A Man for All Seasons (1964 TV film)

A Man for All Seasons is a 1964 Australian television play. It is an adaptation of the play by Robert Bolt.

It was directed by William Sterling who thought the play was "the finest in construction and conception on the large heroic scale to come out of England since the War. Bolt has captured the seething historical background of the period as well as conceiving magnificent character studies of famous people of the time."

Cast

 * Wynn Roberts as Sir Thomas More
 * John Gray as The Common Man
 * Kevin McBeath as Thomas Cromwell
 * Neil Curnow as Robert Rich
 * Hugh Stewart as the Duke of Norfolk
 * Terri Aldred as Alice More
 * Fay Kelton as Margaret More
 * Douglas Kelly as Cardinal Wolsey
 * Terry Norris as King Henry VIII
 * Bruce Morton as William Roper
 * John Morgan as Chapuys
 * Campbell Copelin as Cramner
 * Barbara Brandon as a woman
 * Laurence Beck as Chapuys' attendant

Production
The play debuted on stage in Australia in 1962 for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust with Robert Speaght as Sir Thomas More.

The show was shot in Melbourne. Sterling elected not to use "fades" in his production.

Reception
The Age said it "translated convincingly on the TV screen" call it a "production which, though not perfect gave glamor to honesty."

The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald thought that "the stage devices" of the original play "were all too evident for the good of its TV adaptation", notably the reliance of one set for all the action, and the use of the device of the Common Man, adding "the black and white directness of television demands less pageant-like solemnity. But it was able to assist valuably when the dialogue came alive with character and force."

The Bulletin said William Sterling is  perhaps   the   most distinctive   and   stylistic   producer   in  Australian   television. In  each   of   his shows   he   rarely   misses   an   opportunity  for   adventurous   experiment   with   lighting  or   camera-angles." He called the production of A Man for All Seasons "superb" adding that it "succeeded   where   some   of   his [Sterling's]   previous   productions   have   failed,   because   all  his   gimmicks   worked,   and   worked   magnificently,   so   that   the   effect   was   exciting  where   it   may   have   been   (and   has   been)  merely   tricksy   and   pretentious."