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Captain Carvallo is a traditional comedy play in three acts byDenis Cannan, telling the story of a philandering young army officer, Captain Carvallo.
The comedy was an immediate success when it opened at theSt. James Theatre on 9 August 1950, as the second production under SirLaurence Olivier's management.
A television production of the play was broadcast on the BBC the following year, withPatrick Macnee in the lead. Cannan adapted the play himself for aRediffusion production later that decade. In 1988 the play was revived at theGreenwich Theatre. A version aired on Australian television in 1958.[1]
Smila Darde, wife of Caspar Darde, a farmer and lay preacher who is also a partisan, is asked for billet Captain Carvallo, an enemy officer. Her husband and his fellow partisan, Professor Winke, a biologist, are commanded to kill Carvallo but they discover they like him too much.
The play was first tried out in March 1950 at theBristol Old Vic, where Cannan was acting at the time. A few months later, Laurence Olivier boldly restaged the play – billed as a "traditional comedy" – at the St James's theatre in London, with James Donald in the lead role, opposite Diana Wynyard.[2] It was a great success, although Cannan preferred the Bristol production.[citation needed] "His play shimmers with ideas wittily juxtaposed, and it is funnier than the Crazy Gang", wrote the criticHarold Hobson.[citation needed]
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Captain Carvallo | James Donald |
| Smilja Darde | Diana Wynyard |
| Professor Winke | Peter Finch |
| Caspar Darde | Richard Goolden |
| Private Gross | Thomas Heathcote |
| Anni | Jill Bennett |
| The Baron | Anthony Pelly |
| Captain Carvallo | |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy |
| Based on | play by Dennis Cannan |
| Directed by | William Sterling |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Cinematography | Ray Hammond[3] |
| Running time | 60 mins |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Release | 21 May 1958 (1958-05-21) (Melbourne, live)[4] |
| Release | 16 June 1958 (1958-06-16) (Sydney)[5] |
It was the first "live" play produced from the new studios of the A.B.C. in Melbourne, which had opened on 21 May 1958.[6]
The play had been performed in theatres in Australia in the early 1950s.[7]
It had been performed on Australian radio in 1957 withRay Barrett[8] andGordon Glenwright.
It was the first presentation at the ABC's new studio at Rippon Lea, Melbourne. At that point, the ABC were using a small studio atRippon Lea and telecasting its bigger productions from Coppin Hall. A third studio at Rippon Lea would be open in September.[9]