A Rum Affair
Genrecomedy fantasy play
Running time30 mins
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
Written byAlec Coppel
Original release1940

A Rum Affair is a 1940 Australian radio play by Alec Coppel.[1]

Although Coppel was Australian most of his career took place overseas. A Rum Affair was a rare work of his that debuted in Australia. It premiered in 1940 on the ABC as part of a series of Australian plays.

Leslie Rees called it "a short, irresponsible comedy of fantastic situation... Alec Coppel is willing to take types and settings that have served in other plays; his originality is in his wit and deft sense of situation and holding... of suspense... A Rum Affair is a saucy morsel."[2]

Another critic called it "the most suave and delicately balance radio script we have seen for years, only a trifle... but a trifle that is like a waffle that melts in the mouth. We don't often say, don’t miss this; but, don’t miss this. "[3]

The play was produced again in 1942,[4] 1946[5] and 1958.[6]

The 1946 version starred Peter Finch and was directed by Frank Harvey.[7] A review of this production called it "a pleasant enough trifle, proving a good starring vehicle for Peter Finch. For a while he stayed in the substrata of understatement, but on the entrance of the ghost a mos seductive shade played by Sheila Sewell, things got going so you could hear them. Outstanding was a nice piece of character from erstwhile A.B.C. producer Charles Wheeler. Production, by Frank Harvey, ideal."[8]

Premise

A travelling young man, Peter, pulls in for a night at a Kentish villages once on the sea, but now inland, because the sea has receded. The inn is haunted by a female ghost, Helene. He also encounters a man called Clifford and a yokel.

References

  1. ↑ "BROADCAST FEATURES From A.B.C. Stations". The Riverine Herald. No. 19, 623. Victoria, Australia. 15 November 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "Plays of the Air— FOUR AUSTRALIAN PLAYS", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 2 No. 45 (9 November 1940)), nla.obj-1309248845, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
  3. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "AUSTRALIA ON THE AIR", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 2 No. 45 (9 November 1940)), nla.obj-1309247644, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
  4. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "ABC PROGRAMMES—WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 4 No. 38 (19 September 1942)), nla.obj-1329253547, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
  5. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "RADIO PLAYS", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 8 No. 34 (7 September 1946)), nla.obj-1400652575, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
  6. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "A.B.C. radio plays for the week", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 20 No. 27 (2 July 1958)), nla.obj-1446247026, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
  7. ↑ "Radio Roundup". The Sun. No. 11, 431. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1946. p. 6 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "LISTENING POST", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 8 No. 37 (28 September 1946)), nla.obj-1401496719, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
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