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Clip description
Helen (Jenny Lee), alone and very pregnant, has slipped and fallen while in the garden at Freda’s place. The trauma precipitates her labour and things look grim until Barry (Brian Wenzel) arrives to pick up his things. Even then it seems that he may leave without realising she is there and in urgent need of help.
Curator’s notes
This clip shows a rare moment in television serial drama when images take the place of words. Significantly, writer Tony Morphett’s background was in series and one-off dramas, so he had no qualms about avoiding the constant verbal storytelling that is the norm in so many serials even today. In this clip, apart from a call for help from Helen, the pictures tell the story and the mounting tension is all the stronger for that. This non-verbal sequence occupied the first three minutes of the show, something common in films but unheard of in television serials of the time.
