Radio Plays, 1960
Any Other Business....1960
By George Ross & Campbell Singer,
adapted for radio by David Tanner;
with Judy Parfitt, Brian Kent, William Avenall, David Crosse, Ronald Magill and Ross Hutchinson.
85 minutes.
Broadcast on the Home Service, 24 December 1960, (repeated 30 September 1961 and 3 August 1964.
A well-informed hostile takeover leads the targeted board of directors to suspect treachery.
THE LITTLE FARM....1960
Short tale by H.E.Bates, dramatised (unknown writer). Begins happily enough but turns very sour. 10 Dec 60. 45m.
THE CUPPA....1960
19 Nov 60; Home Service. By Aileen Burke and Leone Stewart. 30m. Curious play about a tea shop which only opens for an hour each day, early in the morning. No casting details.
MAN WITH A FLAT NOSE....1960
By Brinley Jenkins. Home Service, 30m. 9 Nov 60. Light comedy drama set in Wales, about a boxing tournament. No casting details.
THE END OF THE TRACK....1960
4 Jun 1960. By Andrew Garve; dramatised by Anthony Aspinall. Excellent thriller in which a man is blackmailed. 90m. Tony Britton, Isabelle Dean, Malcolm Butterworth, Laine McNamara, Jennifer Tafler, Rolf Lefebvre, Wilfrid Babbage, George Hagan. Other parts by Bill Horsley and John Brining. Production by Archie Campbell.
ALIBI FOR A JUDGE....1960
Full-length drama by Henry Cecil, Home Service, 9.15pm. With Ernest Milton, June Tobin, Trevor Martin, Mary O'Farrell. Cecil wrote many short stories and plays based on his experiences at the bench. "Brothers in Law" ( a long-running radio comedy series about odd legal cases) was based on his tales.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER....1960
9 Jan 1960, Home Service. Saturday Night Theatre. From the stage play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, written in 1939.
The play is set in a small town in America. The loudmouthed radio wit Sheridan Whiteside is invited to dine at the house of a rich factory owner. On his way to the house, he falls, and injures his hip. So he's stuck there, an unwelcome and ungrateful guest.
Sheridan is based on Alexander Woolcott, a friend of the authors. Kaufman and Hart had promised to write a part for Woollcott but had been unable to find a plot that suited them until one day Woollcott showed up, unexpectedly at Hart's house, and proceeded to take it over. He slept in the master bedroom, terrorized the staff staff, and generally acted unspeakably. On his way out he wrote in Hart's guest book, "This is to certify that I had one of the most unpleasant times I ever spent." Hart related the story to Kaufman soon afterwards. As they were both laughing about it, Hart remarked that he was lucky that Woollcott hadn't broken his leg and become stuck there. Kaufman looked at Hart and the idea was born.
The printed edition of the play starts with the inscription "To Alexander Woollcott, for reasons that are nobody's business."
The character 'Banjo' is presumably based on Harpo Marx. In the BBC production, broadcast on the Home Service, the leads were taken by Robert Morley and Coral Brown. Adapted for radio by Hugh Stewart.
ON RETIREMENT....1960
By Rex Batten. Wednesday Matinee Home Service 13 Jul 60; 1500 hrs WS.
THE PETRIFIED FOREST....1960
By Robert E Sherwood, 26 Sep 1960. Monday play. The action takes place entirely in a service station in the desert in Eastern Arizona.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
