Australian
Screen

Clip description

Superintendent Tilley (Nigel Lovell) tells Inspector Fox (Alwyn Kurts) about his sightings of a drunken man he thinks was Senior Detective Patterson (Norman Yemm). Fox defends Patterson but is nonetheless disturbed and later asks Detective Sergeant Mackay (Leonard Teale) and Senior Detective Barnes (George Mallaby) about Patterson. Meanwhile, the superintendent sees Eddie Patterson (Norman Yemm or Gordon Yemm) at the golf club and again mistakes him for his brother.

Curator’s notes

Although the superintendent takes Inspector Fox at his word when he defends Patterson, his doubt is made visible by the sudden, hilarious flash of an image from his dream.

Tilley’s reticent golfing buddy Paul (Lloyd Cunnington) appears a couple of times in the episode and is a curious, mysterious character. Who is he? What is he doing there? Why is he filling in his tax form? These things are not revealed, but the existence of this character provides the superintendent with somebody to whom he can express his concerns. Perhaps the extra detail allows this character to come across as more than just a plot device. The odd character traits Bayonas gives him serve to reinforce the generally offbeat tone of the episode.

Norman Yemm and his identical twin Gordon, a non-actor, played the part of Eddie together, with Norman taking on the more demanding moments. Although both were credited for the role, it’s likely that Norman is playing the part here. He revels in Eddie’s theatricality – a marked contrast with the confines of his usual role as straight man Detective Patterson.