1976 - Other Radio Plays
This was an exceptional year for radio drama.
Rebecca
By Daphne du Maurier 25.12.1976 Flora Robson/Richard Pasco/Jane Asher. Too familiar to require comment.
Colder Than Of Late
By Ken Whitmore 18.12.1976 Judith Barker/Russell Dixon/John Franklyn-Robbins.
THE COOKHAM RESURRECTION....1976
6 Dec 76; by Peter Everett / Maurice Collis. Monday Play, 100m. Biographical drama / feature about the artist Stanley Spenser. The title is taken from that of one of his most famous paintings. Donald Pleasance as Stanley Spenser, with Freda Dowie, Carrie Heddewick, Jane Knowles, Emily Richard, Charlsie Stidwell (sp?), David Ryall, Catherine Parr, Mary-Clair Nash, Susan Colgrave, Geoffrey Matthews, Nigel Anthony, Karen Archer, Anne Jameson. Based on the biography by Maurice Collis. Producer Richard Wortley.
- Richard Wortley: ........Away from 'stage work' Peter Everett wrote "The Cookham Resurrection", a radio biography of the English painter Stanley Spencer. This is an early example of my location productions, recording on a Hertfordshire country estate as Cookham-on-Thames is on a relentless flight path (Spencer's home village).
Donald Pleasance, as Stanley, was entertained by our method of coping with the wind and rain. We put three studio screens round the microphone; the same ones used to help create an outdoor acoustic inside the studio. He was less amused by the bone-shaking bus employed to get us there...
"The Cookham Resurrection", well-culled by Peter Everett from the rambling memoirs of the painter, gained me an 'Imperial Tobacco' award (ah, those non-P.C. days) and I found myself shaking the hand of Harold Wilson, sound-alike for Mike Yarwood at the time. In my wobbly acceptance speech, I thanked the wrong writers' group as the co-sponsors. .........(Richard Wortley, "Some Reflections of a Lifetime in Radio", Diversity Website, 2005
Crown Matrimonial
By Royce Ryton 30.10.1976 Gwen Ffrancgon-Davies/Peter Barkworth/Martin Jarvis/Jane Wenham
UNDER THE WOOL....1976
By David Pownall. Conflict between those who want to dig up a remote Welsh valley for oil, and those who want to keep to sheep. The story has lots of tensions between the characters, too. See David Pownall's page. I seem to remember this was produced by Alfred Bradley.
A Most Wonderful Thing....1976
by Henry Livings, with Bryan Pringle and Peter Woodthorpe; produced by Alfred Bradley. 4 Oct 76 rpt 26 Nov 78.
from Brittanica.com.... Henry Livings: born Sept. 20, 1929, Prestwich, Lancashire, England, died Feb. 20, 1998. British working-class playwright whose farces convey serious truths. His plays, which resemble parables, exhibit both a dazzling comic flair and an unexpected force and profundity that is heightened by his use of colloquial language.
Cracking play set in a committee room of a bowls club where they're arguing about whether to demolish the clubhouse and replace it with something better.
CAST
Eric..................................................Bryan Pringle
Benny..............................................Peter Woodthorpe
Amy..................................................Paula Tilbrook
Coop / Walter.................................John Franklyn-Robbins
Miss Higgins / Ruth...................................Rachel Davies
Billy.................................................George Malpas
Clifford...................................................Ray Mort
John..................................................Henry Livings
Maurice / Charlie........................................Peter John
Arnold...............................................Malcolm Storry
Ken.......................................................Sam Kelly
Kelvin / Artiste.......................................David Beames
Pianist................................................Brian Layton
The Rabid Summer
By James Follett 28.8.1976 Patrick Barr/Clifford Norgate/John Ringham/Garard Green/Pauline Letts
Weekend At Montacute
By Michael Robson 21.8.1976 Paul Rogers/Mary Wimbush/Alan Rowe
THE QUEEN OF SPADES....1976
4 Aug 76. By Alexander Pushkin. Dramatised by Maurice Travers. A troubled officer is brought to the office of Doctor Varnin. Under hypnosis, Lieutenant Hermann recalls the events which brought him to this state. Play no. 4 in the series Murder International. Ian Ogilvy ............ Lieutenant Hermann, Joan Matheson ......... The Countess, Susan Maudslay......... Lizavyeta, Nigel Lambert ......... Narumov, Gareth Armstrong ...... Tomsky, Sion Probert .......... Surin / Tchekalinsky, Christopher Bidmead ... Dmitri, Godfrey Kenton ........ Doctor Varnin. SM Keith Perrin. Murder International series devised and produced by Derek Hoddinott.
