1964 homicide

I bought the first DVD set of Homicide, episodes from 1964. You can immediately see why the show was such a hit, I guess, at least, I suppose I like it because it's full of shots of Melbourne in 1964, and I gather people in 1964 liked it for that reason too. My DVD player, for whatever reason, won't allow me to change the screen ratio so everything's a bit squashed or stretched or whatever but it is a lot of fun seeing 50+ years old Melbourne and also the same two walls and a door dressed up to look like two or three different rooms each episode. 

Often you get the sense that they are just filming the streets to add something visceral to the whole thing and I guess extending a bit of screen time. But they also do great long 'silent' action sequences outdoors - they're really good - car chases (on empty streets) and so on.

How about this scene. I love this fence. What on earth is it. 

This is an example of a house that ... hmm, I was going to say is real but now I come to think of it I think I've been tricked with the incredibly elaborate pictures. 

I love this woman's anguished response. Whoever played this character she did really well delivering about as much dialogue as everyone else in the show combined in the space of about two minutes. 

I have watched five episodes now and it's always about a blonde woman being murdered. I suppose Homicide invented that idea. 

Closing sequence from the backseat driving down the first increment of what is now known as the Monash Freeway, is excellent too. Interstate cast (I wonder if there were any) chose, we are told, to stay at the California Motel, which was the modern building put opposite Xavier in Barkers Road, on the site of the old Kew railway line. I took pictures there one time when it was just about to be pulled down, I wonder where they are.