Wicked Is the Vine


Wicked is the Vine is a 1947 radio play by Sumner Locke Elliott that was later adapted for American television and the stage.

Plot

In 1918, two sisters, Sarah and Ellie Vinson, live on a farm. When their father insists on selling the property, one of the sisters murders him and tries to blame a third party.

Radio play

Elliott wrote the play in Australia for Lux Radio Theatre. It was one of the few original plays they had commissioned. He wrote it while trying to emigrate to the US. The story was inspired by the Lizzie Borden murder. Filmink theorised the story might have also been influenced by a custody dispute over Elliot between his two aunts, which later inspired his novel Careful, He Might Hear You and called the script an "entertaining drama, with compelling central characters."
The original radio production aired in 1947 and starred Brenda Dunrich and Neva Carr Glyn.
One listener wrote in complaining saying the show was "well acted and well produced, we grant, but what a thing to inflict on people trying to escape for one brief hour from the real life tragedies of these troubled times. Open any newspaper any day and you can get your callous murders and your shootings and your wicked people without having to go to the radio plays for it. Wicked Is the Vine gave us two murders and one attempted murder, complete with the horrible sounds of blows on a human head, shots, screams, gaspings for breath, and groans... Truly wicked is the man who chose Wicked Is the Vine."
It received some bad reviews but was also awarded Best Play by the Federation of Commercial Radio Stations.
The play was presented again on Australian radio in 1952.

1949 TV adaptation

It was adapted for US television making it the first Australian play to be screened on American television. Elliott sold it to Kraft Television in November 1948.
It aired on 30 March 1949 and was directed by Stanley Quin. It starred Ron Randell, an Australian-born actor.
Barney Glazer wrote in the South Pasedena Review, "Don't you agree that it was as enjoyable as any top flight motion picture you've seen? This was a true advancement in videoperation."
The production launched Elliott's career in New York as a TV writer. It also led to Randell receiving a number of TV offers. However the script was never filmed for Australian television.

Cast of 1949 TV Production

  • Margaret Phillips as Sarah
  • Joan Stanley as Ellie
  • Ron Randell as Howard
  • Ann Donaldson
  • Michael Everett as Joe

Stage version

A stage version of the play premiered in London in November 1953 at the New Torch Theatre Club starring Maureen Pryor.
A review said "there is power in the drama... but the power would benefit by curbing; it is too uncouth."

Cast of 1953 production

  • Maureen Pryor
  • Eric Messiter
  • Thelma Troy
  • Janet Barrow
  • Neil Hallett
  • Jock McKay
  • Mark Moore