Light Programme, Drama, 1956
Listing compiled by Stephen Shaw, March 2024 (....many thanks - ND)
Drama on the BBC Light Programme in 1956
(The Light Programme ran from 1945 to 1967)
2nd January 1956
16.30-18.00
A Question of Fact by Wynyard Browne
Produced by Peter Watts
Nannie: Ella Milne
Nina Trafford: Molly Rankin
Rachel Gardiner: Joan Hart
Paul Gardiner: Patrick Barr
Charles Trafford: Edgar Norfolk
Arthur Lamb: Richard Williams
Grace Smith: Angela Baddeley
Repeated from BBC Home 1954 (2nd October, 11th November]
[Also produced by Martin Jenkins for R4 in 1970 with Margot Boyd as Nannie]
4th January 1956
20.30-21.45
Seagulls over Sorrento (1949) by Hugh Hastings (1917-2004)
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
Able Seaman Sims (Sprog): Shaun O'Riordan
Able Seaman Badger: Peter Cushing
Able Seaman Mclntosh (Haggis): Gordon Jackson
Able Seaman Turner (Lofty): Deryck Guyler
Petty Officer Herbert: Russell Napier
Lieut-Commander Redmond,R.N: Denis Goacher ,
Able Seaman Hudson (Radar): Simon Lack
A Telegraphist (Sparks): Malcolm Hayes
Sub-Lieut Granger, R N: Charles Hodgson
[Hugh Hastings served in the RN during WW2]
9th January 1956
16.30-18.00
A Shilling for Candles (1936) by Josephine Tey (1896-1952)
Adapted by Rex Rienits
Produced By: Charles Lefeaux
Sergeant Lillis: Ian Sadler
Constable: Derek Birch
Bill Potticary/ Mr Erskine: Cyril Shaps
Robin Tisdall: Owen Holder
Mrs Pitts: Elsa Palmer
Jay Harmer: Guy Kingsley Poynter
Sir George Burgoyne: James Dale
Det-Inspector Grant: Gordon Davies
Sergeant Williams: Patrick Troughton
Erica Burgoyne: Patricia McCarron
Morgan: Hamilton Dyce
Marta Hallard: Frances Rowe
Lydia Keats: Mary Wimbush
Clement Clements: Brian Hayes
Captain George Mostyn/ Brother Stephen: Arthur Lawrence
Judy Sellers: Eleanor Summerfield
Lord Edward Champneis: Godfrey Kenton
Prior: Derek Birch
Police Inspector: T St John Barry
Mr Toselli: Ian Sadler
Owen Hughes: Alan Reid
[Repeated from BBC Home 9th and 14th January 1954]
[Other productions: Year/ Producer/ Network / Actor playing Lillis:
1963 Audrey Cameron, Home, John Baddeley.
1969 rpts 1972, Betty Davies R4, Nigel Anthony
1998 Tabitha Potts, R4, none.]
[Inspector Grant also appeared in "The Daughter of Time", R4 25/12/1982]
16th January 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee 'A Knight On Wheels'(1914) by Ian Hay (John Hay Beith, 1876-1952), adapted by Stafford Byrne
Production by Martyn C. Webster
Colonel Joseph Meldrum: John Gabriel
Philip Meldrum: Geoffrey Matthews
James Nimmo: Duncan McIntyre
Peggy Falconer: Marjorie Westbury
Lady Broadhurst: Catherine Salkeld
Montague Falconer: Richard Williams
Mrs Falconer: Joan Hart
Julius Mablethorpe: Ivan Samson
Sylvia Mablethorpe: Annabel Maule
Miss Jennings: Barbara Lott
Alfred: Kenneth Cope
Bob Brand: Hugh David
Timothy Rendle: Denis Goacher
Rose: Jill Nyasa
Jean Leslie: Janet Burnell
Mrs Grice: Courtney Hope
Repeated from BBC Home 18th December 1954 and 3rd February 1955.
