Helen Morse carries this 1981 adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel as Jean Paget, a British secretary captured by Japanese forces in Malaya, forced to march through hostile territory with a group of women and children. The production spent $1.25 million, then the highest budget for Australian television, filming across England, Malaysia and outback New South Wales to recreate the wartime evacuation and subsequent decades-long separation from Australian prisoner Bryan Brown's Joe Harman, who is crucified on a door by Japanese soldiers for stealing chickens.
The series condenses Shute's epic into three 105-minute episodes that aired consecutive Sundays on Seven Network, capturing a 49% audience share and becoming the country's most-watched drama of the year. Screenwriter Rosemary Anne Sisson significantly alters the novel's conclusion: Jean and Joe's climactic argument about colonial attitudes leads to a temporary break-up, prompting Gordon Jackson's solicitor Noel Strachan to fly to the Queensland outback bearing Jean's ice skates in a last-ditch attempt to lure her back to England.
Unlike the book's secular settlement, the television version ends with a church wedding where Noel gives Jean away, reading telegrams from Malayan survivors who somehow learned of the ceremony. The Australian production earned rare distinction as a non-British Masterpiece Theatre acquisition in America, winning the International Emmy for drama and four Logie Awards including Best Mini-Series and acting honours for Morse, Brown and Jackson.
Production Details
Seven Network / 1 Season / 3 Episodes / 1981
Created by: Tom HegartyRosemary Anne Sisson
Writer(s): Tom Hegarty, Rosemary Anne Sisson
Producer(s): Henry Crawford
Cinematography: Russell Boyd
Music: Bruce Smeaton
Main Cast
Helen Morse as Jean Paget
Bryan Brown as Joe Harman
Gordon Jackson as Noel Strachan
John Lee as Lester 'Les' Robinson
Dorothy Alison as Mrs. Frith
Yuki Shimoda as Sergeant Mifune
Anna Volska as Sally Wilson-Hayes
Melissa Crawford as Robyn Holland
Rebecca Marshall as Rita Collard
Crispian Ashby as Jonnie Horsefall
Mandy Boocock as Marlene Collard
Maurie Fields as Al Burns
