Crime Passionel

Crime Passionel is a 1959 Australian television play. It was based on a play by Jean-Paul Sartre and was directed by Royston Morley.

The play had been broadcast that year by the BBC.

It was broadcast live in Sydney on 11 November 1959. A recording was made of this and shown in Brisbane on 17 November 1959^[1] and Melbourne on 10 February 1960.^[2] It went for 90 minutes.^[3]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.^[4]

At the end of World War Two, in the mythical European country of Illythia, the German armies are retreating from the Russians. Hugo, a young intellectual who wants to be revolutionary hero, sets about assassinating Hoederer, leader of the local communist party. Hugo is Hoederer's secretary. Hugo has a wife Jessica, and a fellow party member, Olga.

• Brian James as Hoederer
• William Job as Hugo
• Jacqueline Kott as Olga
• John Fegan as Charles
• Tony Arpino as Franz
• Peter Williams as Louis
• James Elliott as Ivan
• Rosemary Webster as Hugo's wife
• Don Crosby as Georges
• Julian Flett as Prince Paul
• Nat Levison as Slick
• Richard Parry as Karsky
• Bill Waters as Leon

Brian James was flown in from Melbourne to play the lead.^[5]

The Sydney Morning Herald TV reviewer wrote that the play was "a little slow in movement, because of the sheer weight of its talk... [but] was given an absorbing live performance... the cast was uncommonly strong."^[6]

• List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)

• Crime Passionel at IMDb

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