AustLit

'Grapevines riddle the underworld. Some of the stories spread are rumour, some are authentic. When word on the vine spreads as far as Bluey's superior, Superintendent Willis, there can be no doubting its authenticity. He races Bluey into action to prevent an underworld contract killing.

'The word is out - Vic Nelson, a Melbourne crime boss, has been fingered for death.

'In Bluey's book, if the contract was fulfilled, it couldn't happen to a better bloke. Bluey hates Nelson and all he stands for. And in Nelson's assessment of Bluey, that feeling is reciprocated.

'But Bluey isn't the only one who would be cheering on the killers if Nelson were to die feloniously. Helen, a delicate, willowy girl of 18, has the strongest motive in the world to want Nelson dead.

'Walter Kite is a mumbling, insipid enough type, but he is Helen's protector and it only takes a gun to turn a weakling into a superman.

'Even the hippie-style preacher, expounding the virtues of love and peace would see it as a service to mankind if Nelson were no longer with us to corrupt.

'In fact, few people in Melbourne would not regard the world a better place without Nelson. And Bluey has to find ... and find out quickly ... who it is who has set Nelson up for death!'

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):

'VIC NELSON: Early/middle forties. A man of immense personal charm. He's good-humoured, good-looking and an easy knack of making people like him instantly. He dresses exceptionally well in expensive, modern clothes. All in all you couldn't wish to meet a nicer guy — except that he's a Melbourne Crime boss with a very nasty and quite sadistic history that goes back many years. He's clever, cunning and ruthless, but somehow manages to remain pleasant for all that. He's been arrested and charged many times, but never been convicted or done time. Bluey and Nelson have a bitter personal enmity that goes back two decades.

'SUPERINTENDENT WILLIS: A well-groomed man in his early fifties. A public servant type of cop. A back-room boy who exists in the rarified atmosphere at the top of Russell Street where crime is dealt with in the abstract and "future directions" are considered. Some political pressure or passing whim will sometimes occasion him to descend four floors and instigate an investigation, but for the most part his hands (and fingernails) remain clean, his well-cut clothes unsullied and his contact with everyday crims minimal. Which is not to underestimate the man. His public service facade is no more than a pose to disguise a mind which is quick and agile. He is, after all, a natural-born survivor perched on top of the tree.

'HELEN: 18 years old. A delicate, willowy girl with sad eyes and a troubled life who says no more than a dozen words in the entire script and should thus be capable of making a visual impression which is both haunting and sympathetic. She's been brought up in an orphanage, has considerable personality hang-ups and now lives on hippie-starvation level in cheap attics or damp cellars. Cheap, worn-out, hippie-style clothing. Has begged on the streets when times have been bad.

'WALTER ARTHUR KITE: Aged 23. Looks after Helen in a protective sort of way since any true relationship with her would be impossible. Kite's no picture of health himself - he's a mumbling, stumbling sort and they live rough together. Long, straggly, untidy hair and clothes. This couple should be sympathetic in an "Orphans in the Storm" sense.

'MAD SAL': Early 50's. Eccentric in shape, manner, speech and habits. Sal' is completely off her head. Don't look for any hint of sense in her because she's as mad as a coot. She's under the impression that she's been dead for twenty years and that her body is an electrical machine. Don't try and tell her otherwise.

'TINY: Early twenties and a thug. So-called because of his size which is as big as possible. A heavy under the employ of Vic Nelson who would do absolutely anything his boss would tell him without a second thought. Dangerous, nasty and mean, but put him in a suit and tie for tidiness sake.

'GRANT: Thirties. Nelson's second heavy. Not such a brute of a man but just as nasty. Nelson's given him a good living for a dozen years or more and that's bought total loyalty. If anything, Grant is the brains of the duo. The two of them have a running back-chat consisting entirely of sexual innuendo.

'SANDY: Aged 19 or so. With her friend, Liz - these two girls are a couple of fun characters who live in a strange living space above a shop. Sandy is the boss out of the two and gives the impression of being fun, bubbly, good-humoured, scatty and mildly eccentric. Not to say sexy.

'LIZ: Sandy's friend. Same age and similar. Not freaks, just fun.

'PREACHER: Any age. Hippie-style street corner preacher given to expounding the virtues of love and peace to anybody that will listen. Not too much of a maniac.

'UNIFORMED POLICEMAN: As young as possible. Just out of the academy and not up to facing Bluey at full volume. So young that his policeman's hat should look slightly ridiculous over his young face.

'EXTRAS (4): The preachers' congregation.

'VKC:

'STUNT DRIVER:

'STUNT MAN'.