Light Programme, Drama, 1955

Drama on the BBC Light Programme in 1955
(The Light Programme ran from 1945 to 1967)


3rd January 1955
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: Uncle Harry by Thomas Job, adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh
Produced by Peter Watts
  Harry Quincey: Carleton Hobbs
  Miss Phipps: Joan Lawson
  Mr Jenkins: Ronald Sidney
  D'Arcy: Manning Wilson
  Albert: John Garside
  Lettie Quincey: Marjorie Westbury
  Hester Quincey: Joyce Latham
  Beryl: Belle Chrystall
  Nona: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  George Waddy: Geoffrey Matthews
  Mr Blake: Eric Anderson
  Ben: Stephen Jack
  The Prison Governor: Edward Jewesbury
  Mr Burton: John Ruddock
  Egan: T St John Barry
  Roberts: Ella Milne
Repeated from 29th December 1954.
[There was an earlier production by Peter Watts for BBC Home in 1952 with Lorna Whitehouse as Miss Phipps]
[Also produced by Ayton Whitaker in 1948 with Betty Alberge as Miss Phipps.]


5th January 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- On Approval by Frederick Lonsdale, adapted by Cynthia Pughe.
Produced by Val Gielgud.
  The Duke of Bristol: Ronald Squire
  Mrs Wislack: Isabel Jeans
  Richard Halton: Richard Bebb
  Helen Hayle: Monica Grey
Repeated 10th January 1955
[Previously produced by Peter Creswell in 1940 for BBC Home, also by Howard Rose in 1944 for BBC Home, and also by Wilfrid Grantham in 1948 for BBC Home and Light.]
[Also produced by Norman Wright in 1967]
[Also directed by David Johnston in 1986 for R4]
[Also directed by Glyn Dearman in 1993 for R4]


12th January 1955
20.30-22.00
The Duke in Darkness by Patrick Hamilton (1904-1962) adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh.
France in the 16th Century.
Producer: Martyn C Webster
  Narrator: T St John Barry
  Gribaud: James McKechnie
  The Duke: Michael Hordern
  Voulain: Hugh Burden
  Brulart: Geoffrey Matthews
  Marteau: James Thomason
  The Duke of Lamorre: Arthur Young
  D'Aublaye: Hugh David
Repeated 17th January 1955
[Also produced by Val Gielgud for BBC Home in 1944 with Leslie Banks as The Duke and by Felix Felton in 1947 for BBC Home with Leslie Banks as The Duke and by Martyn C Webster in 1950 for BBC Home with Cecil Trouncer as The Duke, rptd 1952.]
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1963 for BBC Home with Alec Clunes as The Duke, rptd 1965.]
[The play features a 16th Century French conflict between Catholics and Protestants; the 16th Century Patrick Hamilton became a martyr in Scotland for expressing protestant beliefs.]


16th January 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: The Sound of Cymbals by Giles Cooper (1918-1966).
Three children spend a holiday with their aunt and uncle.
Producer: Archie Campbell
  Narrator: Geoffrey King
  Alice: Lucille Lisle
  Henry, her husband: Seymour Green
  Derek: Nicky Edmett
  Hugo: Patricia Hayes
  Susan: Carol Wolveridge
  Griselda a German maid: Gina Bower
  Jack the children's father: Rupert Davies
Also with Dorothea Phillips, Jessica Cairns, Peter Claughton and Richard Waring
[Archie Campbell produced the play again in 1959 for BBC Home with Lucille Lisle as Alice but with Jane Asher as Susan]


19th January 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Love in Idleness by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Produced by Raymond Raikes
  Olivia Brown: Sonia Dresdel
  Polton: Elsa Palmer
  Sir John Fletcher: Ivan Samson
  Michael Brown: Jeremy Burnham
  Miss Dell: Sheila Mitchell
  Diana Fletcher: Daphne Maddox
Repeated 24th January 1955
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1952 for BBC Home with Googie Withers as Olivia.]
[The play was originally called Less than Kind. It was rewritten and retitled in 1944.]


23rd January 1955
15.30-16.30:
Radio Theatre: Like Men Betrayed (1953) by John Mortimer (1923-2009)
A father and son search for each other.
Produced by John Gibson
  Kennet: Michael Hordern
  Rolley: Richard Bebb
  Sandra: Joan Hart
  Kit Kennet: Oscar Quitak
  Mrs Hume-Monument: Betty Hardy
  Mrs Kennet: Grizelda Hervey
  Sylvia Urquhart: Mary Wimbush
  Porcher: Jack Allen
  Katz: Godfrey Kenton
  Inspector Pound: Edward Jewesbury
  Club Manager: Jeffrey Segal


24th January 1955
20.00-20.30
The Barlowes Of Beddington by Warren Chetham-Strode (1896-1974)
Advice and assistance by: Arthur Harrison, M.A
Series 1, Episode 1.
Theme music: Cavalcade of Youth by Jack Beaver
The story of a school seen through the eyes of a headmaster and his wife.
Producer: Audrey Cameron
  Robert Barlowe: Patrick Barr
  Kate Barlowe: Pauline Jameson
and many other actors over the years.
There were several series of many episodes between 1955 and 1959


26th January 1955:
20.30-22.00
The Stars in their choices: Old English (1924) by John Galsworthy (1867-1933)
Setting: Liverpool 1905.
Produced by Mary Hope Allen
  Sylvanus Heythorp: Cedric Hardwicke
  Gilbert Farney, his secretary: Godfrey Kenton
  Bob Pillin: Richard Waring
  Charles Ventnor: John Gabriel
  Mr Brownbee: Arthur Ridley
  Mr Appleby, a shareholder: Edgar Norfolk
  Rosamund Lame: Grizelda Hervey
  Phyllis Larne: Beth Boyd
  Joseph Pillin a ship owner: Carleton Hobbs
  Adela Heythorp: Olwen Brookes
  First Clerk: Richard Bebb
  Second Clerk: Michael Turner
  Mr Budgen: Jeffrey Segal
  Mr Westgate: Richard Williams
  Another shareholder: Edward Kelsey
  Letty: Jill Nyasa
  Meller: Richard Bebb
  Molly: Mairhi Russel
Repeated 31st January 1955
[Adapted from a short story published in 1918 "The Stoic".]


30th January 1955
15.30:
Radio Theatre: One Night In Styria (1953) by David Howarth, adapted by Giles Cooper
Produced by Wilfrid Grantham
  Colonel: Eric Anderson
  Major Julian Winter: Edward Jewesbury
  Corporal: John Gabriel
  Fini and Carl: Denise Bryer
  Frau Berner: Iris Ballard
  Lisl: Olive Gregg
  Anton Berner: George Merritt
  Bus driver: Derek Birch
  Count von Riegersmark: Alan Wheatley
  Johann: Bryan Powley
  Priest: Godfrey Kenton
  Smithy: Edward Kelsey
[Also produced by Cedric Messina in 1961 (Light) rptd 1962 (Home) with Wilfred Babbage as Colonel]


2nd February 1955
Curtain Up! :- One Fine Day by Emery Bonett (Felicity Winifred Carter 1906-1995)
Produced by Martyn C. Webster
  Apollo: David Peel
  Mercury: Geoffrey Matthews
  Leto: Janet Burnell
  Stella Peregrine: Marjorie Westbury
  Jonathan Peregrine: Richard Williams
  Candy: Belle Crystall
  Diana Dane: Denise Bryer
  Latimer Lord: Richard Hurndall
Also with Annabel Maule, Mairhi Russell, Aline Waites, Gladys Spencer, Janet Morrison, Brian Haines,, John Gabriel, Michael Turner, Hugh David, James Thomason and Sulwen Morgan
Repeated 7th February 1955
[Also produced by Val Gielgud for BBC Home in 1944 with Robert Rietty as Mercury]


6th February 1955
15.30-16.30
Edward and Caroline by Jacques Becker (1906-1960) and Annette Wademant (1928-2017), based on the filmscript of "Edouard et Caroline" (1951), translated and adapted by Derek Hart.
Domestic squabbles.
Piano: Stewart Nash
Producer: Martyn C Webster
  Edward, a musician: Geoffrey Matthews
  Caroline, his wife: Denise Bryer
  Mme Leroy concierge: Betty Hardy
  Ernest, her nephew: Michael Turner
  Claude Beauchamp, Caroline's uncle: Max Adrian
  Julien, his butler: Malcolm Graeme
  Alain Claude's son: Derek Hart
  Lucie Barville: Alice Landone
  Henri her husband: Manning Wilson
  Florence: Mary Wimbush
  Spencer Borch her husband: Rupert Davies
  George Foucart: Hugh David
  A removal man: Brian Haines
[Becker and Wademant were in a relationship when they wrote the filmscript, the dialogue is credited to Wademant.]


