James Workman (writer)

James Workman (4 February 1912 – 28 March 2001) was a Scottish-born actor and writer who mostly worked in Australia.

Biography

Workman was born in Scotland in Cove House, Ecclefechan in 1912. In 1914 his family moved to London and he attended a convent school. Workman left school relatively early and attended the HMS Conway a school ship which trained people for the merchant navy. He worked as a sailor for four years on ships such as The City of Exeter and various freighters.[1] Workman then became a policemen in London and started acting in plays in his spare time. He left the police force when he was twenty five. He wrote novels in England but not radio.[1]

Workman moved to South Africa, originally intending to becoming a miner at Benoni, but these plans were thwarted when he realised his lung capacity did not allow him to work underground.[1] He moved to Lourenço Marques in Portuguese East Africa, where he worked for an English-language radio station, announcing and writing scripts, including five-minute serials. He also lived in Rhodesia. During the war he enlisted with the Witwatersrand Rifles and served with the Eighth Army. After his war service Workman toured Africa in shows with Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies. He worked for the South African Broadcasting Commission as an announcer, scriptwriter and producer, writing some serials.[2]

Australia

Workman moved to Australia in 1948 for his wife's health. He worked as an actor at first, mostly on stage, but also on radio. He began writing on radio for Gordon Grimsdale when Grimsdale expressed his frustration getting writers for the series Thirty Minutes to Go; Workman became one of its leading writers.[3][4][2]

In 1957-58 he lived in London for 18 months.[1][5]

When television came to Australia, the market for commercial radio plays went into decline.[2] Workman focusing on novels - he wrote 23 in all.[1] He continued to write for radio and did scripts for television, including the revue Press Gang (1959) and the play Reflections in Dark Glasses.[6]

Workman died on 28 March 2001, at the age of 89.[7]

Appraisal

A 1955 article called Workman "One of the finest [radio] scripters in the game, a writer with a hatred of the obvious, a constant seeker after new ideas."[8]

Radio historian Jacqueline Kent wrote "His scripts were innovative and, some thought, difficult to produce and act. At a time when most writers let each character say something definite, followed by a speech from another character, Workman’s scripts used parallel conversations... James Workman was writing Pinteresque dialogue long before Harold Pinter; in Australian radio his technique was way ahead of its time."[9]

Workman considered himself a "commercial writer" more at home working for the commercial networks than the ABC.[2]

Films

Television

Novels

  • The Apologetic Tiger (Hodder & Stoughton, 1958)
  • Lucifer at Ponsfordville (Hodder & Stoughton, 1959)
  • Face of Fortune (Hodder & Stoughton, 1961)
  • Impact (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark")
  • The Mad Surgeon (Horwitz, 1962) (as "Victor Kain")
  • The Captain from Goondiwindi (Horwitz, 1962)
  • Havoc! (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark")
  • Sweet Taste of Venom (Horwitz, 1963) (as "James Dark")
  • Cleopatra of Egypt (Horwitz, 1963)
  • The Navy's Here (Horwitz, 1963)
  • Sodom and Gomorrah (Horwitz, 1963)
  • The Witch Hunters (Horwitz, 1963)
  • The Spy from the Grave (Horwitz, 1964) (as "James Dark")
  • Sin in Hong Kong (1965)
  • Dragon Ships (Horwitz, 1965)
  • Genghis Khan (Horwitz, 1965)
  • Sin in Hong Kong (Horwitz, 1965)
  • Charge of the Light Brigade (Horwitz, 1966)
  • The Mad Emperor (Scripts, 1966)
  • Sex and the Soviet Spy (Horwitz, 1966)
  • Attila the Hun (Scripts, 1967)
  • The Courtesans (Scripts, 1967)
  • Zenobia, Empress of Lust (Scripts, 1967)
  • The Beautiful Beast of Buchenwald (Scripts 1968)
  • Shark Bait (Horwitz, 1968) - based on script for Contrabandits

Short story collections

  • Shock Stories (Horwitz 1962) - "The Castaway", "The Dead Man’s Heart", "The Fungus and the Flower", "Possession", "The Spell", "Spindrift", "Trade-in Bodies"
  • Terrifying Stories (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark") - "Dead on Time", "Dogged", "The Flying Fix", "Hanging On", "Mad to Start", "Shadow Men", "A Small Grave Matter"
  • Horror Tales (Horwitz, 1963) (as "James Dark") - "The Creep", "Fattened Calf", "The Flare", "The Flashing Scar", "Man on the Run", "Perkins the Pilot"

Other short stories

  • The Reluctant Shadow (1958)[12]
  • "Apex" in London Mystery Selection #36, March 1958
  • "The Mummy’s Curse" in Nightmare Stories ed. Charles Higham (Horwitz, 1962)

Radio

As actor

  • Murder at the Seventh (1948)
  • From These Ashes (1949)
  • Blue Hills (1949)
  • Close Shaves in History (1950)[13]
  • Gimme the Boats (1954) - actor

As writer

  • Thirty Minutes to Go (1954) - various episodes
  • Fares Please (1951)[14]
  • There's Nothing New (serial)
  • The Last Miracle (1953)
  • The Legend of Blue Nose Rock (Sept 1953)[15]
  • Personal Effects (1954)
  • Rhthym of Life (1954)
  • Mirror Mirror on the Wall (1954)[16]
  • L'innoue The innocent (1954)[17]
  • This is My Play (1954)[18]
  • This is My Play (1954) "The Jackpot"
  • The Tin Hook (1954)[19]
  • Heartbeat (1955) - also actor
  • A Moment of Peril (1956)
  • The Big Squeeze (1956) - series - also director
  • Deadline (1957) - series - also director
  • The Key (1958) - series
  • Call Box (1959)
  • Ben Hur (1959) (serial)
  • Solo Performance (1959)
  • Street of Secrets (serial)
  • The Thirsty World (1960) (science series)
  • The Apologetic Tiger (1960) (serial) - adapted from his novel
  • Cold Fury (1961) (play) - adapted from his stage play Eternal Night
  • Countdown (1960) (serial)
  • Timber Ridge
  • Odette
  • For the Young in Heart (1972) (serial)
  • The Old Poisoner (1973)[20]

