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]