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. 

homicide - double take

An episode first shown 26 February 1976, the last year of Homicide's existence. Obviously (?) there was no such thing as the Federal Bank (the episode also has a branch of the 'Australia Bank'). I was able to figure out where this was by the 'T. J. O'Connor' on the front. There was a little bit of information on him in the press - he was a baker - it's Armstrong Street Middle Park. 

This is the building on Google Earth, it's odd to see that the T. J. O'Connor has been taken off. 

The place has been so zhouzhed up since the mid-70s. The palm tree! 

Just a close up of the entrance seconds before the bank's robbed. I wonder if this guy (who does not show up anywhere else in the episode) had people round to see his performance:

Blink and you'd miss veteran radio announcer Roly Barlee in a non-speaking part as a security guard who cops it before the opening credits. 

EG the below from the Age 24 June 1939 p. 35

Seems like Barlee didn't do any tv or film acting after Homicide but he had quite a few more up his sleeve in '76 after this one. He had a spoken part on Bruce Woodley's I Am Australian album in 1988. 

What intrigues me was that - without going into detail in a big way on the plot - the bank robbers drive around for a while and steal another car but this scene is actually outside the same building again - they just saved a bit of time by going nowhere and filming this unrelated scene in the same place. 

Here's a very early appearance by, yes, 25-year-old Jane Clifton as 'Jenny Walker' - that's the character name in the credits but I don't actually think she's mentioned by name in the actual show. She's a feisty one.  (Seen here with Bowen Llewelyn as William Young, one of the bank robbers).*

She gets away in part through her own bravery, it's a good character. This wouldn't always have been the case in Homicide where a lot of mouthy women have bitten the dust over more than a decade. With a sort of implication that they deserved it or perhaps that it wasn't a surprise when such things happened. 

* What happened to Bowen Llewelyn I wonder.