Sara Dane
| Sara Dane | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Based on | Sara Dane by Catherine Gaskin |
| Written by | Alan Seymour |
| Directed by | Gary Conway Rod Hardy |
| Starring | Juliet Jordan Harold Hopkins Brenton Whittle Ron Parry |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Jock Blair John Barningham |
| Cinematography | Ernie Clark |
| Editor | Philip Reid |
| Running time | 248 mins |
| Budget | $1.5 million[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Network Ten |
| Release | 31 May – 26 July 1982 |
Sara Dane is a 1982 Australian television miniseries about a woman transported from England to Australia for a crime she did not commit.[2]
Original novel
[edit]The mini-series was based on the best-selling 1954 novel of the same name by Catherine Gaskin. Gaskin had spent two years researching the book, which was inspired by the true story of Mary Reibey, a woman convict who married an officer while travelling to Australia, went on to become a successful businesswoman in her own right, and whose image has been featured since 1994 on the Australian $20 note.[3]
The novel was Gaskin's most successful, selling over two million copies.[4] Film rights were sold and Gaskin announced in 1955 that a movie version would be made at Elstree Studios the following year, but this did not occur.[5] Neither did another proposed production starring Sylvia Syms.[6]
1956 radio adaptation
[edit]The novel was adapted for radio in 1956 by the ABC.[7]
Plot
[edit]Sara Dane, who was falsely accused and convicted of stealing, is among a group of women convicts aboard an English ship bound for Sydney Town. Australia in 1797. Halfway through the voyage, she is taken from the ship's prison hold to serve as a maid to a migrating settler, James Ryder and his family. Stripped of her convict rags, bathed and decently dressed, Sara is surprisingly attractive and proves to be well educated and intelligent.
This changed Sara catches the eye of one of the ship's officers, Andrew McClay, who soon falls in love with her and proposes. Against all advice, McClay marries Sara and buys her freedom, but she soon becomes the object of gossip and animosity - the local society refuses to accept her; even her own servants treat her with envy and suspicion, but they all underestimate Sara, who devotes all her energies to her husband's business interests. Very soon they are prospering and as their wealth grows, McClay is able to buy what Sara desperately needs and wants - respectability. For a brief time the former convict girl is warmly received at Government House and welcomed at glittering parties.
However, everything changes when McClay is killed in the Irish Convict Rebellion. There are no more party invitations for Sara, no more guests at her fashionable townhouse. Sara Dane is ostracized once again.
To regain her social status and standing in the community, Sara marries a wealthy (refugee from the French Revolution) French aristrocat, Louis de Bourget. Sara has now achieved the height of her social status and power - she is the wealthiest woman in the Colony of Australia who no longer can be ignored and insulted.
Then, Louis de Bourget is killed in a riding accident and Sara becomes widowed for a second time. She decides to take her children and return to England, but once in London, Sara no longer feels England to be her 'home country'. She yearns for Australia and the freedom of her adopted land. So Sara once again sails halfway across the world to Australia again, but this time by choice: not as a convicted thief, but as a woman of wealth, power and status.[8]
Cast
[edit]- Juliet Jordan as Sara
- Harold Hopkins as Andrew McLeay
- Brenton Whittle
- Ron Parry
- Andrew Clarke as Arrogant Officer
- Leslie Dayman as Convict Leader
- Roger Oakley as Major Foveaux
- Barry Quin as Richard Barwell
- Peta Toppano as Alison Barwell
- Jackie Woodburne as Elizabeth
- Roger Ward as Johnny Pigman
- Damon Herriman as David
- Amanda Muggleton as Nell Finnegan
Production
[edit]In 1980 it was announced that the South Australian Film Corporation would make a mini-series of the novel for Network Ten, possibly starring Judy Morris and Sam Neill.[9] Eventually Juliet Jordan was cast.[10] Gaskin later said that Juliet was "not at all what I expected in Sara ... but I'm more than delighted Juliet was cast ... My young Sara was supposed to be a very strong character. You would have had to have been, to have survived and succeeded in the early days of Australia. If anything, the television Sara is even stronger than the novel's leading character in the end."[11]
Reception
[edit]It was a ratings success.[12]
Soundtrack
[edit]A soundtrack was released in 1982 by Cherry Pie.
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 86 |
References
[edit]- ^ "For 'Taurus Rising', success is in the stars". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 11 August 1982. p. 26. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p231
- ^ "BOOKS AND AUTHORS". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 September 1954. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Obituary of Catherine Gaskin at The Age accessed 14 July 2013
- ^ "Writing is just a job to noted author". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 5 October 1955. p. 20. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (22 February 2023). "The Surprisingly Saucy Cinema of Sylvia Syms". Filmink. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Catherine Gaskin's Story on A.B.C", ABC weekly, 18 (35 (1 September 1956)), Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1317692411, retrieved 4 March 2024 – via Trove
- ^ Panorama newspaper TV and Radio Guide; 13/09/1983-25/09/1983
- ^ "SOAPIE STAR'S ALL BOOKED UP". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 30 July 1980. p. 21 Supplement: FREE Your TV Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "'Sara Dane' opened new horizons for me". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 28 July 1982. p. 33. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Catherine Gaskin meets "Sara Dane"". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 5 May 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Lewes, Jacqueline Lee (5 June 1983). "Million$ of Viewing". Sydney Sun Herald. p. 47.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
External links
[edit]- 1980s Australian television miniseries
- Network 10 original programming
- Television shows set in New South Wales
- 1982 Australian television series debuts
- 1982 Australian television series endings
- Television shows set in colonial Australia
- Television shows based on Australian novels
- Historical novels
- Novels set in Sydney
- Films directed by Rod Hardy
- 1956 Australian radio dramas
- Australian radio dramas set in colonial Australia
- 1950s Australian radio serials