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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Inspired by the unsolved 'Shark Arm case' in Sydney, Australia, in 1935, when a captured tiger shark regurgitated a tottooed human arm that proved to have been severed by a knife.
A contemporary review of this production in the New York Times reads:
'A drama based on an Australian murder trial provided a suspenseful telecast on "Playhouse 90" over Channle 2 last night.
'Sumner Locke Elliott's play, "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing," told by flashback narrative of a grisly murder trial that remained unsolved for thirteen years.
'The eventual solution of the crime of passion involved an unexpected development that gave the drama a diverting climax. A predominantly British cast gave uniformly good performances in this Fred Coe production, directed by Ronald Winston.
'The players included Hugh Griffith as a philosophical parson who told the story, Ann Todd an unhappy wife, Michael David, a murder suspect, Angela Lansbury, a teacher with the key to the crime, and Patricia Cutts, a friendly barmaid.'
Source:
'Murder Trail Is Basis for Suspenseful Show', New York Times, 27 November 1959, p.59.
Notes
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Television play.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
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form
y
The Grey Nurse Said Nothing
( dir. David Cahill
)
Australia
:
Channel 7
,
1960
6464043
1960
single work
film/TV
crime
thriller
An Australian-made version of the Sumner Locke Elliott script initially produced as part of American anthology series Playhouse 90 the previous year. The Australian version had an entirely different cast and crew from the original American production.
The drama was intended as the flagship program for a planned anthology series called General Motors Hour, based on the radio series of the same name (see 'Harry Dearth Will Host G.M.H Drama Venture on TV'.)
Locke Elliott's script was based on the so-called 'Shark Arm Case' (1935), and Patrick Brady, the defendent in that trial, brought an application for an injunction to prevent ATN (Channel 7) from televising the court scene in The Grey Nurse Said Nothing, which his lawyer argued was defamatory. The application was denied (see 'Application to Stop T.V. Play Rejected').
According to the news article on Brady's planned injunction, lawyers for ATN/Channel 7 claimed that 'the production would have a cast of 72. It was the most ambitious T.V. play produced in Australia, and cost more than £4,000 to produce'.
Further Reading
- 'Application to Stop T.V. Play Rejected', Canberra Times, 28 May 1960, p.7.
- 'Harry Dearth Will Host G.M.H. Drama Venture on TV', The Age, 18 February 1960, p.12.
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