Maurice Francis

Maurice Francis (4 July 1907 – 1 December 1962) was an Australian radio writer. He was one of the most prolific writers of radio dramas in the 1930s until the 1950s and was noted for his association with George Edwards.[1]

Francis was born in Durban, South Africa on 4 July 1907.[2] He started work as a journalist. He broke into radio through offering a play to George Edwards.[3] According to Sumner Locke Elliott who worked with Francis the author:

Was capable of turning out hundreds of situations a week, often 20 15-minute scripts a day. This was facilitated by the fact that he dictated at rapid speed and as one steno finished she raced the script to the typewriter while the next episode was being dictated to another steno who then rushed it to the typewriter while a third began. Mr Francis was also capable of keeping as many as seven or eight long running stories in his head without ever getting the characters or events mixed up.[4]

A 1936 article called him "The man who supplies the ammunition for the George Edwards barrage.. the brilliant young Australian radio playwright." [5] In 1940 he was described as Australia's "most successful radio writer" and was writing thirty shows a week.[6] His plays were performed in Canada, South Africa and New Zealand.[7]

Francis was in the Army until 1944. Until 1945 he worked as a writer and production executive at 2GB. He went bankrupt in March 1945 due to the failure of a play he wrote and produced, They Never Come Back.[8][9] Francis made a comeback writing a farce for the Repatriation Department.[10]

Francis died of a heart attack in 1962 shortly after the publication of his book The Snake Gully Mob. He was survived by a wife and child.[11]

Select credits

Radio

  • Rasputin (May 1933)
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (May 1933)
  • The Gigolo (May 1933)
  • The Singapore Spider (June 1933)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (June 1933)
  • Undergrowth (July 1933)
  • Frankenstein (July 1933)
  • Deserters of the Legion (July 1933)
  • Hunchback of Notre Dame (August 1933)
  • The Shooting of Dan McGrew (August 1933)
  • The Progress of Mr. Humperdink (September 1933)
  • The Vengeance of Sing Chu (October 1933)
  • Earthquake (November 1933)
  • Warwick, the King-Maker (November 1933)
  • The Mystery of Maltby Manor (November 1933)
  • Scott, of Scotland Yard (December 1933)
  • The Fatal Song (December 1933)
  • Alice in Wonderland (December 1933)
  • Family Problems (December 1933)
  • The Forbidden Veil (December 1933)
  • Notable British Trials (1935-1940)
  • Inspector Scott of Scotland Yard (1933-1940)
  • The Adventures of David and Dawn with George Edwards in Fairyland (1936-1939)
  • Mittens (1938-1941)
  • The Laughing Cavalier (1934-1935)
  • Dad and Dave from Snake Gully (1937-1964)
  • Martin’s Corner (1939-1950)
  • Darby and Joan
  • First Light Fraser (1942-48)
  • G Man Joe (1946) - radio serial[12]
  • Masters of the Universe (radio serial) (1946)
  • Don John (radio serial) (1946)
  • The Crosby Story (August 1953)
  • Medals for Murders (October 1953)
  • Twin Serpents (November 1953)
  • The Conqueror about William the Conqueror (January 1954)
  • Shadows of Doubt (May 1954)
  • The Sins of the Fathers (June 1954)
  • This Your Dream (August 1954)

Stage plays

Books

  • First Light Fraser (1944)
  • The Snake Gully Mob (1962)
  • The Chairman is a Lady (1963)

References

  1. ^ Coral Lansbury, 'Edwards, George (1886–1953)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/edwards-george-6093/text10439, published first in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 27 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Maurice Francis". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  3. ^ Australasian Radio Relay League. (September 15, 1933), "IMPERSONATING VOICES George Edwards Explains", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 22 (11), Sydney: Wireless Press, nla.obj-720777340, retrieved 27 August 2023 – via Trove
  4. ^ Elliott, Sumner Locke (22 July 1980), "THE MAN WITH 1000 VOICES", The Bulletin, John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues)., 101 (5221), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald: 58–60, ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-1639047328, retrieved 27 August 2023 – via Trove
  5. ^ Australasian Radio Relay League. (January 10, 1936), "GEORGE EDWARDS for 2UW", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 27 (2), Sydney: Wireless Press, nla.obj-714785869, retrieved 27 August 2023 – via Trove
  6. ^ "News From The Commercial Stations: Writes Script for Thirty Shows a Week", ABC Weekly, 2 (16), Sydney: ABC: 20, 20 April 1940, nla.obj-1368695286, retrieved 27 August 2023 – via Trove
  7. ^ Allen, Geoff (9 December 1962). "He was radio's marathon writer". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 84.
  8. ^ "Story of bankrupt radio man". The Sun. No. 11823. New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1947. p. 3 (STUMPS EDITION). Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "They Wouldn't Go To They Never Came Back'". The Sun. No. 11679. New South Wales, Australia. 1 July 1947. p. 3 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "PRODUCER'S COME-BACK". Daily Mirror. No. 2021. New South Wales, Australia. 20 November 1947. p. 2 (Noon Edition). Retrieved 22 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Dad and Dave Script Man Dead", The Age, p. 7, 3 December 1962
  12. ^ "Radio Roundup". The Sun. No. 11, 387. New South Wales, Australia. 23 July 1946. p. 6 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 21 March 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
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