Bertrand (film)

Bertrand is a 1964 Australian television film. It aired on non-commercial ABC in a 60-minute time-slot. It was written by Romilly Cavan, and produced by Ken Hannam. The film aired on 27 May 1964 in Sydney^[2][3] 12 August 1964 in Melbourne^[4] and on 2 September 1964 in Brisbane.^[5]

Bertrand
Screenplay by	Romilly Cavan
Directed by	Ken Hannam
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
Production
Running time	60 mins[1]
Production company	ABC
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	27 May 1964 (1964-05-27)

Plot

Set in Sydney, the title character of the drama was a stray cat, who brings together three people, a teenager (Michael Thomas), a recluse (Ronald Morse) and an ex-suffragette (Eve Wynne).

Cast

• Michael Thomas as Albert Watson
• Ronald Morse as Tracey
• Eve Wynne as Mrs Glover
• Ben Gabriel as Mr Watson
• Kit Taylor as Jacki

Production

It was originally written for British television and set in Britain.

The setting was relocated to Australia for this version.^[6] The designer was Geoffrey Wedlock. His neighbour, N Jenkins, owned a cat, Tim, who was cast in the lead role. "You'd have thought he'd been around TV studios all his life," said Mrs Jenkins. "He did everything... on cue."^[5]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it over long "and tedious" and felt adapting the story to Australia was a mistake.^[7]

References

1. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 May 1964. p. 15.
2. ""Bertrand" on Channel 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 May 1964. p. 5.
3. "The Sydney Morning Herald 18 May 1964, page Page 23". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 May 1964. p. 23.
4. "TV Guide". The Age. 6 August 1964. p. 35.
5. "Cat Star, 17, Likes Caviar". TV Times. 26 August 1964. p. 14.
6. "TELEVISION AND RADIO TODAY". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 May 1964. p. 33. Retrieved 25 January 2020 – via Trove.
7. ""Betrand" on Channel 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 March 1964. p. 9.

External links

• Bertrand at IMDb