some reason, my radio work was anxiety-free, perhaps because my ‘audience’ was only the other actors grouped around the microphone. My If It’s a Rose co-star was as nervous as I was and in Act II started calling me ‘Annette’ instead of ‘Maria’. If that wasn’t unsettling enough, the zipper on my costume got stuck and I had to play the rest of the scene facing the camera to hide the half-open dress. My ballet training came into play here, as I’d learned to overcome problems such as falling on stage and not let them affect my performance.[8]
See also
- The Passionate Pianist - 1957 ABC TV play
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)
References
- ^ "Looking Ahead On Channel 2, ABN". ABC Weekly. 26 March 1958. p. 33.
- ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 18 April 1959. p. 17.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
- ^ "Girl's Chance in Live Play". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 March 1958. p. 11.
- ^ "Untitled". The Age. 1 April 1958. p. 25.
- ^ If It's a Rose 1954 British TV at IMDb
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2020). "Annette Andre: My Brilliant Early Australian Career". Filmink.
- ^ "My First Job – 'I didn't get stage fright on radio'". Annette Andre. 20 June 2018.
External links
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