9th February 1955
20.30-22.00 Part 1
22.15-22.45 Part 2
The Devil's General by Carl Zuckmayer, adapted by Robert Gore-Brown from a translation by A. V. Burbury.
Germany in 1941.
Production By: Val Gielgud
  Narrator: Marvin Kane
  German waiter: Frederick Schiller
  French waiter: Seymour Green
  Otto: Noel Iliff
  Harras: Trevor Howard
  Eilers: Richard Bebb
  von Mohrungen: John Ruddock
  Pflungk: Malcolm Hayek
  Dr Schmidt: George Hagan
  Putzchen: Belle Chrystall
  Anne: Mary Williams
  Hartmann: Lewis Stringer
  Pfundtmayer: Trevor Martin
  Olivia: Phyllis Neilson-Terry
  Diddo: Monica Grey
  Korrianke: Stanley Groome
  Schlick: Peter Augustine
  Oderbruch: John Arnatt
  Commissar: John Turnbull
  Elder workman: Andrew Churchman
  Younger workman: Preston Lockwood
Repeated 14th February 1955
[Also produced for BBC R3 and BBC Home in 1948 by Val Gielgud with John Clements as Harras]
[Trevor Howard played Gen Harras in the theatre production of 1953]
[Also produced in 1955 rptd 1960, by Rudolph Cartier for BBC tv with Marius Goring as Harras]


13th February 1955
15.30-16.30:
Radio Theatre: Ring For Jeeves (1953) by P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) adapted by Dan Ferguson
The dampest of the stately homes of England. The butler, Jeeves, is on temporary loan.
Produced by H. B. Fortuin
  Jeeves: Deryck Guyler
  A waiter: John Ruddock
  Mrs Rosalinda Spottsworth (Rosie): Tucker McGuire
  Captain Biggar: Michael Shepley
  Sir Roderick Carmoyle (Rory): George Merritt
  Lady Monica Carmoyle (Moke): Annabel Maule
  Jill Wyvern: Belle Chrystall
  Ellen, a housemaid: Mairhi Russell
  Lord William Rowcester (Bill): Ian Carmichael
  Pomona, the peke: Bryan Powley
  Colonel Smithers, the Chief Constable: Brian Haines
  Radio commentator: Geoffrey Matthews


16th February 1955
20.30-21.50
Curtain Up! Payment Deferred (1926) by C S Forester (1899-1966) adapted by Jeffrey Dell (1899-1985).
Dulwich in 1930
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
  Mr Jackson: Olaf Pooley
  Charlie Hammond: George Hagan
  William Marble: Richard Williams
  Annie Marble, his wife: Betty Hardy
  Winnie Marble, his daughter: Shelagh Kennedy
  Jim Medland: Richard Bebb
  Removal man: Peter Howell
  Madame Collins: Barbara Couper
  Dr Atkinson: James Thomason
Repeated 21st February 1955
[Also produced by Barbara Burnham for BBC Home in 1945]
[Also produced for R4 in 2014 by David Neville rptd R4X]


20th February 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: The Quiet River (1953) by J Dillon White (Stanley White 1913-1978).
Produced by Ayton Whitaker
  Ling Tai: Betty Hardy
  Mother Superior: Mabel Terry-Lewis
  Jasmine: Denise Bryer
  Sentry: Manning Wilson
  Huggins: Eric Anderson
  Lieut Shelley: Peter Howell
  Capt Hitchcock: Brian Haines
  Bradley: Hugh David
  Major Kildare: Edward Jewesbury
  Chang Tu: Denys Blakelock
  Sergeant Major: T St John Barry


23rd February 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Monsarrat (1910-1979), adapted by Stephen Grenfell
The Battle for the Atlantic- Atlantic convoys in WW2.
Produced by Charles Lefeaux assisted by Amna Smith and Desmond Briscoe
  Lt Comm George Eastwood Ericson, RNR: Jack Hawkins
  Sub-Lieutenant Keith Lockhart,RNVR: Laurence Payne
  Sub-Lieutenant Ferraby, RNVR: Martin Starkie
  Lieutenant James Bennett, RANVR: Russell Napier
  Mrs Ericson (Grace): Dorothy Smith
  Chief E R A Watts: Andrew Crawford
  Petty Officer Tallow: Deryck Guyler
  Leading Signalman Wells: Victor Maddern
  Vice-Admiral Sir Vincent Murray-Forbes: Kynaston Reeves
  A B Gregg: Peter Howell
  Mrs Bell (Gladys): Barbara Lott
  Sub-Lieutenant Morell, RNVR: Brian Haines
  Second Officer Julie Hallam, WRNS: Heather Stannard
  A B Sellars: Richard Bebb
  Kapitan-Leutnant von Hellmuth: Richard Williams
  Fourth Officer John Ericson: Barry McGregor
Other parts played by: Jack Allen, Derek Birch, George Hagan, George Merritt, Edgar Norfolk, John Ruddock, Gerik Schjelderup, Jeffrey Segal and Michael Turner
Repeated 28th February 1955, 6th August 1956 (Home) and 5th August 1963 (Home)
[Jack Hawkins played Ericson in the film version]
[Nicholas Monsarrat was RNVR and rose to Lt Commander, he took part in Atlantic convoys.]


27th February 1955
15.30:
Radio Theatre: Operation Nellie by Alan Kennington
Produced by Archie Campbell
  Nellie Beamish: Sulwen Morgan
  Professor Wyfold, a scientist: Martin Lewis
  Jacobson a reporter: Roger Snowdon
  Tom Kennett- Nellie's young man: David Ewart
  Nurse: Catherine Salkeld
  Dr Mason, House Surgeon: Brian Haines
  Moisi Hagen, another nurse: Renee Goddart
  Jules, a restaurant proprietor: Peter Claughton
  Arnold Palmer, a Civil Servant: Rolf Lefebvre
  Mr Cornelius: Carl Duering
  Jan Wessel his friend: Olaf Pooley
  Sir Gervase Alban: Charles Lloyd Pack
  Office messenger: George Merritt
  Detective-Sergeant Streeter: Manning Wilson
  Emil a foreigner: John Ruddock
  

2nd March 1955
20.55-22.00 and 22.15-23.15
Curtain Up! : Major Barbara (1905) by Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Does it matter who a charity accepts funding from.
Produced by Wilfrid Grantham
  Narrator: Michael Hitchman
  Stephen: Hugh Manning
  Lady Britomart: Barbara Couper
  Barbara: Irene Worth
  Sarah: Violet Loxley
  Adolphus Cusins: Anthony Jacobs
  Charles Lomax: Nicholas Parsons
  Andrew Undershaft: Frank Pettingell
  Rummy Mitchens: Jean McLeman
  Snobby Price: Roger Snowdon
  Jenny Hill: Barbara Greenhalgh
  Peter Shirley: Malcolm Haves
  Bill Walker: Alan Tilvern
  Mrs Baines: Jane Meredith
  Bilton: Paul Bacon
Repeated 7th March 1955
[Note that Shaw added a prefatory note to the work that 'donations can always be used for good whatever their provenance']
[Other productions- Year, Producer, Network, Actor playing Barbara:
1952 Esme Percy R3 Joyce Redman
1961 Martyn C Webster R3 June Tobin
1967 rptd 1976 John Powell Home Dorothy Tutin
1980 rptd 1983, 1984 Ronald Mason R4 Anna Massey
1998 rptd 2001 Peter Hall R3 Jemma Redgrave
2016 rptd R4X Tracey Neale R4 Eleanor Tomlinson]


