Point of Departure (Wednesday Theatre)

"Point of Departure" is a 1966 Australian television film.[2] It screened as part of Wednesday Theatre. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[3] "Point of Departure" aired on 22 June 1966 in Sydney,[4] on 29 June 1966 in Melbourne,[5][6] and on 27 July 1966 in Brisbane.[7]

"Point of Departure"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 25
Directed byHenri Safran
Teleplay byplay by Jean Anouilh
Original air date22 June 1966 (1966-06-22)
Running time75 mins[1]
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Vicky and the Sultan"
Next →
"Captain Carvallo"
List of episodes

It was one of three plays put on by the ABC to commemorate 2,500 years of Greek theatre.[8]

Plot

edit

A boy and a girl meet in a small provincial town at the beginning of German occupation in World War II.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

Ross Thompson had previously been in The Pigeon for Australian Playhouse. He and Goddard had acted in a scene together in They're a Weird Mob. Point of Departure had a cast of fifteen.[7]

Reception

edit

The Sydney Morning Herald write that Ross Thompson's "sensitive and convincing acting made the best of the obvious weaknesses in the plot itself."[9]

Filmink thought " maybe this is the sort of play that works best on stage, with its slightly fantastical nature and hopping around in time and place."[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "WEDNESDAY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 499. 20 June 1966. p. 23. Retrieved 22 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "leisure – the arts MUSIC A satisfying experience". The Canberra Times. 17 June 1966. p. 13. Retrieved 23 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  4. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 June 1966. p. 23.
  5. ^ "Untitled". The Age. 23 June 1966. p. 15.
  6. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 23 June 1966. p. 29.
  7. ^ a b "Teenagers star in French love story". TV Times. 20 July 1966. p. 10.
  8. ^ a b Vagg, Stephen (4 October 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Point of Departure and Man of Destiny". Filmink. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  9. ^ JP (20 June 1966). "Wartime romance". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 16.
edit