AustLit

'Ryan is involved in a war between two rival mobs when a beautiful woman, the daughter of a gangster, is kidnapped.

'Knight is the leader of one of the mobs involved. Down through years of organising coercion, bribery and standover tactics, the one clean thing in his life is his love for his daughter, Barbara. The great thorn in his side is that she married Lewis, who claims he loves her, but is sinking towards alcoholism, freely spending the money that flows from Knight's rackets, and envious of the power that his father-in-law commands.

'Barbara is abducted and Knight believes that the man responsible is Hackman, a rival gang leader who is out to take over the Knight "empire".

'As Knight cannot go to the police, he forces Ryan to help him find his daughter. Ryan weaves through the world of petty criminals, hatchet men, and racecourse hangers on, always in danger, and at one point nearly blown to pieces.

'Knight's wrath knows no bounds when he finds out that Lewis and Hackman have joined forces to destroy him, and that Barbara's life has been placed in jeopardy as a result. During a shoot-out in a quarry where Barbara is being held, Knight deliberately kills the son-in-law he has always despised and now hates. Even a charge of murder is not too great to preserve the welfare of the daughter he loves.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'KNIGHT: Early fifties. Controlling figure of the underworld. Huge, neat man with an aura of ruthlessness that is usually polished. But sometimes we see evidence of his cheap crim background. He must be a powerful, dominating figure. Devoted to his daughter.

'BARBARA: Lovely girl, middle twenties. Knight's daughter, Lewis' wife. Living in the corruption of the underworld hasn't spoiled her. Considerable strength of character and sensitivity. Devoted to her father - "Love is blind". Should be able to ride a horse.

'FRANK: Middle forties. Knight's prize bodyguard. Advisor cum friend. He is a graduate killer. His whole attitude should be one of menace. He has been with Knight "from the beginning" and is genuinely devoted. A superb marksman, a cool professional.

'LEWIS: 35 (approx). Alcoholic. Barbara's husband. Clever, scheming, he relishes the money and power which Knight's influence brings. Greedy - it leads to his eventual downfall. He married only to "bludge" and his plan is to remain in a happily drunken, affluent state for the remainder of his life.

'MURRAY: About thirty. Another of Knight's bodyguards. Looks tough - no lines.

'HARRY: Middle forties. Knight's chaffeur cum bodyguard ... Apparently devoted to Knight, but patiently awaiting Knight's downfall. He's tired of being a "foot-stool" Must drive. [sic]

'ALEX HACKMAN: Middle forties. Knight's competition. More "basic" than Knight, lacking his polish. He's a true gang "boss". Joined with Lewis to destroy Knight - then take over his organisation. Must drive. Some knowledge of archery might help.

'STARKEY: Thirtyish. Hackman's bodyguard - overly eager but no real match for Ryan.

'MAX: One of Hackmen's men. Hard, tough, powerful. No lines. Is killed.

'HUNT: Another of Hackman's men. Again tough, powerful looking. Kidnaps Barbara. No nonsense type.

'BARNEY: 50ish. Ex-crim. Hates Ryan. An ex-boxer and looks it - tends to Knight's horses at training track.

'HOLLAND: 40's. Also in Knight's employ to tend his horses. Some polish. Appears to co-operate with Ryan but he's a good liar.

'RAY: One of Knight's men. Really under Lewis' control. Looks tough. Must drive.

'TAXI DRIVER: Actual.

'SAM: Bodyguard. One scene only.'

'Ryan is awoken one night to find one of his friends in intense and inexplicable pain. The friend warns Ryan of a plot to kill either of two women - Jeanne Hayward or Mia Sinclair - then dies in his arms.

'Ryan sets out to find the women and the people who are plotting against them. Shortly after locating both girls, Jeanne makes an unsuccessful attempt at suicide. The other, Mia, is distraught and dangerously unstable.

'A box given to Ryan by his friend suggests some connection with black magic and when the intended victim becomes Mia, Ryan races against time to locate a Satanist sect and save her life from a savage sacrifice.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'MIA SINCLAIR: Early to mid 20's. A beautiful girl whose life has been blighted by a childhood trauma. Tense, neurotic, guilt ridden - but commands enormous sympathy.

'JOHN BLACK: Early 40's. A commanding, charismatic figure. Poses as a Minister, but in fact his activities are sinister and deadly. A powerful, persuasive, attractive man who manipulates the gullible.

'JEANNE HAYWARD: Late teens, early twenties. An attractive girl who has been duped into joining Black's weird sect. From being a relatively normal, happy young girl (we don't see this phase), she has become haunted, totally unstable.

'SAMANTHA: Early thirties. Black's wife. A handsome, impressive woman. Ostensibly warm and concerned, but actually she is a complete convert to Black's sick philosophy. Probably his first disciple.

'PROFESSOR MELTON: Mid 50's. Slightly eccentric, entertaining, talkative, enthusiastic scholar, who helps Ryan in the investigation.

'DR. ERIC McLEOD: Late 30's. A psychiatrist. Likeable, attractive, empathetic. A wise and compassionate realist.

'DR. JIM INNES: 40-50. A Doctor mate of Ryan's. Bluff, good humoured G.P.

