The Dock Brief (1960 film)

*The Dock Brief*
The Dock Brief
	Ad from 'The Age' 17 Feb 1960
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 or 50 minutes.
Production company	ABC
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	27 January 1960 (Sydney)
Release	17 February 1960 (Melbourne)

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]

Premise

The barrister Morgenall is given a brief to defend a bird seed seller, Fowle, accused of murdering his wife.

Cast

Reg Lye as Fowle
Moray Powell as Morgenhall

Production

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]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "beautifully acted" praising Menmuir's "admirably deft and very imaginative production."^[8]

References

^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 1960. p. 21.
^ "TV Guide". The Age. 11 February 1960. p. 33.
^ "Advertisement". 17 February 1960. p. 5.
^ "The P.M.G.'s private eye". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 27, no. 37. Australia. 17 February 1960. p. 68. Retrieved 22 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "TV Presentation of Prize Drama About a Brief". The Age. 11 February 1960. p. 23.
^ "Comedy and Pathos at the Bar". TV Times. 10 March 1960. p. 7.
^ "Courtroom for Two". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 1960. p. 22.
^ ""Dock Brief" Telecast from ABN". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 January 1960. p. 5.