6th March 1955
15.30-16.15
Radio Theatre: Ethan Frome (1911) by Edith Wharton (1862-1937) adapted by Laura Common.
On freedom.
Producer: Wilfrid Grantham.
  Mrs Ruth Hale: Brenda Dunrich
  Michael: John Stockbridge
  Denis Eady: Derek Holmes
  Mattie Silver: Helen Horton
  Ethan Frome: Phil Brown
  Zenobia Frome: Pamela Alan
[Also produced by Cherry Cookson in 1996 for R4 with John Sharian as Ethan, repeated R7 2007-2010]
[Also directed by Sally Avens and broadcast in 15 minute parts, R4 2012 and on R4X 2012-2019, actors included Dominic Mafham and Jessica Raine.]


9th March 1955
20.50-22.00
Curtain Up! : The Dover Road (1921) by A A Milne (1882-1956)
Producer: Charles Lefeaux
  Leonard: Brian Haines
  Anne: Joy Rodgers
  Dominic: John Gabriel
  Mr Latimer: Laidman Browne
  Eustasra: Lucille Lisle
  Nicholas: Richard Bebb
Repeated 14th March 1955
[Also produced in 1944 for BBC Home, by Martyn C Webster with Esme Percy as Mr Latimer and Arthur Ridley as Dominic.]
[Also produced in 1950 by Martyn C Webster with Jack Hulbert as Mr Latimer and Arthur Ridley as Dominic.]
[Also produced by Norman Wright in 1962]


13th March 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: Village in the Stars by Stella Margetson (1912-1992)
Singer: Eric Anderson
Guitarist: Desmond Dupre
Produced by Norman Wright
  Don Bernardo: Rupert Davies
  Filippo: Pat Hayes
  Hal Foster: Hubert Gregg
  Jake Hammer: Brian Haines
  Gino: Jeffrey Segal
  Maria: Vivienne Chatterton
  Pietro Cavallini: Eric Anderson
  Mona Godfrey: Helen Horton
  Barny Skinner: Stuart Nichol
  Giuseppina: Gladys Spencer
  Signora Padua: Betty Baskcomb
  A cameraman/ A Waiter: Hugh David


16th March 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up!: Caroline (1916) by W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)
1912- a house in Regents Park.
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
  Cooper: Mairhi Russell
  Isabella Trench: Alice Landone
  Rex Cunningham: Leslie Phillips
  Caroline Ashley: Ursula Jeans
  Maude Fulton: Noel Hood
  Robert Oldham: Roger Livesey
  Dr Cornish: Richard Hurndall
Repeated 21st March 1955
[Produced for tv in 1948 as "The Unattainable]


20th March 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: Murder in the Mews (1936) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976), Dramatised by Anthony Aspinall
The room was locked.
Produced by David H Godfrey
  Freddie Hogg: Ian Whittaker
  Chief Inspector Japp: Jack Melford
  Hercule Poirot: Richard Williams
  Detective-Sergeant Jameson: Ronald Sidney
  Doctor Brett: Duncan McIntyre
  Jane Plenderleith: Monica Grey
  Mrs Hogg: Ella Milne
  Charles Laverton-West: Allan Cuthbertson
  Major Henry Eustace: William Fox
[Also broadcast on R4X 2015]


23rd March 1985
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up!:- Johnson over Jordan by J B Priestley.
Music by Benjamin Britten
The Goldsbrough Orchestra (Leader, Emanuel Hurwitz) Conducted by Lionel Salter
Produced by Raymond Raikes.
  Agnes, the maid at the Johnsons: Janet Burnell
  A Clergyman: T St John Barry
  Richard Johnson: Geoffrey Matthews
  Freda Johnson, his sister: Aline Waites
  Mrs (Jill) Johnson, their mother: Betty Hardy
  George Noble, a cousin: Jack Allen
  Mr Clayton: John Ruddock
  Robert Johnson: Norman Shelley
  The Guide: Deryck Guyler
  First Examiner: Richard Williams
  Second Examiner: Manning Wilson
  A Schoolmaster: George Hagan
  Mrs Gregg, Jill's mother: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  Charlie: John Gabriel
  Lottie Spragg: Janet Burnell
  Madame: Catherine Salkeld
  A Porter at the Inn: George Hagan
  Albert Goop, a waiter: Charles Leno
  Tom Johnson: T. St. John Barry
  Mr Morrison, a schoolmaster: Manning Wilson
  A Doctor: Rolf Lefebvre
Repeated 28th March 1955
[Also produced by Frank Hauser in 1951 for BBC Home with Norman Shelley as Robert Johnson and David Enders as Richard Johnson]
[Also produced by Ian Cotterell in 1985 for R4 with Alec McCowen as Robert Johnson]
[The music was later formed into a suite]


27th March 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: The Seventh Star by Stephen Grenfell
Produced by Ayton Whitaker
  Narrator: Stephen Grenfell
  Tracey (as a child): Jonathan Swift
  Cathy (as a child): Catherine George
  Gerald (as a child): Bernard Doe
  Bruce (as a child): Keith Davies
  Chief Detective-Inspector Cassidy: T. St. John Barry
  John Bissett: Richard Williams
  Sergeant Ames: Peter Claughton
  Alice Bissett: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  Tracey: Brian Haines
  Belle: Annabel Maule
  Cathy: Beth Boyd
  Bruce: Peter Howell
  Police Constable Ashbrooke: Manning Wilson
  Superintendent Havers: Geoffrey Matthews
  Gerald: Patrick Troughton
  Mr Kendall: John Ruddock
  Police Constable Harris: Derek Birch
  Andrews: Rolf Lefebvre
  Workman: Hugh David
  Sir Arthur Burton: George Merritt
  Secretary: James Thomason
  Linesman: George Hagan


30th March 1955
20.30-22.00
Autumn Crocus (1931) by Dodie Smith(1896-1990)
Pianist: Arthur Dulay
Baritone: Norman Tattersall
Harpist: Kate Wilson
Produced by Martyn C. Webster
  Frau Steiner: Irene Pradot
  Andreas Steiner: Denis Goacher
  Miss Mayne: Betty Hardy
  Edith: Barbara Couper
  Fanny: Angela Baddeley
  Alaric: Richard Bebb
  Audrey: Barbara Lott
  Mr Mayne: James Thomason
  Herr Feldman: John Gabriel
  Frau Feldman: Joan Clement Scott
Repeated 4th April 1955


3rd April 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: This Year - Next Year by Lionel Brown (1888-1964).
Gifts before you die can sometimes be liable to death duty.
Produced by David H Godfrey.
  Paddy Armitage: Geoffrey Matthews
  Nick Redwood: Olaf Pooley
  Clare Armitage: Margaret Ward
  Martin Armitage: Cyril Shaps
  Dr Julian Ross: Roderick Lovell
  May Ross: Janet Burnell
  Mrs Armitage: Courtney Hope
  Patricia Armitage: Joan Swinstead
  Nurse Page: Annabel Maule
[Repeated on 27th September 1958 on BBC Home]


