elspeth ballantyne frenzy

This episode of Division 4 ('Senior Stewart', aired 8 November 1972) explores Meg Stewart finding the job all too much for her, and the situation she is dealing with is grim. Some really great performances with Patricia Leehy as the monosyllabic, slack-jawed Lola Hudson with a particularly gross wound (a graze? Idk) on her chin creating a character that should have got her a Logie.* The weird part is seeing Elspeth Ballantyne twice in two consecutive episodes playing very different roles. That seems like terrible continuity but I am not sure the episodes on the disc are in the right order. OK I checked and they're absolutely not in the right order, at least, not in the order they were screened 'back in the day'. Here, EB gets to deliver classic lines about 'opening up' a child who has been beaten by his father to find his liver has been somehow pulverised (unlike many Crawfords police shows, in this case, the child does not die). 

At least the double-EB shows on one disc is not a situation like the new Crawfords disc of the first episodes of Skyways (they put it out with the first two episodes missing but episodes 3-6 labelled as episodes 1-4). I thought my DVD player was broken! Or my mind was. Apparently they're supplying episodes 1-2 gratis to all who purchased the first box, but that appears to be taking time. L O L anyway I have enough on my plate with The Box and Division 4 right now. Oh, and I also have a day job. 

*I know almost nothing about Leahy. She doesn't appear to have done any acting at all after the mid-70s. 

 

joan letch again again again

Another marvellous small role from Joan Letch in Division 4 episode 'Two Pot Screamer' screened 5 March 1973. She plays Doris King. She's just a brilliant actor. 

scott st for gazettal

So I am writing a new lecture - half of one, really - to inform my students about the purpose and value of their first piece of assessment, which is about the house where they grew up. To this end I am doing a little bit of research about where I grew up, which I know sounds egotistical but I'm trying hard to make sure it's not. 

I got the gazettal (whatever the word is)* of the street where I 'grew up' (or at least lived between 1973-1983). It was created in 1939 which is late for East Hawthorn (all the other streets were basically late 19th century I think, some even older) but it seems the land was just vacant for fifty years or more. The house where we lived, 1 Scott St, was apparently not built until 1960, or at least that's the first date for it in the rate book. 

That house, I have probably told you previously, is no longer there - it was built 1960, apparently, remodelled extensively in about 1978-9, demolished comprehensively in I think 1988. My parents bought the site for $20 000 in 1973 and I don't know how much they sold it for but I do know that the most recent sale of the land and the building(s?) on it now fetched $2.9 million. The moral of this story is, be born just before or early in the Second World War and be able to buy a house and if you didn't do that it's your own fault! 
 

*I think that is the word, but spellcheck doesn't know it

more more louise homfrey

Who is Ryan squintingly gleaning information from? Yes it's no other than...

'Mrs Crew' (though I'm fairly sure her name is not referred to in the actual episode, but that's what IMDB says her name is) as played by... I can't even finish this sentence.

From the Ryan episode known as 'A Little Something Special' first screened 8 December 1973. This episode is chockers* with stars, from Lex Mitchell as a murderous criminal to Jane Clifton in a one-scene, barely-seen role as a waitress. Oddly this episode was written by William Froug who was an American screenwriter. It is good, but not better than the usual locally-written fare (and has one particularly odd aspect - that Ryan would have an almost instantaneous, James Bondian sexual relationship with one of the people caught up in the intrigue, immediately after her brother is murdered. Said woman is set up in a number of ways prior to her kissing then apparently sexing with Ryan as an innocent, inexperienced, etc - it's altogether weird). 

* Shall I once again bemoan the americanishittifaction of, um, everything? 'Chockers' was autocorrected to 'checkers', it took me about a day to realise. 

more louise homfrey

This episode of Division 4 is a bit fragmented but I just wanted to mention it has Louise Homfrey in it again. Once again she is playing a self-possessed, self-reliant woman with even a touch of the feminist about her (Marg Stewart persuades Mrs Innes to consider going into a home because she says she needs to persuade her superiors of the value of policewomen). 

Oh and the amazing Pamela Stephenson, playing a woman with two boyfriends. 

...and the ever-incredible John Stanton. 

The episode is The Empty Hand, first shown 13 February 1973. 

