The Crater (TV play)

The Crater is a 1948 Australian radio play by Sumner Locke Elliot that was later adapted for American television.

Plot
Bert Turner is the new schoolteacher for the town of Tooraburra. Herb Curtis, the shire councillor and president of the school P and C, takes him out to visit a nearby crater. It makes Turner uneasy and it seems to be bottomless. Curtis brings Turner home for a cup of tea and to meet Curtis' wife Amy. Their marriage is in trouble, due to the loss of their child in an accident some years ago. Also Curtis is having an affair with Tessie Durkin.

Town gossip Mrs Button tells Turner that Amy has left to join her sister. However Amy never reaches the sister and suspicion begins to mount that Curtis may have killed her. Turner realises he gave Curtis the idea to throw Amy down the crater.

Turner confronts Curtis at the crater and Curtis tries to kill him but is overpowered. Curtis kills himself. The body of Amy Curtis is never recovered, but that of a dead missing Aboriginal girl is.

Radio production
The play was first produced on ABC radio in January 1948.

It later played in Melbourne in August 1949 and in October 1950 where the Age said "it did not replay the 90 minutes of listening".

It played in Adelaide in October 1951. Then again in 1952 and April 1956.

Reviewing the 1956 production the Argus said "walks up to a simple old story and puts a bit of new life into it. He does this - as he must with only 30 minutes at his disposal - by building atmosphere very quickly. In this he is guided by his precision observation of the Australian scene and his ability to make it live with workman like economy of words."

Reviewing the script, Filmink said "it is very atmospheric with excellent feeling for small towns, unfortunate if accurate use of racist slang to describe Aboriginal people, and plenty of twists."

Cast of 1956 production

 * Gordon Glenwright as Turner
 * Don Crosby as Herbert Curtis
 * Lyndall Barbour as Amy Curtis
 * Reg Lye as The Barman
 * Betty Lucas as Tessie Dermot
 * Connie Hobbs as Mrs Button
 * Alma Butterfield as Mrs. Flower
 * Ron Whelan as The Sergeant
 * Ossie Wenban as Joe

1949 TV version
The play sold to US television, the second Elliot play to do so, after Wicked is the Vine.

Like that it had an Australian setting making it one of the first television dramas on US television to be set in Australia.

The play aired as an episode of the anthology series Lights Out.