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"Tragedy In A Temporary Town" is a dramatic teleplay written by Reginald Rose. It was originally produced for The Alcoa Hour in the US directed by Sidney Lumet. and sparked media attention for its portrayal of race and for Lloyd Bridges ad libbed profanity during its live broadcast. Bridges was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor for 1957 but did not win. The show garnered press in February 1956 for actor Lloyd Bridges' emotional performance in an episode titled "Tragedy in a Temporary Town", directed by Sidney Lumet.

In 1959 the script was produced as an episode of the Australian anthology drama show Shell Presents starring Michael Pate. It was filmed "live" in Melbourne, then recorded and broadcast in Sydney. It was the third episode of Shell Presents and the first shot in Melbourne.

Plot
In a small town, a group of migrant workers are employed at an aircraft factory and live in a trailer park. When 15 year-old Dotty Fisher claims she has been attacked, a group of men, led by Frank Doran, attempt to find out who is possible. They seize a boy, Raphael Infante, and threaten to lynch him. Only a tolerant man called Alec Beggs dares to stand up to the mob in an attempt to stop them.

Cast
For the 1956 Alcoa Hour Production:


 * Edward Binns as Anderson
 * Lloyd Bridges as Alec Beggs
 * Rafael Campos as Raphael Infante
 * Robert Dryden as Sankey
 * Robert Emhardt as Matt Fisher
 * Pete Gumeny as Reynolds
 * Donald Harron as Mickey Doran
 * Betty Lou Keim as Dotty Fisher
 * Will Kuluva as Julio Infante
 * Vivian Nathan as Grace Beggs
 * Milton Selzer as Pike
 * Clifford Tatum Jr. as Buddy Beggs
 * Jack Warden as Frank Doran
 * Jane White as Dolores Infante

For the 1959 Shell Presents Production in Australia:


 * Michael Pate as Alec Beggs
 * George Fairfax as Frank Doran
 * Paul Karo as Raphael Infante
 * Marjorie Archibald as Mrs. Fisher
 * Carol Armstrong as Dotty Fisher
 * Susan Armstrong as Inez Infanti
 * John Cousins as Repulski
 * Marcel Cugola as Julio Infante
 * Earl Francis as Mickey Doran
 * John Garry as Muller
 * Frank Gatliff as Matt Fisher
 * Tim Goodlett as Anderson
 * Alan Hopgood as McCarthy
 * Edward Howell as Harry Phillips
 * Bettine Kauffmann as Dolores Infante

Australian Michael Pate had spent most of the 1950s working in Hollywood. He made the film on a temporary return visit to Australia. The play was shot in Melbourne.

US Production
The US production garnered press in February 1956 for actor Lloyd Bridges' emotional performance during which Bridges inadvertently slipped some profanity in while ad-libbing. Although the slip of the lip and the racial content generated some complaints, most of the public feedback was positive. The episode won a Robert E. Sherwood Television Award, with Bridges' slip being defended even by some members of the clergy. The episode, during which an innocent Puerto Rican man is targeted by a mob for a sexual crime, was cited by the Anti-Defamation League as "the best dramatic program of the year dealing with interethnic group relations."

Australian Production
The TV critic for the Woman's Weekly called the production "a tragedy all right... the play was notably unrealistic, its star, Michael Pate, disappointing... a brave and expensive experiment for a commercial channel... [but] miserable viewing."

The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald said it "did not make its potential impact because of uninventive direction and, with the tension factor suffering accordingly, some lack of subtlety in the characterisations."