Stormy Petrel is a 1948 Australian radio serial about the career of William Bligh by Rex Rienits. It aired Mondays to Thursdays at 6.40pm on the ABC.
| Genre | drama serial |
|---|---|
| Running time | 15 mins (6:40 pm – 6:55 pm) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | ABC |
| Written by | Rex Rienits |
| Original release | December 1948 – 1949 |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 70 |
It was very popular and was produced again in 1953[1] and 1959.[2][3]
Rienits sold it to the BBC.[4]
It was adapted into a 1960 mini-series and a novel.
Background
editRex Rienits was a writer who wrote a number of scripts set in Australia's past. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."[5]
He later said that Bligh had "been grossly maligned" and "that Hollywood did a terrible thing in representing him, in the person of Mr. Laughton, as a cruel and brutal despot... However, Bligh undoubtedly had a quick and blustering temper, and it was this temper, rather than any deep-seated viciousness that got him into trouble, both on the 'Bounty' and as Governor of New South Wales".[4]
The story of Bligh was told through the eyes of his wife Elizabeth, then John Hallet, then his daughter Mary.[3] It went for seventy episodes.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Just another quiz, but it's still rollicking". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 43, no. 2, 148. South Australia. 8 August 1953. p. 55. Retrieved 29 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Radio Actor". Port Lincoln Times. Vol. XXXIII, no. 1741. South Australia. 3 September 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 29 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Stormy, but the real Bligh identifier". ABC Weekly. Vol. 21, no. 18. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1959-05-06. p. 3.
- ^ a b ""The Stormy Petrel" – New A.B.C. Serial About Bligh". Features Section. South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. Vol. LIII, no. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 1953-08-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-01 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Stars of the Air". The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser. Vol. 81, no. 95. New South Wales, Australia. 1948-12-16. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-03-16 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Lane, Richard (2000). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama 1923-1960. ScreenSound Australia the National Screen and Sound Archive. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-642-70503-7.