John Sumner had suggested Pree adapt the novel, which had been hugely popular in its day but had not been revived for a number of years.
The cast were headed by Lewis Fiander (hero), Frederick Parslow (Villain) and Patsy King.
It was filmed at the Russell St Theatre Melbourne and included the reactions of the audience applauding the hero and booing and throwing peanuts at the villain, with occasional cutaways to a pianist playing "mood music".
[11] The Sydney Morning Herald said Barry Pree played "a personably virtuous hero with a variable Irish accent, cheerfully mixed top-hatted histrionics with music-hall singing and dancing, a barrow-load of deliberate anachronisms, and some mockery of modern Melbourne in the style of intimate revue.
"[2] The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald called it "an interesting experiment... only partially successful in terms of the special techniques of television.
"[2] The Australian Woman's Weekly said "As is fashionable with such melodramas nowadays, the audience was invited to throw peanuts at the villain.