Captain Carvallo
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Captain Carvallo is a traditional comedy play in three acts by Denis Cannan, telling the story of a philandering young army officer, Captain Carvallo.
The comedy was an immediate success when it opened at the St. James Theatre on 9 August 1950, as the second production under Sir Laurence Olivier's management.
A television production of the play was broadcast on the BBC the following year, with Patrick Macnee in the lead. Cannan adapted the play himself for a Rediffusion production later that decade. In 1988 the play was revived at the Greenwich Theatre. A version aired on Australian television in 1958.[1]
Plot[edit]
Smila Darde, wife of Caspar Darde, a farmer and lay preacher who is also a partisan, is asked for billet Captain Carvallo, an enemy officer. Her husband and his fellow partisan, Professor Winke, a biologist, are commanded to kill Carvallo but they discover they like him too much.
Original production[edit]
The play was first tried out in March 1950 at the Bristol Old Vic, where Cannan was acting at the time. A few months later, Laurence Olivier boldly restaged the play – billed as a "traditional comedy" – at the St James's theatre in London, with James Donald in the lead role, opposite Diana Wynyard.[2] It was a great success, although Cannan preferred the Bristol production.[citation needed] "His play shimmers with ideas wittily juxtaposed, and it is funnier than the Crazy Gang", wrote the critic Harold Hobson.[citation needed]
Original cast (St. James Theatre, 1950)[edit]
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Captain Carvallo | James Donald |
| Smilja Darde | Diana Wynyard |
| Professor Winke | Peter Finch |
| Caspar Darde | Richard Goolden |
| Private Gross | Thomas Heathcote |
| Anni | Jill Bennett |
| The Baron | Anthony Pelly |
1958 Australian TV version[edit]
| Captain Carvallo | |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy |
| Based on | play by Dennis Cannan |
| Directed by | William Sterling |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Cinematography | Ray Hammond[5] |
| Running time | 60 mins |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Release | 21 May 1958 (Melbourne, live)[3] 16 June 1958 (Sydney)[4] |
It was the first "live" play produced from the new studios of the A.B.C. in Melbourne, which had opened on 21 May 1958.[6]
Cast[edit]
- Neil Fitzpatrick as Carvallo
- Mary Ward
- Syd Conabere
- Frank Gatliff
Production[edit]
The play had been performed in theatres in Australia in the early 1950s.[7]
It had been performed on Australian radio in 1957 with Ray Barrett[8] and Gordon Glenwright.
It was the first presentation at the ABC's new studio at Rippon Lea, Melbourne. At that point, the ABC were using a small studio at Rippon Lea and telecasting its bigger productions from Coppin Hall. A third studio at Rippon Lea would be open in September.[9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Captain Carvallo (TV movie 1958) at IMDb
- ^ "PETER FINCH SCORES IN NEW STAGE PLAY". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XV, no. 121. Sydney. 11 August 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 March 1958. p. 33.
- ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1958. p. 16.
- ^ "Untitled". The Age. 23 May 1958. p. 21.
- ^ "Melbourne Comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1958. p. 15.
- ^ "Shrewd caricature in neat play". The Herald. No. 23, 369. Melbourne. 18 April 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "RADIO PLAYS for NEXT WEEK A.B.C". ABC Weekly. 16 February 1957. p. 20.
- ^ "BBC Live Play to Open TV Studio". The Age. 20 March 1959. p. 11.