It also, by the way, has a slight subtext about demolition (presumably by the HCV, though not stated) as Mrs Innes wants to stay in her house which is going to be bulldozed, and doesn't want to go into public housing because she can't keep her dog (Bob) there. 

louise homfrey in division 4 episode 'hide and seek' 20 september 1972

A lot of interesting things going on in this episode of Division 4 which only goes to show - scratch the surface, you'll find a whole treasure trove of people and places and things. This is the episode where Marg tells Vickers she's not going to make his coffee for him (apparently women police have laid down the law on making of tea and coffee for their male counterparts because they feel it takes them away from proper police work!). His response, incidentally, is to give her some actual police work to do. 

Lionel Long is in this episode, three years after his departure from Homicide, and weirdly his character's name is 'Alan Hunt'. I say 'weirdly' because that was the name of the recently-appointed Minister for Local Government in Victoria. Wikipedia won't tell me precisely when Hunt was given this role (his first after a long time as a Liberal politician in part, rumour has it, because he objected to the planning rules being bent on behalf of Reg Ansett in the 1960s) but he was certainly a Minister by mid-1971. The shooting on this episode was under way by 8 October 1971 - there's a scene in which Vickers brandishes a newspaper with that date - but presumably Hunt wasn't particularly famous when the script was written by ex-policeman Monte Miller; Hunt rose to a certain degree of prominence in the Hamer government and I thought/think he was opposition leader for a short time in the 1980s but Wikipedia (once again: not always our friend) doesn't say anything about that and I cbf looking into Liberal history if they're not going to do it for themselves.* Anyway, weird to have a criminal called Alan Hunt here. 

It's not weird but nice to see Louise Homfrey in a minor role as the plucky, betrousered, belligerent Mrs Malton (IMDB doesn't list her as a cast member, btw). 

God only knows how old Homfrey was by this stage but presumably mid-70s. She had a long career as a radio presenter and was one of those media personalities who had no problem acting but it was probably just a thing you needed to be able to do to keep working in amongst the things you were remarkably good at and notable for. Note the extreme similarity between the second 'still' above and the image below, which you'd have to admit even in 1929 must have been a super-weird publicity shot. 

World's News 23 October 1920 p. 19

* And yes, he was the father of the awful Federal Liberal politician Greg Hunt, Minister for Health during the pandemic.

the ritz

The link Wayne gave to the Aaron Chen guide to the Fisk set made me appreciate that the Lithuanian Club auditorium was almost certainly the Ritz Cinema, briefly I suppose, in the late 1970s. I don't know if this was my first exposure to Errol St North Melbourne, not far from where I currently live, but it was an early exposure. The Ritz was in the vein of the Valhalla which I saw as the original template for these kinds of 'revival houses' or as this article from the Age 'Weekender' section for 11 November 1977 p. 7 calls them, '"alternative" cinemas'. I wonder who the 80-year-old star of Australian silent screen was, and how she could afford a chauffeur-driven Rolls. 

more joan letch (division 4, 'one more war' 30 aug 1972)

Another classic Joan Letch minor supporting character ('Nell')* in Division 4. She gives it her all. She's a total gem. 

A note to self: one of the crims in this ep, who I think has come from Sydney, says 'well I didn't come to visit your cultural centre'. Rare example of a 'you Melbourne people think you're so special' line in a Crawfords show. 

*OK IMDB just calls her 'Nell' but the actual show credits call her Nell Hudson. I wonder where IMDB got its information from. 

eggy at the curtin

I suppose the reason I was thinking about how I used to be in bands was that I was thinking sort of about going to see Eggy at the Curtin this evening, and I did, though I basically just saw the last skerrick of their show and it was too crowded and hot and so on. It was easy to see them from the side of the stage though and wow, that snare. I mean it sounded amazing from where I was standing here. From the back of the room, not that noticeable. Anyway I would like to see them again soon and do it properly. 