Documentary

  • Facing Facts - writer

Stage

  • Love for Love (1948) - actor[21]
  • The Circle (1948) - actor[22]
  • Midsummer Nights Dream (1948) - actor[23]
  • various plays as actor for the Globe Player in Sydney in 1949
  • Duet for Two Hands (1949) - actor, producer
  • Macbeth (1949) - actor
  • Private Lives (1949) - actor
  • Where's Charley? (1950) - actor[24]
  • various productions as actor for John Alden Company in 1951-1952 including Hamlet (1951),[25] Midsummer Night's Dream[26] King Lear, The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Why Not Tonight? (1951) - actor[27]
  • Eternal Night (1954) - writer[28]
  • Hamlet (1954) - actor[29]
  • The Love of Four Colonels (1955) - actor[30]
  • People of Nowhere (1960) - actor
  • The Merchant of Venice (1961) - actor
  • The Grotto (1962) - actor
  • The Passion Play actor (1963)[31]
  • Assault with a Deadly Weapon (1972) - actor
  • See you at Philippi (1973) - writer
  • Breadfruit for breakfast [manuscript] : a play in two acts - writer
  • Possession [manuscript] : a play in one act / - writer
  • Cold Cure - writer
  • Brain drain [manuscript] : a play in one act - writer
  • Shut-up and Strip [manuscript] : a play in one act - writer

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Oral history of James Workman interviewed by Stuart Glover, National Film and Sound Archive. NFSA ID374406, recorded 22 May 1998
  2. ^ a b c d WORKMAN, JAMES : INTERVIEWED BY DIANA COMBE : ORAL HISTORY, National Film and Sound Archive, NFSA ID191350, recorded 1984
  3. ^ James Workman interview at National Film and Sound Archive
  4. ^ Lane, Richard (2000). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. pp. 65–68.
  5. ^ "Stage star Lloyd Berrell dies at sea". The Age. 17 January 1958. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Novel TV revue based on press life". The Age Radio TV Supplement. 29 May 1959. p. 2.
  7. ^ "Deaths". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 March 2001. p. 28.
  8. ^ "Tricks of the Game Writing For Radio", The Bulletin, 76 (3918 (16 Mar 1955)), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, nla.obj-688069409, retrieved 18 March 2024 – via Trove
  9. ^ Kent, Jacqueline (1983). Out of the bakelite box : the heyday of Australian radio. p. 242.
  10. ^ Vagg, Stephen (11 August 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Into the Straight". Filmink. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  11. ^ Vagg, Stephen (20 March 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Reflections in Dark Glasses". Filmink. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  12. ^ "THE RELUCTANT SHADOW". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 26, no. 7. Australia, Australia. 23 July 1958. p. 19. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "RADIO AND FILMS". South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus. Vol. L, no. 16. New South Wales, Australia. 28 February 1950. p. 3 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION). Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Notes On Radio". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 139. New South Wales, Australia. 23 September 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Two shows tonight for square dances". The Sun. No. 13, 597. New South Wales, Australia. 8 September 1953. p. 21 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall". Commercial. The ABC Weekly. Vol. 16, no. 24. 12 June 1954. p. 25. nla.obj-1677801556. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via Trove.
  17. ^ "Worth hearing". The Herald. No. 24,027. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "AROUND THE DIAL". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIX, no. 227. New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1954. p. 12. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "Davey will comment as he drives in trial". The Sun. No. 13, 811. New South Wales, Australia. 18 May 1954. p. 32 (LATE FIANL EXTRA). Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "2CY Monday to Sunday". The Canberra Times. Vol. [?], no. [?]. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 December 1973. p. 13. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "SUNDRY SHOWS "LOVE FOR LOVE."", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 15 September 1948, nla.obj-552682656, retrieved 21 September 2025 – via Trove
  22. ^ ""The Circle."", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 6 October 1948, nla.obj-552692723, retrieved 21 September 2025 – via Trove
  23. ^ "SHAKESPEARE AT ROYAL". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 34, 381. New South Wales, Australia. 2 March 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "BROADWAY HIT FOR TIVOLI". The Sun News-pictorial. No. 8612. Victoria, Australia. 2 May 1950. p. 14. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ "Stage... Whispers". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 118. New South Wales, Australia. 29 April 1951. p. 5 (Features). Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ "Midsummer Night's Dream Is Charming". The Age. No. 30, 156. Victoria, Australia. 22 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "News for Women". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XVI, no. 153. New South Wales, Australia. 18 September 1951. p. 14. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ "Stark play at theatre". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIX, no. 106. New South Wales, Australia. 23 July 1954. p. 33. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "LONE GIRL TOURS WITH KRUPA". The Sun. No. 13872. New South Wales, Australia. 29 July 1954. p. 32 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^ "At Sydney Theatres". Le Courrier Australien. No. 21. New South Wales, Australia. 27 May 1955. p. 6. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^ "Audience Of 7,000 Sees Passion Play". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, no. 10,481. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 March 1963. p. 19. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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