Battle against pressures of life

Press, 24 February 1978, Page 7

Battle against pressures of life

Television One Offers a powerful drama tonight called “Breakdown,” from Britain’s Granada Television. It has a familiar theme — a successful insurance agent married for the second time finds the pressures of life are just too much for him. The story opens with Sylvia, Ralph’s wife, having just landed a plum job as a press officer with a large brewing company. For both, this is their second marriage, and both have children from earlier alliances. But now Ralph begins to wilt. There are too many unresolved questions, and he finds his beliefs are inadequate. He contemplates suicide and in despair, Sylvia agrees to have him treated in a private sanatorium, although she has little faith in the psychiatrist. On visits, she finds Ralph

vacant and unresponsive, quick to leave her when the bell sounds the end of visiting time. Eventually, the doctor reports that Ralph can come home, but there is no assurance that he is cured. He says that “therapy may only alter the shape of the illness.” “Breakdown” has ,a strong cast, including JackHedley. who played in “Colditz.” as Ralph, and Wanda Ventham, who appeared in “The Lotus Eaters,” playing Sylvia. In “That’s Hollywood” tonight, we go behind the scenes with the special effects men who cause fire, flood, explosions, tidal waves, hurricanes tropical wind storms and generally wreak havoc. Hollywood’s masters of special effects have used their collective imagination to provide some of the grandest spectacles for

Hollywood’s disaster movies. In “Dante’s Inferno.” these masters created man’s ultimate vision of disaster — hell itself. And in “The Bible,” Noah as portrayed by John Huston, had to withstand Hollywood’s greatest flood for three miraculous days. In “Bird of Paradise,” with Louis Jourdan. Hollywood sent a crew to Hawaii to film an actual volcanic eruption. It was not spectacular enough, so they created their own. The backlot of Twentieth Century-Fox studio became the Atlantic Ocean for the sinking of "The Titanic,” and 20 years later, the most talked about ship became the doomed S.S. Poseidon in “The Poseidon Adventure.” In South Pacific Television’s “Gibbsville” story tonight, the mining superintendent, Will Farley (Ed

Nelson), has to deal with the effects of the ignoring of unsafe mining conditions. Steve Krupka, a miner and friend of Jim Malloy (John Savage), submitted a letter to Farley outlining the dangers and suggesting repairs. But vice-president of the company. Clarence Bancroft (Addison Powell), ordered Farley to ignore the letter. First a small cave-in occurs then a major collapse results in 24 men being trapped down the mine. Jim and fellow newsman Ray Whitehead (Gig Young) are infuriated by the callous manner of radio reporter Douglas Sawyer (Bob “Hogan’s Heroes” Crane). Sawyer uses the grief and anguish of the townspeople in order to present a good disaster story on his show.