BTW Lygon St on a Friday night in Summer is fuckin' mental. That thing of like eight boys in their late teens, some of them look 12, some of them look 17 going on 47, at least one has a moustache that looks like it was pencilled on... hilarious. But you know the gelati is amazeballs. 

losing it

It's amazing to me now to think that 15 years ago (that's a random time but probably true - let's say 20 to be safe) I was still active in the live music scene* and would have a part of my brain dedicated to whatever songs whatever band I was in had going at the time and we might be offered shows or seek a show and put together a lineup with others and sort out the equipment and playing times and advertising (draw or otherwise create a handbill etc) and it'd be this thing that would happen. Rehearsals on a reasonably regular schedule and no grand plans for anything big in the future (except, also, recording, for record releases - in the golden late 90s when tangible music media was the only way and you'd just have people ready to invest money in your things - amazing to think about that now) but just maintaining that. It is pretty incredible. I feel like that capacity, or tendency or whatever you want to call it, has just broken off and floated away, it absolutely no longer exists.

Of course I have new abilities now which I didn't have then, so I'm not saying it's diminished returns but I hadn't really thought about this until now and now I'm thinking about it I'm like, wow, oh man. 

*Not with ambitions or pretensions to being a star or even a local hero but part of the community - it really was a situation of I go and see your band, you go and see mine, 'hey you were great tonight' etc. Supportive. I got very philosophical about the transitional nature of it at some point but really it's just in the realm of any hobby. I have no idea what the 2025 versions of that are, but I know there are undoubtedly many. 

division 4 'a waste of time' 12 july 1972

Keith Eden is Arthur Morrison, recently released from prison and hoping to go straight and/or meet his estranged son. There are lots of extremely interesting elements to this episode, starting with the opening sequence presumably shot from upstairs at Flinders St station. This is the intersection of Elizabeth and Flinders st and the tram terminus which is very drab and sparse compared to the glories of today. 

Irritatingly we are led to believe (I suppose it isn't outright stated) that the central character in this episode has come from Pentridge. But the 57 doesn't go past Pentridge, it just doesn't. Imagine thinking it did. 

The priest who was travelling with him goes to the tram stop in Flinders St which suggests to me that he lives in the eastern suburbs but actually we see his home later and it's in Yarra Central so who knows what he was up to, going places he shouldn't. 

Morrison tries to buy a second class ticket on the train and he's told they don't have those anymore. He was in prison for five years (which means he went in in 1967) and they stopped second class tickets (switched to 'economy') in March 1970.*

He goes to where he used to live, apparently it's Risley St, Richmond - that's not a guess. They're building something there, unclear what it is in the show, but it's clear now, it's a car park. 

Keith Eden, 1917-2003. I always like it when people born early in the 20th century get into the 21st. He is a great character actor, Crawfords had so many! I wonder if this was him... (Age 4 September 2000 p. 11). By the way, Bolte was dead 13 years by this time. 

 * 'No more second class: no it's economy' Melbourne Age 25 October 1969 p. 3

simon townsend

Sad to hear of the death of Simon Townsend who was the editor of Zoot in the early 70s a publication I really enjoyed. I see Zoot has not been talked about much in ST's obits but it meant a lot to me. I even found a Zoot dollar in stuff I was looking through on the weekend. I'll show you later. This clipping is from the SMH 7 April 1972 p. 12.  
 

fisk in errol st

This is close to a non-post but I just want to say that Fisk, which is a funny show, was (is?) I guess set in Errol st, or at least, a lot of the external scenes were shot in North Melbourne and the actual Gruber and Fisk windows are visible from the street, though I am uncertain about whether anything is actually filmed in those rooms up there surely there'd be too much noise from the street. 

I am a bit too stupid to understand this, as well. This doorway is the only doorway to the first floor:

But either they install a fake doorway into this doorway for the show (most likely explanation) or they use some amazing digital trickery. 

Or I am nuts. When I went to photograph the doorway above there was some dodgy character hanging around I didn't want to talk to so I took a quick picture then left and maybe I got it wrong, though I think the physio place is in the same position to the doorway in both images. 

Please don't think I think it matters. 

division 4: 'man's only a battler'

Obscure name for a very excellent episode of D4 from 22 March 1972. My worlds collided in this one where the crooks are chased onto the 'Westgate Bridge Freeway' which at that point is incomplete. 

In a way the actual pictures of the empty freeway aren't all that amazingly exciting. You heard it from me (if you hadn't already realised). 

But it gets a bit thrilling when John Stanton (who plays a criminal) breaks away and is chased by Gerard Kennedy to what might well be the Aerodrome and therefore the future Westgate Park. 

Yeah it is just one more case of I wish I could reach into the screen and turn the camera around a bit but you can't have everything, or really anything.