The Dock Brief | |
---|---|
Based on | play The Dock Brief by John Mortimer |
Written by | George F. Kerr |
Directed by | Raymond Menmuir |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes [1] or 50 minutes. [2] |
Production company | ABC |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | 27 January 1960 17 February 1960 (Melbourne) [3] | (Sydney)
The Dock Brief is a 1960 Australian TV play directed by Ray Menmuir and starring Reg Lye and Moray Powell. It was based on the play by John Mortimer. [4]
The barrister Morgenall is given a brief to defend a bird seed seller, Fowle, accused of murdering his wife.
The play was made in Sydney under the direction of Ray Menmuir. A radio version of the play had been performed in Australia the previous year. [5]
Menmuir said "as first seen the characters are quite comical but as the play progresses we begin to laugh with them rather than at them." [6]
Douglas Smith designed the set which consisted of two areas: the prison cell and the imaginary courtroom. Special effects were used to create a "courtroom of the imagination" for a later scene. [7]
The Sydney Morning Herald called it "beautifully acted" praising Menmuir's "admirably deft and very imaginative production." [8]