4th April 1955
18.30-18.45
Seven Stages by Stella Margetson (1912-1992)
1 of 7.
Produced by Audrey Cameron
  Ernest Witherby: Laidman Browne
  The Countess of Marshbank: Catherine Salkeld
  Harriet Marlowe: Janet Burnell
  Edwin Beaumont: James McKechnie
  Tommie Wilson: David Enders
  Cappi: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  Miss Drake: Annabel Maule
  Caroline Witherby, Sophie Beaumont & Susie Wilson: Marjorie Westbury
  Ted Wilson: David Peel
Pt2:5/4/55 Pt3:6/4/55 Pt4:7/4/55 Pt5:8/4/55 Pt6:9/4/55 Pt7:10/4/55
[Also broadcast as a 60 minute shortened compendium edition entitled "Four Generations" 28/12/55]


6th April 1955
20.45-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Playing with Love (1914) ("Leibelei" (1894)) by Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931), translated P Morton Shand.
Pianist: Frederick Stone
Producer: Martyn C Webster
  Fritz Lobheimer: Marius Goring
  Theodor Kaiser: David Peel
  Mizi Schlager: Barbara Lott
  Christine: Lucie Mannheim
  The Gentleman: Hugh Manning
  Katharina Binder: Joan Clement Scott
  Hans Weiring: Harcourt Williams
Repeated 12th April 1955
[Also produced in 1962 by Val Gielgud with Hugh Manning as The Gentleman, and David Enders as Fritz]
[Theatrical perfomances have used a variety of English titles for the play.]


10th April 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: Moses Storkey, Ferryman by Eric Crozier.
The ferry blew up.
Produced by David H Godfrey.
  Skipper/ Frank: Peter Claughton
  Jenks: Ronald Sidney
  Dusso: Patrick Westwood
  Moses Storkey: Charles Lamb
  Mayor: George Merritt
  Councillor Woodward/ Charlie: Manning Wilson
  Mr Upshott, the Town Clerk: John Ruddock
  Sir Hector Mold: Norman Shelley
  Mrs Mumford/ Mrs Chalkwell: Janet Burnell
  Miss Hollyberry: Molly Lumley
  Tarlipp: Bryan Powley
  Jack Tarlipp: Pat Connor
  Fred: Middleton Woods
  Mr Wetherbell: Noel Iliff
  Mrs Pelrose: Catherine Salkeld
  Miss Moss: Mary Wimbush
  Police Sergeant: Stephen Jack
  Vicar: Martin Lewis
  Simpson: David Garth
Repeated 25th March 1956


13th April 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Black Chiffon (1949) by Lesley Storm (Mabel Cowie (1898–1975)), adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh.
Shoplifting.
Produced by Audrey Cameron.
  Louise: Dorothy Gordon
  Roy: David Enders
  Thea: Rachel Gurney
  Alicia Christie: Gladys Young
  Nanny: Susan Richards
  Robert Christie: Ivan Samson
  Bennett Hawkins: Anthony Ireland
Repeated 18th April 1955
[Also produced by Joe Burroughs for R4 in 1968, rptd 1970 and 1975 with Flora Robson as Alicia]
[The play was performed on BBC TV in 1953 with Angela Baddeley as Alicia and on BBC tv in 1959 with Jane Baxter as Alicia]


20th April 1955
20.30-22.00
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen adapted by Cynthia Pughe based on the version by Lindsay Galloway.
Producer: Mary Hope Allen
  Narrator: Aubrey Richard
  Mrs Stockmann: Belle Chrystall
  Billing: Allan Cuthbertson
  Peter Stockmann, Mayor: Howieson Culff
  Hovstad, Editor of the Messenger: Richard Waring
  Dr Thomas Stockmann: Stephen Murray
  Captain Horster: Gordon Davies
  Morten Stockmann: Elaine MacNamara
  Ejlif Stockmann: Michael Ellison
  Petra Stockmann: Margaret Barton
  Morten Kill: George Skillan
  Aslaksen, a printer: Roger Snowden
  also with Catherine Salkeld, Stanley Groome, Ronald Sidney, John Turnbull and Frank Tickle
Repeated 25th April 1955
[Mary Hope Allen also produced a 2 hour 1950 version for the Third programme, repeated on the Third in 1951 and 1956 with Malcolm Hayes as Narrator and Anthony Jacobs as Billing]


27th April 1955
20.30-22.00
A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde based upon the version by Paul Dehn.
Violin: Vera Kantrovitch
Piano: Cicely Hoye
Producer: Archie Campbell
The setting is 1893.
  Lady Caroline Pontefract: Gladys Young
  Hester Worsley: Pamela Alan
  Sir John Pontefract: Charles Maunsell
  Lady Hunstanton: Fabia Drake
  Gerald Arbuthnot: Jeremy Burnham
  Footman: Michael Turner
  Lady Slutfield: Dorice Fordred
  Mrs Allonby: Isabel Jeans
  Mr Kelvil: George Merritt
  Lord Illingworth: Richard Williams
  Farquhar: James Thomason
  Mrs Arbuthnot: Ambrosine Phillpotts
  Archdeacon Daubeny: John Turnbull
  Alice: Janet Burnel
Repeated 2nd May 1955
[Also produced by Adrian Bean with Diana Rigg as Mrs Arbuthnot, in 1991, rpt 1992 for R4, rptd R7 and R4X]
[This Wilde play was first produced for the BBC 5WA in 1923]


1st May 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: Great Elk
with Roger Livesey (1906-1976)
[That is all that BBC Genome has. Could be an OCR error in the title? Surely not "The Goshawk" (1952)? Cannot identify.]


2nd May 1955
20.00-20.30
Murder without Motive by E Eynon Evans (1904-1989).
1 of 6: The Late Mr Prothero.
Produced by David H Godfrey
BBC Wales
  Silas Harris: D L Davies
  The Rev Mathias Thomas: G. Lionel Jones
  Jane Austin: Madge Jones
  Jack Austin: Hubert Hughson
  Josh Morgan: Moses Jones
  Richard Prothero: L Bruce Mayne
  Detective Inspector Robins: Brinley Jenkins
  Constable Howells: John Darran
  Martha Price: Lorna Davies
  Detective Sergeant Wade: Cynddylan Williams
  Lawrence/ Sanders: Peter Gyngell
  Harry Vernon: W P Thomas
Additional actors in parts 2-6:
  Constable Jones: Norman Wynne
  Fred Lloyd: E J Baldock
  Margaret Prys: Dilys Davies
  Mrs Timothy: Rachel Thomas
  Roddy Prothero: John Darran
  Sergeant Williams: Hubert Hughson
Pt2:9/5/55 Pt3:16/5/55 Pt4:23/5/55 Pt5:30/5/55(at 20.15) Pt6:6/6/55


3rd May 1955
21.00-21.30
Dr Abernethy by Alicia Ramsey (1864-1933) and Rudolph de Cordova (1859-1941), adapted by Dulcima Glasby
Produced by Cleland Finn
  Dr Linton: Anthony James
  Dr Abernethy: D A Clarke-Smith
  Mrs Calthrop: Joan Clement Scott
  Colonel Hamilton: Geoffrey Dunn
  Mrs Danvers: Susan Richards
  Julia Danvers: Virginia Hewett
  The Rev Nicodemus Brown: John Vere
  Countess Arbuthnot: Sara Leigh
  Mick O'Brien: Harry Hutchinson
  The Prince Regent: Norman Mitchell
Repeated from 10th July 1952
[The Doctor lived 1794-1831 and gave his name to the Abernethy Biscuit]
[The play was first produced for the BBC in 1931]


8th May 1955
15.30-16.30
Radio Theatre: Five Days to Friday by Redmond Macdonogh based on an idea by Henry Ellul.
Produced by Archie Campbell
Two men with a sleigh, in the frozen Canadian north.
  John: Michael Gough
  Max: William Sylvester
  Captain Curran: Alan Tilvern
  Jake: Arthur Hill
  Doctor: Charles Farrell
Repeated from 13th December 1953
[Also produced by Cedric Messina in 1962, repeated 1963 on BBC Home, with the same main actors, but Jon Farrell as Max.]


