AustLit

One of Australia's earliest drama series, Emergency was set in the casualty ward of an inner-city hospital. Created and written by radio script-writer Roland Strong, it was, according to Don Storey in his Classic Australian Television, made with the assistance of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (which provided machines and coached actors in how to use them plausibly) and the Victorian Civil Ambulance Service (which provided an ambulance and driver).

Filmed in GTV-9's studios, with some brief instances of location shooting, the production was, according to Storey, plagued by technical difficulties, including the inability to re-shoot failed or flubbed lines (since 'GTV-9 management decreed that sliced film could not be telecast').

Storey says, in summary, that

It must be remembered that Emergency was one of Australia's first drama series, and very much a pioneer effort. Regular production of Australia drama series did not come about until 1964 with Homicide, by which time video tape was available for studio scenes, with outdoor location work being shot on film. The early episodes of Emergency rated fairly well and, given time, the production difficulties could have been sorted out.

In the end, Emergency was cancelled after sixteen episodes when a scathing attack on the program in a Sydney newspaper frightened BP/COR Petroleum into withdrawing their sponsorship, leaving GTV-9 unable to bear the cost alone.

A 52-episode radio series, The Crime Club was produced by Dorothy Crawford for Hector Crawford Productions in 1953.

The program profile with which Crawford Productions promoted the program (held in the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection) sums up the program as follows: 'Each episode will be the true story of a world-famous detective and his most important case'.

In promoting The Crime Club, Crawford Productions consciously positions it in close relation to the highly successful radio serial D.24 (a fore-runner to its television program Homicide), emphasising that D.24's 'extraordinary success' boded well for The Crime Club:

'When first broadcast twelve months ago, "D.24" immediately attracted a large audience. The most recent Survey shows that it has completely out-stripped every other programme on the air. It has more listeners than even the highly-priced Variety and Quiz programmes, and we believe the audience figures are still rising.

While we could not guarantee that "The Crime Club" would achieve the unique position of "D.24", it has many features similar in entertainment value. It has not the advantage of home locale, but it will draw from a much wider choice of material and have a greater degree of contrast in background and types.'

'"D.24" has had quite dramatic results for the Victoria Police Force in the fields of public relations and recruiting. Hence the fact that the Police Department has twice renewed its contract and has discontinued all other forms of publicity and advertising.

'Having attracted a wide and loyal audience, "The Crime Club" must certainly become an equally successful vehicle for its Sponsor's message.'

'Our recent close assoication with the Victoria Police Force leaves us in no doubt that they are diligent, enthusiastic, well-trained and organized, and badly in need of all the public support possible. "D.24" is doing much towards achieving such support.

'"The Crime Club", which will present the detective in his true light, must certainly make a contribution to this most worthwhile objective.'

The program outline emphasises that in order to ensure that 'All "Crime Club" stories ... will be authentic', they have established a research network between Melbourne, France, and England.

In Melbourne, 'The complete facilities of the Victoria Police Force are, of course, at our service.' In addition, 'We are also in close touch with Dr. Norval R. Morris, Ph.D. (Lond.), LL.M., Secretary of the Department of Criminology and Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Melbourne. His advice and guidance on the "Crime does not pay" angle will be most valuable.'

For France, 'we have appointed a "Crime Club" reporter in Paris. He will work in close collaboration with Detective-Inspector Jacques Delarue of the Surete, and will provide stories from France and Europe generally.'

The French Crime Club reporter is not named in the program profile, but their equivalent in England (who 'will cover the detectives of the British Isles') was English detective novelist John Creasey, whose work had already been produced for radio by Dorothy Crawford in the long-running Inspector West serial.

According to the program profile, the detectives covered in the program included:

• Detective Inspector Frank Froest (Metropolitan Police CID/Scotland Yard)

• Gustave Mace (Sûreté)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Elias Bower (Scotland Yard)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Frank Fox (Scotland Yard)

• Professor Archibald Reiss (University of Lausanne)

• Inspector William Melville (Special Branch, CID)

• Detective-Inspector John Wilson Murray (Canadian Detective Service)

• Divisional Detective-Inspector Edward Drew (Metropolitan Police CID)

• Inspector Trevor Fitch (Special Branch, CID)

• Detective-Inspector Richard Tanner (Scotland Yard)

• Inspector Nathanial Druscovich (Scotland Yard)

• M.F. Goron (Paris Detective Service)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Gough (Scotland Yard)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Berrot (Scotland Yard)

• Senior Chief Detective John Tunbridge (Scotland Yard)

• Rene Cassellari (Sûreté)

• Chief Detective Inspector Leach (Scotland Yard)

• Detective-Inspector Maurice Moser (Metropolitan Police CID)

• Monsieur Canler (Sûreté)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Jervis (Scotland Yard)

• Chief Detective-Inspector Henry Marshall (Scotland Yard)