Jonas
By J.C.W. Brook 24.7.1976 Julian Holloway/Anna Cropper/John Rye/Prunella Scales. See supernatural page ... excellent play about Jonas, the malevolent spirit within an ancient ouija board.
Point Of No Return
By Stephen Barlay 17.7.1976 Gabriel Woolf/Sheila Grant/John Graham
No Fear Or Favour....1976
By Henry Cecil 3.7.1976 Paul Daneman/Sarah Badel/Peter Sallis. A judge comes under pressure during a trial for blackmail. What will happen to justice? Adapted from Henry Cecil's book of the same name. 90m. Peter Sallis as the baddie; Paul Daneman as the judge.
The White Lady
By R.E.T. Lamb 19.6.1976 Nigel Anthony/Alaric Cotter/Glynis Brooks
HEART OF ELM....1976
3 Jun 76. By Angus Wilson, adapted by John Graham. Social story: an old lady lies dying, and her female companion, also elderly, decides to move away, buy another house, and start again. Her adult children, both living with her, have some growing up to do. Produced by Glyn Dearman. Cast includes Sarah Lawson, Nan Marriott-Watson, Douglas Blackwell, Kathleen Helme. (....Recording from Alan Stokes; many thanks).
The Montrose Ghost....1976
from the short story by Harold Balfour, Lord Balfour of Inchrye' adapted by Martin Jenkins. producer Gerry Jones. 90m. 12 Jun 76; rpt. 12 Mar 78 and 23 Nov 87.
In 1915, when a ghost haunts the Royal Flying Corps Station in Montrose, Scotland, Captain Desmond Little knows why.
Cast: John Pullen as Capt Little, Chrisopher Neame as Lt Adam, Douglas Blackwell as Flt Sgt Wood, Rosalind Shanks as Sylvia, Patrick Barr as Major Holt, Jane Knowles as Flt Officer Anne Douglas, David Graham as Capt Roberts, David Neal as Wing Commander Buckle, Christopher Bidmead as Rupert and Sion Probert as Lt Wainwright/Signals Officer.
The Enemies Within
By Michael Z. Lewin 5.6.1976 Ed Bishop/Liza Ross
LIQUID ASSETS....1976
29 May 76. By Hadrian Rogers. Two elderly women living together ruthlessly exploit the DIY skills of a nephew who wants to inherit their money. Comedy drama. 30m. Mary Wimbush, Nigel Lambert, Patricia Gallimore, Dianna Olsson.
CELEBRATION FOR A MILLION DEATHS....1976
16 May 76, R4. By Jan Needle. Curious tale of a journalist who travels the world, his journeys invariably being followed
by disaster. With Colin Edwin, Brian Pringle, Ann Cunningham,
Edward Wilson, David Marlow, Judith Barker, David Ross. Produced
and directed in Manchester by Tony Cliff.
Other Paths To Glory
By Anthony Price 15.5.1976 Martin Jarvis/Tony Britton
Relative Values
By Noel Coward 8.5.1976 Joyce Redman/Bill Fraser/Gwen Cherrell/John Rye
The House On The Strand
By Daphne du Maurier 1.5.1976 Ian Richardson/Richard Hurndall/Bonnie Hurren. Unearthly "two worlds" story associated with taking a special drug. Gripping. Some similarities with "Losing Contact" by Nick Fisher - see Nick's page.
Death Kiss Kate
By Max Marquis 24.4.1976 Martin Jarvis/Kate Coleridge. The title says it all. WW2 air crew story.
The Riddle of Birdhurst Rise: The Croydon Poisoning Mystery....1976
21 Apr 76, R4. By Richard Whittington-Egan [1975]. Dramatised and produced for radio by Terence Tiller. When three members of the same family died of sudden, violent illnesses in a London suburb in 1928 and 1929, clues suggested that one of two heirs, Grace Sidney Duff or Tom Sidney, had poisoned them with arsenic. But not even exhaustive police investigations, autopsies and inquests uncovered solid proof against either suspect, and the unsolved case was officially closed in 1929. In the early 1960s, Whittington-Egan, a British crime writer, re-examined the proceedings and interviewed key witnesses or their surviving spouses...