9th May 1955
16.30-17.40
Monday Matinee: Brief Encounter (1945) by Noel Coward (1899-1973), adapted by Maurice Horspool.
Produced by Norman Wright
  Myrtle: Elizabeth Gray
  Beryl: Mairhi Russell
  Albert Godby: Eric Anderson
  Alec: James McKechnie
  Laura: Wendy Hiller
  Fred: Godfrey Kenton
  Dolly: Olga Dickie
  Stephen: Geoffrey Matthews
  Mary Norton: Cecile Chevreau
  Johnnie: Michael Turner
  Bill: Gordon Davies
Also with Bryan Powley
[The film script was based on a 1936 play "Still Life" by Noel Coward)


10th May 1955
21.00-21.30
Long Distance (1948) by Harry Junkin (1916-1978)
Producer: David H Godfrey
  Bertha Jacks: Jean McDonald
  Prison official: Philip Vickers
  Mrs McLean: Gwen Day Burroughs
  Henderson: Malcolm Hayes
  Judge McLean: Martin Lewis
Also with Sarah Leigh, Virginia Bedard, Denise Bryer, John McLaren, Barbara Todd, Gladys Spencer, Susan Richards, Stanley Groome and Eddy Reed
Repeated from 10th May 1952.
[Previously produced by David H Godfrey for BBC Home in 1947 with Alan Pearce as Prison Official and Gerry Fitzgerald as Henderson]
[Also produced by David H Godfrey in 1960 with Joan Miller as Bertha and Michael Turner as Prison official.]
[This play was the first in the NBC radio series "Radio City Playhouse", series directed by Harry Junkin, and was aired live 3rd July 1948. A recording exists.]


11th May 1955
20.45-22.00
Curtain Up! :- There's Always Juliet (1931) by John van Druten (1901-1957)
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
Also with Griffith Jones and Geraldine McEwan
Repeated 16th May 1985
[Also produced by Raymond Raikes for BBC Home in 1950 with Brenda Bruce and Joan Hart]
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1966, rptd R4 1972, with Angela Thorne and Terence Alexander]


17th May 1955
21.00-21.30:
The New Catacomb (1898) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), adapted by R. J. B. Sellar
Production by Ayton Whitaker
  Kennedy: John Slater
  Benchley: John Cazabon
  Mary: Elizabeth London
Repeated from 11th December 1952.
[Story title until 1900 was "Burger's Secret" - no character named Benchley appeared in the printed story]


18th May 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Night was our Friend by Michael Pertwee. Adapted by Peggy Wells.
Producer: Martyn C Webster
  Dr Glanville: Ivan Samson
  A radio announcer: James Thomason
  Emily Raynor, Martin's mother: Susan Richmond
  Kate, a maid: Janet Morrison
  Cooper, a reporter: Michael Turner
  Sally Raynor: Belle Chrystall
  Dr John Harper: Richard Hurndall
  Martin Raynor: Richard Williams
Repeated 23rd May 1955
[Also produced by Cleland Finn in 1950 for Light and Home, with Grizelda Hervey as Sally]


24th May 1955
21.00-21.30:
Personal Call(1954) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976)
A telephone call from Newton Abbott.
Produced by Ayton Whitaker
  Fay: Jessie Evans
  James Brent: James McKechnie
  Pam Brent: Mary Wimbush
  Mrs Lamb: Joan Sanderson
  Evan Curtis: Hamilton Dyce
  Mary Curtis: Janet Burnell
  Mr Enderby: Norman Chidgey
  Inspector Narracott: Edgar Norfolk
Also with Sulwen Morgan, Cyril Shaps, Peter Claughton, Dorothy Clement, Alan Reid, Hugh David, and Ruth Cracknell
Repeated from 31st May 1954.
[Also produced by David H Godfrey in 1960 rptd 1961 and 1963 (Home and Light), with Beatrice Bevan as Fay]
[This mystery was written for radio. Inspector Narracott appears in the 1931 book "The Sittaford Mystery" which was dramatized and broadcast in 1990]


25th May 1955
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- The Gioconda Smile by Aldous Huxley adapted by Cynthia Pughe
Produced by Norman Wright
  Henry Hutton: Clive Brook
  Janet Spence: Betty Baskcomb
  Nurse Braddock: Ella Milne
  A maid: Mairhi Russell
  Doris Mead: Sulwen Morgan
  Dr Libbard: Arthur Ridley
  General Spence: Cyril Shaps
  First warder: George Merritt
  Second warder: Rolf Lefebvre
Repeated BBC Home 17th November 1956
[Also produced in 1945, rptd 1946, for BBC Home, rptd 1947 Light, by Felix Felton with Ralph Truman as Mr Hutton.]
[Also produced by Norman Wright in 1970 for R4 with Noel Johnson as Mr Hutton]
[Also produced by Alec Reid in 1989 for R4 with Peter Bowles as Mr Hutton, repeated on R4X in 2022]


31st May 1955
21.00-21.30
Dead Circuit (1955) by Simon Rattray (Elleston Trevor (1920-1995)), adapted by Elleston Trevor (1920-1995)
Part 1 of 8
Producer: Audrey Cameron
  Gorry: Noel Hood
  Hugo Bishop: Robert Eddison
  Coroner: Bryan Powley
  Padre: Peter Claughton
  Doctor Veiss: Olaf Pooley
  Foreman of the Jury: Geoffrey Matthews
  Det Insp Frisnay: Raf de la Torre
  Vic Levinson: Viriginia Winter
  Austin: Michael Turner
  Sefiora: Violet Marquesita
  Derek Veiss: Paul Hansard
  Mrs Veiss: Sybil Rarea
Additional actors in later parts:
Annabel Maule, Arthur Lawrence, Austin Trevor, Brian Haines, Derek Birch, Edgar Norfolk, Edward Jewesbury, George Merritt, Godfrey Kenton, James Doran, James Thomason, Jeffrey Segal, John Gabriel, Mairhi Russell, Manning Wilson, Mary Wimbush, T. St John Barry
Pt2:7/6/55 Pt3:14/6/55 Pt4:21/6/55 Pt5:28/6/55 Pt6:5/7/55 Pt7:12/7/55 Pt8:19/7/55
[The book Dead Circuit was also published as Rook's Gambit as by Adam Hall]
[Other radio plays with the character of Hugo Bishop were "Knight Sinister" 1952; "Dead Silence" 1953; "Queen in Danger" 1953 and 1956]
[Simon Rattray and Elleston Trevor are the same person, who also used several other names.]


1st June 1955
20.30-22.00
The Whisper in the Gloom (1954) by Nicholas Blake (Cecil Day-Lewis 1904-1972), adapted by Lance Sieveking (1896-1972)
Produced by H. B. Fortuin
  Foxy: Bunny May
  Bert: Nicky Edmett
  Mac: Tom Lake
  Fred: Jeffrey Segal
  Dai Williams: John Ruddock
  The Quack: John Gabriel
  Nigel Strangeways: Hugh Burden
  Copper: Keith Davies
  Supt Blount: James Thomason
  Div Det Insp Wright: Edward Jewesbury
  Lefty: T St John Barry
  Alec Gray: Simon Lack
  Lady Durbar: Diane Hart
  Sir Rudolf Durbar: Francis de Wolff
  a debutante: Mairhi Russell
  Clare Massinger: Adrienne Corri
  Elmer Steig: Brian Haines
  Mrs Hale: Marjorie Mars
  Nanny: Kathleen Helme
  Superintendent Hallam: Gordon Davies
  Captain: Olaf Pooley
  Pilot: Geoffrey Matthews
Repeated 6th June 1955
[The book was also published under the title "Catch and Kill"]


