AustLit

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

'LEIGH GARDINER. 39. A journalist on a daily paper, is a hard-bitten ruthless woman of great attractiveness. She is an indifferent mother, and an unfaithful wife. She is the victim.

'JOHN GARDINER. 44. Leigh's husband, is an industrial chemist. He is a quiet, gentle man, bound up with his career. His marriage has been a failure and he realises this. He is intelligent, well-educated. He is one of the principal suspects. Must be able to drive.

'ANNE GARDINER. 18. Their daughter. She has been neglected by her parents and has become addicted to morphine. She is an Art student at the Tech. She eventually tries to commit suicide....becoming a suspect through her addiction.

'JERRY ROSS. 22. Takes Anne out now and again, but on a casual basis. He therefore feels little loyalty or responsibility towards her. He is a student.

'JANE ADAMS. 45. The murderess, is Leigh's cousin. She has a small private income and does a lot of charity work, has an autocratic disposition. Her love for Anne triggers off the poisonings - she regards the girl as her own daughter. She is practical to the point that she chooses murder as the practical solution to her problems - with no thought to the ethics.

'BETTY ROBINSON. 63. Is Jane Adams' companion, a pensioner of vague disposition, and an inability to manage her own affairs.

'CLIFF HILL. 33. A journalist on Leigh's paper, he had been having an affair with her. He is intelligent, attractive. Had been on a country newspaper.

'DENISE MATTHEWS. 25. His fiancee, is a young journalist who takes over Leigh's column. She is gentle, rather old-fashioned.

'TRAMP. Of indeterminate age, a no-hoper with a love for drink. He manages to extort money from Anne - with his hard luck story.

'ADRIAN JOHNSTON. A chemist, is visited by Anne in her attempt to get hold of some morphine.

'DOCTOR MILER. 50. Called in by Gardiner on the night of Leigh's death. He is talkative, with a love for gardening, has treated the family for some years.

'JOE FINCH. 48. John Gardiner's superior at the laboratory. An academic, he has a dry sense of humour, and a cordial dislike for Leigh.

'SISTER TAYLOR. 40. In charge of the Grandview hospital at which Jane Adams does charity work, and obtains the morphine. She is a fairly typical nurse, practical by nature.

'A VICAR. A gentle, kind man of indeterminate age. He finds Anne after she attempts to commit suicide.

'EXTRA ONLY. A girl who resembles Anne Gardiner in appearance.

'EXTRA ONLY. A young boy.'