Shell Presents
| Company type | Television anthology series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 4 April 1959 |
| Defunct | 1960 |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Television drama plays |
| Owner | Shell (sponsor) |
Shell Presents was an early Australian anthology series in television drama that premiered on 4 April 1959. Broadcast on both ATN-7 and GTV-9, the production responsibilities were shared between these stations. Each installment featured a standalone play, and the series earned a 1960 Logie Award for TV Highlight of 1959. Backed by Shell as its sponsor, the show marked a noteworthy example of international corporate investment supporting domestic dramatic productions. Its successor series was The General Motors Hour.
Although mainly centered on traditional drama, Shell Presents also included a live musical titled Pardon Miss Westcott, which took place in colonial Australia. Over the course of 1959 and 1960, thirteen productions were aired, with several preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive. Initial intentions involved adapting works such as Morris West's Children of the Sun and Arthur Miller's All My Sons, but these adaptations did not come to fruition. The series featured a blend of international play adaptations like Thunder of Silence alongside original Australian pieces, including John Ford’s The Big Day, written by a Sydney-based author.
A 1960 feature in the Sydney Morning Herald emphasized that experience gained from producing the soap opera Autumn Affair was instrumental in developing the expertise required for Shell Presents. The article also highlighted that the live musical Pardon Miss Westcott had a production budget of £5,000, which was considered considerable at that period. Rehearsals for live drama typically commenced between one and six weeks before broadcast, with final rehearsals recorded on videotape to aid in refining both performance and technical aspects.
There is evidence suggesting some episodes may have been aired in Perth on TVW-7 during 1960.
History
In February 1959, prominent Australian playwrights were invited to submit scripts for inclusion in the series.
Ratings Success
According to a report published by the Sydney Morning Herald on 20 July 1959, the program drew an estimated viewership of approximately 300,000 across Sydney and Melbourne.
See also
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s) – Single-episode plays aired on ABC
- Killer in Close-Up – Anthology consisting of four half-hour dramas broadcast on ABC during 1957–1958
- List of television plays broadcast on ATN-7
External links
- Articles with short description
- Seven Network original programming
- Nine Network original programming
- 1950s Australian drama television series
- 1959 Australian television series debuts
- 1960 Australian television series endings
- 1950s Australian television plays
- Black-and-white Australian television shows
- Australian English-language television shows
- Australian anthology television series
- Television shows set in Sydney
- Television shows set in Melbourne
- Shell Presents