[8th June 1955- 21.00-22.00: "The Last Frontier" by Howard Fast. NO other information on BBC Genome. MAY have been the program that was broadcast on 21st December 1955]


16th June 1955
19.30-20.00
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1870), by Jules Verne (1828-1905), adapted by Earl Felton (1909-1972), and further adapted by Gordon Gow.
Some of the soundtrack of the 1954 Disney film is used, material from the book but not in the film has been added.
1 of 4: The Avenging Monster.
Produced by Trafford Whitelock
  Narrator: Howard Marion-Crawford
  Professor Aronnax: Paul Lukas
  Professor Aronnax/ Mr Baker: John Cazabon
  Conseil: Peter Lorre
  Conseil / Ned: David Jacobs
  Ned: Kirk Douglas
  Casey: Fred Graham
  Billy J: J M Kerrigan
  Captain Farragut: Ted de Corsia
  Captain Anderson: Manning Wilson
  Mr Howard: Stuart Nichol
  Reporter: Bruce Beeby
Additional actors in later parts:
  Captain Nemo: James Mason (2)
  Searl: Lloyd Lambie (2)
  Mate: Ted Cooper(4)
Pt2:23/6/55 Pt3:30/6/55 Pt4:7/7/55
[Duplicated character names mark new dialogue not in the film, voiced by a stand in actor]
[Original title- Vingt mille lieues sous les mers]


17th June 1955
21.00-22.00
Daddy Long-Legs (1912) by Jean Webster (1876-1916) adapted for film by Henry and Phoebe Ephron.
An orphan has education fees paid anonymously.
Using the soundtrack of the 1955 film.
Lyrics and music by Johnny Mercer
Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
Production By: Trafford Whitelock
  Narrator, Paul Carpenter
  Jervis Pendleton: Fred Astaire
  Julie: Leslie Caron
  Lyngarth: Terry Moore
  Miss Prichard: Thelma Ritter
  Griggs: Fred Clark
  Sally: Charlotte Austin
  Alexander Williamson: Larry Keating
  Gertrude: Kathryn Givney
  Jimmy McBride: Kelly Brown
[The 1955 film did not follow the plot of the novel.]
[In 1949 Cleland Finn produced a version for BBC Home that followed the book plot]
[There was a sequel novel entitled "Dear Enemy].


20th June 1955
20.00-20.30
Paul Temple And The Madison Mystery by Francis Durbridge
Pianist, Stewart Nash
Production by Martyn C. Webster
1 of 8-'A Penny For Your Thoughts'
  Paul Temple: Peter Coke
  Steve: Marjorie Westbury
  Charlie: James Beattle
  Sir Graham Forbes: Lester Mudditt
  Sam Portland: John Gabriel
  George Kelly: Stan Thomason
  Percy / Bennett: Brian Haines
  Stella Portland: Marjorie Mars
  A Purser /Harry: Richard Waring
  Hubert Greene: Richard Williams
  Mark Kendall: Michael Turner
Additional actors in later parts:
  Derek Hart, Simon Lack, John Carson, Ian Sadler, Grizelda Hervey, Manning Wilson, T St John Barry, Peggy Hassard, Hugh David, Geoffrey Matthews, Michael Turner, Belle Chrystall, Edward Jewesbury, Peter Claughton
Pt2:27/6/55 Pt3:4/7/55 Pt4:11/7/55 Pt5:18/7/55 Pt6:25/7/55 Pt7:1/8/55 Pt8:8/8/55
[This was a new production of a serial play also produced by Martyn C Webster, broadcast in 1949, with Kim Peacock as Paul Temple]
[Later remade by Patrick Rayner in 2008 with Crawford Logan as Paul Temple]
[Paul Temple was created for radio in 1938 and appeared in 22 BBC dramas plus remakes, 12 German radio serials etc. The final "new" radio drama was 1968.]


21st July 1955
20.00-20.30
The Man Who Could Not Sleep by Michael Gilbert (1912-2006)
Produced by Michael Bakewell
1 of 6: The Hampstead Flat
No cast details given for part one.
Actors in later parts:
Allan Jeayes, Anne McGrath, Arthur Lawrence, Brian Haines, Bryan Kendrick, Donald Bisset, Geoffrey Matthews, George Merritt, Hamilton Dyce, John Boxer, Kathleen Helme, Leslie Perrins, Michael Finlayson, Olga Dickie, Owen Berry, Peter Claughton, Peter Elliott, Robert Mooney, Rolf Lefebvre, Rudolph Offenbach, Vernon Smythe, William Fox
Pt2:28/7/55 Pt3:4/8/55 Pt4:11/8/55 Pt5:18/8/55 Pt6:25/8/55
[The play was finally published in book form in 2011]


22nd July 1955
20.30-21.00
The Most Dangerous Game (1924) by Richard Connell (1893-1949), adpated by Dan Ferguson.
Produced by William Hughes.
  Sanger Rainsford: Jon Farrell
  Jack Whitney: Malcolm Hayes
  Gen Zaroff: Wyndham Milligan
Repeated from BBC Home, 1st October 1952


26th July 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: The Man Who Couldn't Be Photographed by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Bruce Ransom: Roderick Lovell
  Nita Valdez: Annabel Maule
  Mullis: Peter Claughton
  Tom Sherwood: George Hagan
  Francine: Beth Boyd
  Monsieur du Lac: John Serret
  Madame Vernet: Gladys Spencer
Repeated 12th August 1957
[The story was also an episode of "Cabin B-13" on CBS in 1948.]


29th July 1955
20.30-21.00
Sincerity (1912) by Warwick Deeping (1877-1950), adapted by Betty Stafford Robinson
Water pollution.
Part 1 of 5.
No details for part 1
Part 2:
Produced by Ayton Whitaker
  Mrs Threadgold: Hester Paton Brown
  Dr Montague Threadgold: Edward Lexy
  Jasper Turrell: Richard George
  Rev Robert Fleming: John Nugent Hayward
  John Wolfe: Roger Delgado
  Jess Mascall: Olive Gregg
  Mrs Mascall: Elsa Palmer
  Josiah Crabbe: Arthur Ridley
  Adam Grinch: Ian Sadler
  Sam Perkins: Roy Pughe
  Ragg: Rupert Davies
also with Sulwen Morgan and Nan Marriott-Watson
Additional actors in parts 3,4,5:
Antoinette Cellier, Arthur Lawrence, Audrey Mendes, Cyril Shaps, Donald Bisset, Douglas Hayes, Eileen Thorndike, Glyn Dearman, Lockwood West, William Fox, Wyndham Milligan
Pt2:5/8/55 Pt3:12/8/55 Pt4:19/8/55 Pt5:26/8/55
Series originally ran from 28th September 1953 - no details given for Part 1 in 1953.
[The story has also been published as
The Challenge of Love, also as The Strong Hand]


2nd August 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: White Tiger Passage by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Bill Stacey: Douglas Hayes
  Jenny Holden: Margaret Butt
  Monsieur Renri Duchene: Bryan Powley
  Stella: Annabel Maule
  Derwent: George Hagan
  Mavis: Sarah Leigh
  Johnson: James Thomason
Repeated 19th August 1957


9th August 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: The Dead Man's Knock by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
The portrait of a beautiful lady.
Harpsichord played by Clifton Helliwell
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Doctor Marshall: John Turnbull
  Edward Kynaston: Manning Wilson
  Margery Kynaston: Elizabeth London
  Jack Lacy: Terence Brook
  The Rev Frank Richards: James Thomason
Repeated 26th August 1957
[A 1958 printed story by Carr with this title differed somewhat from this play and was part of the "Gideon Fell" series]


16th August 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: The Sleuth of Seven Dials by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Eleanor Prentice: Sarah Leigh
  George Prentice: Manning Wilson
  Bellboy / Hassan El Moulk: Geoffrey Matthews
  James Vaughan: Allan Cuthbertson
  Inspector Hammond: George Hagan
  Thompson: Edwin Ellis
  Schultz: Rudolf Offenbach