Cast:
Narrator...................John Rye ,
Dr. Jackson/ Charles............Charles Simon ,
Express/ Binning/ Lane Spilsbury/ Morrish/ Male Neighbour...Wilfrid Carter ,
Elwell/ Clarke/Ryffel/ Lynch/Hedges.......Malcolm Reid,
Amy/ Mrs. Sidney................Miranda Forbes ,
Roome/ Bronte/ Fearneley-Whittingstall....David Neal,
Grace/ Female Neighbour.........Pauline Wynne ,
Vera/ Mrs. Noakes...............Marjorie Westbury,
Poynton/ Tom...............Steve Hodson. (...info from Greg L)
Frenchman's Creek
By Daphne du Maurier 17.4.1976 Sheila Ruskin/David Buck/Geoffrey Matthews
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse....1976
By Barrie Lyndon 10.4.1976 Michael Aldridge/Peggy Paige/Richard Burnett. A little like the 'Raffles' stories. A respectable man has a highly illegal sideline. 90m.
-
The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse
By Barre Lyndon. R4, SNT, 10th April76. By day, in his prestigious Harley Street medical practice, Dr. Clitterhouse attends to a wealthy and influential clientele. By night, however, he conducts experiments in studying the criminal mind, using himself as the guinea pig by committing burglaries. Dramatised by Kenrik Hickson and Cynthia Pughe from Barré Lyndon's three-act play, "The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse" (first staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on the 6th of August, 1936), which ran for approx. 500 performances. The original production had Cedric Hardwicke as the eponymous Clitterhouse, a role taken over by Edward G. Robinson for the film version in 1938. It should be noted that before he became a successful playwright and Hollywood scriptwriter, Barré Lyndon wrote several Sexton Blake adventures under his real name, Alfred Edgar.
Cast: Michael Aldridge, Peggy Paige, Richard Burnett, Godfrey Kenton, David March, John Hollis, Rosalind Adams, Malcolm Reid, John Rowe, and Peter Craze. Produced and directed by Ian Cotterell.
Let It Come Down
By Michael Robson 3.4.1976 William Lucas/Ros Drinkwater/Peter Woodthorpe
THE KING WHO MADE A MAGIC CARPET....1976
Excellent realization of an Afghan folk tale by David Wade. 55m. 2 Apr 76. A young king hears a beautiful young girl singing in a corner of the city. He asks if she will become his wife, but instead of an unqualified 'yes' she imposes an important condition... Hassan - John Pullen, Zora - Elizabeth Proud, with Douglas Blackwell, Peter Pratt, Lewis Stringer, Ann Jameson, Frazer Kerr, John Gabriel. Produced and directed by Graham Gauld.
On The Spot....1976.
By Edgar Wallace, 27 Mar 76. A melodrama set against the backdrop of Chicago's gangland in the 1920s. Peter Woodthorpe as Tony Perelli, Trevor Martin as Chief Detective Commissioner John Kelly, Denise Briar as Minn Lee, Tony's Chinese mistress, John Forrest as Jimmy.
Jumbo....1976
By James Follett 13.3.1976 Nigel Lambert/Eva Haddon/Haydn Jones/Clifford Norgate.
A Jumbo jet encounters a problem on a long haul flight. There follows a tortuous tale of the Cold War. Excellent thriller by this well-known novelist. 90m.
BRIEF LIVES....1976
By John Aubrey. 8 Mar 76. Compiled and adapted by Patrick Garland. Produced in Birmingham by Roger Pine; performed by Roy Dotrice. Singers: Ralph Lawton & Terry Molloy.
"John Aubrey who was born in March 1626, is now acknowledged as one of the foremost memoirists of his day. Although little has been known of him outside specialist literary circles until comparatively recently; Roy Dotrice's virtuoso performance of his work has established him as a fascinating, witty, bawdy commentator on events & leading personalities of his time."
BONECRACK....1976
By Dick Francis 28.2.1976 Francis Matthews/Caroline Blaikston/Mark Colleano. The pampered spoilt child of a gangster wants to become a jockey. The racing stables have no choice but to take him on ... adapted from Dick Francis's book of the same title. 90m.
The Night Of Caesar's Knives
By William Keenan 14.2.1976 Anna Cropper/John Bennett/Ronald Herdman. See William Keenan's page, where this play is reviewed..
Late Into The Night
By William Keenan 7.2.1976 Anna Cropper/John Bennett/Ronald Herdman. See William Keenan's page, as above.
The Rose Garden
By Nick McCarty 31.1.1976 Nigel Anthony/Heather Barrett
The Heroine
By Antonia Fraser 24.1.1976 Maxine Audley/Patricia Quinn/Rosalind Shanks. Historical siege story.
A Swim Off The Island
By William Fox 10.1.1976 Christopher Bidmead/Rosalind Shanks/Jack May
The Lucas Testament
By Michael Robson 3.1.1976 Robert Lang/Dulcie Gray/Jeffrey Segal/Steve Hodson
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Above plays known to exist in VRPCC collections
