The Torrents (film)

The Torrents is a 1969 Australian TV play based on the stage play by Oriel Gray. It was filmed as part of the ABC anthology drama series Australian Plays.[2] It was the second Gray play adapted by the ABC, after Burst of Summer.[3]

"The Torrents"
Australian Plays episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 5
Directed by	Oscar Whitbread
Teleplay by	Oriel Grey
Based on	play The Torrents by Oriel Gray
Original air date	10 December 1969 (Sydney, Melbourne)[1]
Running time	70 mins

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4]

Cast

• Barbara Stephens
• Ken Shorter
• Alan Hopgood
• Mark Albiston
• Harold Hopkins*
• Lyndell Rowe.[2]

Production

It was shot in Melbourne and at Maldon, a small town outside Bendigo.[5] It was designed by Alan Clarke. Railway carriages were hired from the Society of Railway Enthusiasts. The budget could not cover the hiring of an old locomotive so a modern one was used, but this was obscured by a fog machine.[6]

Reception

One critic called it "a beauty".[7]

External links

• 1968 TV play at AustLit
• The Torrents at IMDb
• The Torrents at Ausstage

References

1. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 December 1969. p. 19.
2. Kelly, Frances (11 December 1969). "Television. A play at last!". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT, Australia. p. 33. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
3. Vagg, Stephen (15 November 2020). "The Flawed Landmark: Burst of Summer". Filmink.
4. Vagg, Stephen (February 18, 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
5. "Drama Sheds Mothballs". The Age. 23 October 1969. p. 45.
6. Robinson, Fred (24 September 1969). "This is the place for a village". TV Times. p. 4.
7. "TELEVISION". The Canberra Times. 44 (12, 490). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 December 1969. p. 33. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.