22nd August 1955
20.00-20.30
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, adapted by John Keir Cross.
1 of 6.
No details for part 1.
For Part 2:
Production by R. D. Smith
  Hawkeye: John Phillips
  Cora Munro: Nicolette Bernard
  Chingachgook: Stephen Jack
  Uncas: Manning Wilson
  Major Duncan Heyward: Howard Marion-Crawford
  Alice Munro: Betty Linton
  David Gamut: George Hagan
  Magua: Malcolm Hayes
  Sentry: Oliver Burt
Additional actors in parts 3-6:
Cyril Shaps, James Thomason, John Phillips, Olaf Pooley, Philip Cunningham, Wilfred Babbage
Pt2:29/8/55 Pt3:5/9/55 Pt4:12/9/55 Pt5:19/9/55 Pt6:26/9/55



23rd August 1955
20.00-20.48
Doctor at Sea by Richard Gordon (1921-2017), using the film soundtrack, screenplay by Nicholas Phipps and Jack Davies, adapted by Trafford Whitelock.
Produced by Trafford Whitelock.
Narrator, Dirk Bogarde
  Simon: Dirk Bogarde
  Helene: Brigitte Bardot
  Muriel: Brenda de Banzie
  Captain Hogg: James Robertson Justice
  Easter: Maurice Denham
  Trail: Michael Medwin
  Captain Beamish: Raymond Huntley
  Archer: Hubert Gregg;
  Fellowes: James Kenney
  Hornbeam: Geoffrey Keen
  Dr Thomas: Felix Felton
  Mrs Thomas: Joan Hickson
[The film running time was 93 minutes]


23rd August 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: The Villa of the Damned by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
A villa in Italy.
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Guard: Peter Claughton
  Alan Stannard: Gordon Davies
  Brenda Stannard: Marjorie Mars
  Angela Stannard: Joan Hart
  American tourist: Glen Farmer
  Pietro: Allan McClelland
  The Rev Septimus Goodlaw: Edgar Norfolk
  Bianca da Carpi: Megan Latimer
Repeated 9th September 1957


30th August 1955
20.45-21.15:
Appointment With Fear: Till the Great Armadas Come by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)
Harmonica played by Reg Darnley
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Storyteller: Valentine Dyall
  Sir Guy Worth: Edgar Norfolk
  Colonel Fielding: David King-Wood
  Trevis: Rolf Lefebvre
  Jones: Peter Claughton
  Laura Sheldon: Catherine Salkeld
  Lord Glenarvon: John Turnbull
  Charlie Siebold: Christopher Rhodes
  Captain Nichols: Peter Howell
Repeated 16th September 1955


[At this point drama on the light program reduced somewhat]


28th September 1955
21.00-22.00
Suspense: The Last Battle (1954) by Peter Henn, dramatized by Donovan Winter
Produced by Alan Burgess
  Peter Henn: Anthony Jacobs
  Sigi: Donovan Winter
  Group Commander: Campbell Copelin
  Goering: Felix Felton
  Station Commander: John Witty
  U S Pilot: Michael Collins
  N C O: Clifford Buckton
  Max: Peter Bathurst
  Herbert: Owen Fellowes
  Sergeant: Ivor Dean
  Fiancee: Mollie Lawson
  

4th October 1955
20.30-21.00
Then the Phone Rang by Alan Burgess
1 of 2
Producer: Alan Burgess.
  Mary Craven: Moira Lister
  Erik Refsdalen: James McKechnie
  Olaf: Robert Eddison
  Father: Gerik Schjelderup
  Gestapo: Heron Carvic
  Nurse: Mary Ward
Pt2:11/10/85


5th October 1955
21.00-22.00:
Suspense: Change Here for Freedom by David James (1919-1986), adapted by Felix Felton and Susan Ashman
Produced by David Thomson
  David James: Howard Marion-Crawford
  Narrator: Felix Felton
  Rodwell: Valentine Dyall
  Booking Clerk: Miriam Lehmann
  Commander Beale: Oliver Burt
  Kelleher: John Crocker
  French P O W: Gerald Onn
  Jackson: Paul Martin
  Osterman: Frederick Wendhausen
  British Consul: Cecil Bellamy
  Finnish stoker: Oreste Orloff
  Security officer: Roger Snowdon
  Swedish steward: Gerik Schjelderup
  Swedish civilian: Ivor Dean
  Sentry: Alun Owen
  German civilian: Bryan Powley
[Original book title="A Prisoner's Progress"- 1946 telling of the authors escape from Marlag POW camp.]
[David James was a British MP 1959-1964 and 1970-1979]


9th October 1955
16.30-17.30
Golden Opportunity by Joyce Corday
Produced by Norman Wright
  Marybell: Mavis Villiers
  Prince Charming: Raymond Young
  Joe: William Greene
  Cheesewright: Brian Haines
  Manak: Stuart Nichol
  Miss Bellenger: Tucker McGuire
  Master of Ceremonies.: Robert Cawdron
Also with Terence Brook, Cecile Chevreau, Annabel Maule, John Gabriel, Geoffrey Matthews, Errol MacKinnon, Philip Vickers.
[This is the only credit for Joyce Corday in BBC Genome]


12th October 1955
21.00-22.00
Suspense: We Die Alone (1954) by David Howarth (1912-1991), dramatized by C A Richardson.
Produced by Alan Burgess.
  Narrator: David Howarth
  Jan Baalsrud: Frank Duncan
  Inner Voice: Allan McClelland
  Storekeeper: Gerik Schjelderup
  Storekeeper's wife: Ella Milne
  Fru Lockertsen: Vivienne Chatterton
  Agnethe: Olive Gregg
  Marius: Garard Green
  Lockertsen: Owen Fellowes
  Einar: Ivor Dean
  Siguard: James Drake
  Per: Philip Lock
Repeated 25th March 1956 and on BBC Home 30th December 1955


19th October 1955
21.00-22.00
Suspense: The Ballycotton Lifeboat by Martin Chisholm
1936: How to rescue a drifting ship.
Produced by Alan Burgess
==no cast details given==
[ From UCD Dublin: This was recorded in the Dublin studios with an Irish cast by courtesy of Radio Eireann. Typescript held at UCD Dublin, P261/424, RTE Doc 1277, RTE Box 37/2.]


26th October 1955
20.30-22.00
Dangerous Corner by J B Priestley
Producer: Peter Watts.
  Freda Caplan: Grizelda Hervey
  An announcer: Geoffrey Hodson
  Miss Mockridge, a novelist: Catherine Nangle
  Betty Whitehouse: Denise Bryer
  Olwen Peel: Molly Rankin
  Charles Stanton, a partner: John Carol
  Gordon Whitehouse: Brian Haines
  Robert Caplan, the publisher: Valentine Dyall
[Peter Watts also produced the play in 1945 with Ian Hunter as Robert]
[Also produced by R D Smith in 1968 for R4 with David March as Robert]
[Also produced by Alfred Bradley in 1984 for R4 with Martin Jarvis as Robert - rptd on R4X in 2014]


27th October 1955
20.00-20.30
Angel Pavement by J B Priestley, dramatised by Howard Agg.
1 of 8: Enter Mr Golspie.
Produced by Martyn C Webster.
  Mr Golspie: James Hayter
  Ship's Captain/Sergeant: Ian Sadler
  Stanley Poole: Robin Ray
  Mrs Cross/Mrs Pearson: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  Turgis: Lewis Stringer
  Miss Matfleld: Barbara Lott
  Mr Smeeth: James Thomason
  Goath: George Merritt
  Mr Dersingham: Richard Williams
  Narrator: Hamilton Dyce
Additional actors in later parts:
  A waiter: Alan Reid
  Agnes: Mairhi Russell
  Edna Smeeth: Denise Bryer
  Evelyn Ansdell: Annette Kelly
  George Smeeth: Kenneth Cope
  Lena Golspie: Daphne Maddox
  Major Trape: Simon Lack
  Miss Cadnum: Belle Chrystall
  Miss Morrison: Mairhi Russell
  Miss Verever: Grizelda Hervey
  Mr Gorstein: John Gabriel
  Mr Pearson: John Gabriel
  Mr Pelumpton: Stanley Groome
  Mrs Dersingham: Avice Landone
  Mrs Pelumpton: Vivienne Chatterton
  Mrs Smeeth: Elizabeth Maude
  Mrs Trape: Gladys Spencer
  Poppy Sellars: Beryl Calder
  Secretary: Alan Reid
  Sugden: Geoffrey Hodson
Also with Janet Morrison and Joan Clement Scott
Pt2:3/11/55 Pt3:10/11/55 Pt4:17/11/55 Pt5:24/11/55 Pt6:1/12/55 Pt7: 8/12/55 Pt8:15/12/55
[Series repeated on BBC Home commencing 13/8/56]
[New prouction in two parts by Chris Wallis for R4 2013, rptd R4X 2016, with Henry Goodman as Golspie.]


