The Blue Lamp
by Ted Willis / Jan Read
Ted Willis and Jan Read - The Blue Lamp
BBC Home Service
Broadcast Monday 24th December 1962 @ 8:30 p.m.
"The Blue Lamp" revolves around the confrontation of two worlds, two models of society: the stable and steady community of ordinary
people, the stuff of the nation, and the hysterical and anti-social outsiders, who threaten to destroy the community, and whose threat must
therefore be contained.
In this particular case, the nation is embodied in the community of a local police station and its wider social network, which itself finds its most
sublime expression in the domestic family life of one of the policemen, P.C. Dixon. Stability is established through the mundane routines of
police work, and their communal social activities when off duty, the individual thoroughly subsumed into the collective. The threat comes from
Tom Riley, his girlfriend, Diana, and 'Spud' Murphy, his partner in crime. They are typical of a new post-war phenomenon: immature,
improperly socialised juvenile delinquents, extreme cases shunned by the rest of society, even by "professional criminals".
The year is 1952 as "The Blue Lamp" follows the daily activities of two London bobbies, veteran George Dixon and rookie Andy Mitchell.
Meanwhile, young hoods Tom and 'Spud' plan a series of robberies with Tom's girl Diana, a discontented beauty, as inside worker. But in their
second crime, someone is shot, setting off a citywide manhunt. The killer is clever, but will he outsmart himself?
Adapted for radio by Jan Read, 'The Blue Lamp' by Ted Willis and Jan Read was based on their original treatment for the Ealing Studios film
of the same name, released in 1950. 'The Blue Lamp' introduced the character of Constable Dixon, a character who was resurrected in 1953
for 'Dixon of Dock Green' on television. The series became a British institution and ran for 22 years and 430 episodes.
Cast:
Deryck Guyler ................................................................ P.C. George Dixon
Trevor Martin .................................................................. Divisional Detective Chief Inspector Cherry
Ian McShane .................................................................. Tom Riley, a Small-Time Crook
Barbara Mitchell ............................................................. Mrs. Emily Jordan, Sid's Wife
Malcolm Hayes .............................................................. Sid Jordan, a Jewellery Shop Owner
Frank Partington ............................................................. 'Spud' Murphy, a Small-Time Crook
Mary O'Farrell ................................................................. Nancy, a Drunk
Geoffrey Matthews .......................................................... Young PC Andrew Crawford
Joan Hart ....................................................................... Police Sergeant Grace Millard
Hilda Kriseman ............................................................... Mrs. Lewis, Mother of Diana
Patricia Bendall .............................................................. Mary Dixon, George's Daughter
Vivienne Chatterton ......................................................... Mrs. Nidos, a Greek Woman Complaining to Station Sergeant about being Assaulted by Son
Jo Manning Wilson ......................................................... Diana Lewis, Tom's Girlfriend
Michael Spice ................................................................ Police Sergeant Bill Green
John Pullen .................................................................... Sonny Walters, a Small-Time 'Established' Crook
Janet Burnell .................................................................. Tom Riley's Mum
Haydn Jones .................................................................. Mr. Wildberg, a Shop Dealer - Sold Gun to Alf, Diana's Father
John Hagan ................................................................... Sergeant Flint
Peter Pratt .................................................................... Comedian on Stage
Other parts played by members of the BBC Drama Repertory Company
Produced by David H. Godfrey.
Re-broadcast at an unknown later date on 'The Sunday Play'.
90min.
Jim