'ROBERT ELLIOT: Late 20's. A mate of Ryan's who is killed for meddling in Black's strange world. He dies in the first segment but he is the first person we see and his impact is of vital importance. Drives.

'HAL & CHARLES: Both in their twenties. Both rather narcissistic muscle men who admire Black (probably because of the kinkiness) and do his dirty work. Both big, capable of sadism. Both drive, run, fight.

'SALESGIRL: Early 20's, attractive, works in a mod shop. Couple of scenes with Ryan whom she helps and charms.

'THE SATANISTS: Perhaps 6 of them. They appear only in black, hooded robes, and engage in a major ritual. But their only contribution is chanting and speaking in unison.

'A CAT: Sleeps, spits, scratches. Needn't drive.'

Ryan focused on the titular Michael Ryan, a private detective with a stringent code of ethics and a background as a soldier, police officer, and social worker. Ryan's work doesn't focus on divorce and domestic problems, but on serious crimes that, for some reason, the victims are unwilling to take to the police. He is supported by his secretary Julie King (who often becomes involved in fieldwork), cab driver and later assistant Tony Angelini, and police liaison Detective Sergeant Dan Cullen.

According to Don Storey in Classic Australian Television,

'The production standards of Ryan are very high -- good writing, solid acting performances, smooth direction and excellent camera and editing work combined to form a polished and professional product. And Ryan was very successful overseas -- proportional to the number of episodes made, Ryan has probably done better overseas than most other Crawford shows. Yet it was the first Crawford show not to do well locally'.

'Ryan has shrugged off a recent series of threatening crack calls. One night, emerging from a building, he is met by a hail of bullets from a passing car. Two passers-by are hit - a woman who is killed instantly, and her small son, who is rushed to hospital.

'Julie King, Ryan's secretary, witnesses the event, and is sickened and shattered by the raw danger associated with Ryan's life-style.

'Ryan, driven by a clawing conscience and an obsessive commitment to revenge, works around the clock to track down the killer. His "Nut File" provides him with a list of suspects - a detailed catalogue of psychopaths and criminals who have "sworn to get him." Relentlessly, he checks them out. Each confrontation has its own flash-point, and the trail eventually leads to Mr. Ward - the monolithic crime Czar who must surely know the answer.

'Meanwhile, Julie King has her own crisis to resolve. Her outraged parents have demanded that she leave Ryan's employ - remove herself from what they consider an atmosphere of sordid violence. Julie feels a strong emotional commitment to Ryan, but has, herself, been alarmed by recent events.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'DR. GORDON KING: Early fifties. Julie's father. Conservative, paternal; seemingly hard exterior which softens to genuine and real concern that his daughter had experienced such a horrible tragedy.

'ELAINE KING: Late 40's. Good-looking in a rather genteel way. She has shared her husband's fears and has become over-protective. She infringes on Julie's privacy believing Julie's motive for staying with Ryan is primarily romantic. She is deeply hurt by the gap growing between herself and Julie.

'THEODORE WARD: Early fifties. Controlling figure of the underworld. Huge, neat man with a disturbing aura of ruthlessness surrounding him. He is "The Boss", ruling the underworld with an iron fist. A man with his own rather strange code of ethics regarding who can be murdered and who can't. Sticklet [sic] for professionalism.

'COLIN BROWN: Mid-late thirties, attractive to women. When we first meet him, Brown appears kind, sincere, shattered by the horrible deaths of his wife and son. We later learn this is not the full story. Should drive.

'HELEN: 20's. Beautiful young girl. Devoted to Brown. The unconscious cause of the Brown tragedy.

'MRS. BROWN: Homely, maternal type who could not compete with Brown's younger women. Finally left to live alone with her son. Mid thirties. Few lines but her image and impact is important to story.

'BARRY BROWN: Ordinary boy, 8 - 10 years. Few lines.

'DR. LEO HUGHES: 40's. A rather unbalanced bogus hypnotherapist who has an obsessive hatred for Ryan, unpleasant, unwholesome individual.

'JOE "THE FINGER": Small time crim, with small time ideas. His hate for Ryan is like a drug he feeds upon. The typical crim turned fizz with a record "as long as your arm". Early thirties.

'THE KILLER: Impassive ruthless face, rather foreign looking. Balding - which he disguises with a beret. A professional killer. Must drive. No lines.

'CLUB MANAGER: 35-45. Manages a seedy Nightclub. Tall, no-nonsense. One scene.

'MAX / JERRY (WARD'S HENCHMEN): Both early 30's. Max must drive. Both hard, tough, powerful. Frightened of Ward but nobody else. Both would kill without hesitation at Ward's direction. Act as Ward's bodyguard servants.

'TURNER: Late 30's. Dangerous crim. No lines. Gets killed.

'MAN 1: Chinese. Thirtyish. No lines. One Montage scene.

'MAN 2: Heavy set, probably wharf labourer, bad tempered. No lines. One Montage scene.

'WOMAN: No lines. Late 40's. Typical housewife in lower class part of town. One Montage scene.

'DOCTOR: Professional, doesn't give too much away, but is obviously deeply worried about the boy. It shows on his face. Late 40's.

'UNIFORMED POLICEMAN: That type. No lines.'