2nd November 1955
20.30-22.00
I Have Been Here Before by J B Priestley.
--No production information given on BBC Genome--
[Martyn C Webster produced the play in 1952 for BBC Home with Belle Chrystall as Sally]
[Alfred Bradley produced the play in 1984 for R4 with Lesley Nicol as Sally - rptd R4X 2014-2020]


9th November 1955
20.30-22.00
When we are Married by J B Priestley adapted by James R Gregson.
Producer: Vivian A Daniels.
  Ruby Birtle: Patricia Ware
  Gerald Forbes: Denis Goacher
  Mrs. Northrop: Marion Dawson
  Nancy Holmes: Joyce Adcock
  Dyson: Martin Starkie
  Henry Ormonroyd: Frank Pettingell
  Alderman Helliwell: Fred Fairclough
  Maria Helliwell: Violet Carson
  Councillor Parker: Ernest Hawtin
  Annie Parker: Mildred Dyson
  Herbert Soppitt: Jack Howarth
  Clara Soppitt: Valerie Skardon
  Lottie Grady: Belle Chrystall
  The Rev. Clement Mercer: Christopher Hodge
[There was a production by John Richmond in 1946 with Barbara Lott as Ruby, also a 1948 production by James R Gregson with Jane Tann as Ruby.]
[Also produced by Vivian A Daniels in 1965 for BBC Home with June Barry as Ruby.]
[Also produced by Alfred Bradley in 1981, rptd 1983, for R4 with Angela Curram as Ruby]
[Also produced by Matthew Walters in 1994, rptd 1995 for R4 with Cathryn Bradshaw as Ruby, also with Alan Bennett and Brenda Blethyn, repeated R7 and R4X 2004-2018]


16th November 1955
20.30-22.00
An Inspector Calls (1945) by J B Priestley (1894-1984)
There has been a suicide.
==No production data given on BBC Genome.==
[Identified productions: year/producer/network/actor playing Arthur:
1953/Cynthia Pughe/Light/Frank Pettingell
1960/Geoffrey Ost-Alfred Bradley/Home/George Waring
1963 rptd 1964/Sunday Wilshin/Home/Will Leighton (shortened play)
1979 rptd 1984, 1990/Alfred Bradley/4/Ronald Baddiley
1998 rptd R7 2004-9/Rosalyn Ward/World/John Woodvine]


23rd November 1955
20.30-22.00
The Linden Tree (1947) by J B Priestley (1894-1984)
===no production details on BBC Genome===
[Also produced by Martyn C Webster for BBC Home in 1950 with Barry Morse as Rex]
[Also produced by Peter Watts for BBC Home in 1959 with Simon Lack as Rex]
[Also produced by Kay Patrick for R4 in 1977 rptd 1979, with Christopher Godwin as Rex, rptd 2017-2022 on R4X]


30th November 1955
20.30-22.00
The Golden Entry (1955) J B Priestley (1894-1984)
===no production details on BBC Genome===
No other radio broadcast of this play found.
[Also made into a tv play by UK Commercial tv in 1956]


6th December 1955
20.30-21.00
Adventure Glorious by Ronald Healiss.
Produced by Alan Burgess.
The story ends in June 1940.
  Ronald Healiss: Noel Johnson
  Beckett: Geoffrey Matthews
  Surgeon Commander: Russell Napier
  Ginger: Preston Lockwood
  Lt-Cdr Hill: Richard Williams
  Girl: Elaine MacNamara
  Nobby: Antony Baird
  Bill: Philip Locke
  Taff: Douglas Blackwell
  Sam: Ronald Sidney
  Singer: Jean Campbell


7th December 1955
21.00-21.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Photograph That Was Not by Julian Symons (1912-1994), adapted by Lance Sieveking
Produced by David H. Godfrey
  Mrs Clayton: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
  Lily Clayton: Cecile Chevreau
  Mr Bannerjee: James Thomason
  Inspector: Gordon Davies
  Francis Quarles: Richard Williams
  Burman: Edwin Ellis
[Related radio plays with the character Francis Quarles, on BBC Home:
30/1/56 No Deception
21/4/56 The Case Of The Eccentric Book Collector
30/1/59 The Claimants
8/8/62 The Days of September-rptd 4/6/63]


13th December 1955
20.30-21.00
Path to Treason by Theo Lang.
Produced by Alan Burgess.
  Jessie Jordan: Patricia Roc
  Karl: David Peel
  Marga: Irene Prador
  Mary: Dorothy Smith
  Admiral Canarls: John G Heller
  M I 5: Noel Dryden
  Ostges: Heron Carvic
  Judge: Martin Lewis
  Colonel: Philip Cunningham
  Housemaid: Yvonne Hills
  John: Willoughby Gray


14th December 1955
21.00-21.45
Not in the Book by Ian Stuart Black (1915-1997)
with Leslie Phillips and Geraldine McEwan.
==no other information on BBC Genome==
[Not related to the better known 1958 play of this title by Arthur Watkyn]


20th December 1955
21.00-22.00
Cinderella by Roy Plomley (1914-1985)
Music by Eric Coates and Ernest Tomlinson
Lyrics by Henrik Ege
BBC Chorus- chorusmaster Leslie Woodgate
BBC Concert Orchestra- leader John Sharpe, Conductor Charles Mackerras
Producer: Michael North
  Fairy Crystal: Beth Boyd
  Prince Charming: Donald Scott
  Dandini: Peter Hoar
  Cinderella: Lizbeth Webb
  Lottie: Doris Nichols
  Minnie: Marjorie Mars
  Buttons: Marten Tiffen
  Baron Hardup: Brewster Mason
  Humphrey Livernoll: Charles Mason
  Town Crier (and other parts): Stanley MacKenzie


21st December 1955
21.00-22.00
The Last Frontier (1941) by Howard Fast (1914-2003)
Incidental music arranged and conducted by Alfred Ralston.
Produced by Charles Chilton
Oklahoma
  Narrator: Andrew Faulds
  John Miles, Indian Agent: MacDonald Parke
  Little Wolf, Chief of Cheyennes: John Cazabon
  Carl Schulz: Alan Tilvern
  Jack, of the New York Herald: Roy Plomley
  Bat Masterson: MacDonald Parke
  Pop Filway, old Indian fighter: Charles Irwin
  Captain Charles Murray: Guy Kingsley Poynter
  Captain Wint: Paul Carpenter
  Sergeant Kelly: Pat Campbell
  Captain Johnson: Alan Tilvern
  Lieutenant Allen: David Jacobs
  Captain Wessels: Alan Keith
[May have been a repeat of a program from 8th June 1955 - inadequate information to positively identify]

===end====

Compiled by Stephen Shaw November 2023




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