17th January 1956
20.30-21.00
'The Man who Murdered his Wife' by Alan Burgess
Producer: Alan Burgess
George Dunnock: Kieron Moore
Betty Dunnock: Barbara White
Detective: Preston Lockwood
Conscience: Denis McCarthy
Mrs Moody: Bettina Dickson
Mother: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Corporal: Edward Judd
Constable: Kenneth Cope
18th January 1956
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Life with Father by anon
with Ralph Truman (1900-1977)
No other information on BBC Genome.
The 1957 BBC Year Book lists this broadcast as the 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse - the play was based upon the 1935 compilation of tales by Clarence Day.
23rd January 1956
Monday Matinee: A Street in Soho by Simon Kent (aka Max Catto aka Mark Finkell 1907-1992), adapted by C E Webber.
Producer: Audrey Cameron* (see note below).
Mrs Myers, the storyteller: Elsa Palmer
Doc Saunders: Deryck Guyler
Mary: Ella Milne
Ed Griffiths: Roddy Hughes
Alex: Cyril Shaps
Johnnie Paterson: Roger Snowdon
Ma Paterson: Eileen Thorndike
Danny Paterson: Bunny May
Puccini: Ian Sadler
Mickey Ryan: George Hagan
Sammy: Peter Claughton
Janey Baxter: Elizabeth Digby-Smith
Anna: Sulwen Morgan
Lew Lambert: Alan Reid
Det-Insp Evans: Malcolm Graeme
[* The BBC Programme Database indicates the play was also produced by David H Godfrey in 1954 with exactly the same cast. This may be in error.]
[Story from Simon Kent's book "For the love of Doc" (1951)].
25th January 1956
20.30-20.50
Curtain Up! :- The Proposal by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) .
with Barbara Couper (1903-1992).
No further details in BBC Programme Index
[Also produced in 1986, rptd 1990, by Clive Brill for R3 with Marcella Riordan]
[Also rewritten as "For better not worse" and produced by John Tydeman in 1970 for R3]
[Original title: Predlozheniye]
25th January 1956
20.50-22.00:
Curtain Up! :- The Sulky Fire by Jean-Jacques Bernard (1888-1972)
with Barbara Couper.
No further details in BBC Programme Index
[Also produced by Terence Tiller in 1965 for BBC Home, with Mary Wimbush]
30th January 1956
16.30:
Monday Matinee: Bella Donna (1909), by Robert Hichens (1864-1950) (book), adapted by James Bernard Fagan (1873-1933) (play - 1911), adapted by Howieson Culff (1899-1983)(radio)
Produced by Archie Campbell
Dr Meyer Isaacson: Howieson Culff
Mrs Isaacson, his mother: Eileen Thorndike
Henry: Geoffrey Bond
Ruby Chepstow: Sonia Dresdel
Nigel Armine: Richard Hurndall
Marie Ruby's maid: Pamela Stirling
Ibrahim Nigel's servant: Cyril Shaps
Mahmoud Baroudi: Anthony Jacobs
Starnforth: James Raglan
Hamzah, Baroudi's servant: Aleksander Browne
Mr Baring Hartley: Roger Delgado
Repeated from BBC Home 8th and 13th August 1953.
1st February 1956.
20.30-21.45
Curtain Up! :- Heroes Don't Care.
with Felix Aylmer (1889-1979).
No other details in the BBC Programme database.
[Felix Aylmer appeared on stage in a play with this name in 1936, written by Margot Neville]
[A play with this title, written by Margot Neville, was produced for BBC Home in 1954 by Martyn C Webster- Felix Aylmer was NOT in it.]
6th February 1956
16.30-18.00
Potash And Perlmutter by Montague Glass (1877-1934) adapted by Charles Klein, further adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh.
Broadway, New York.
Produced by R. D. Smith
Expressman: Harry Landis
Miss Cohen: Marion Mathie
Boris Andrieff: Phil Brown
Abe Potash: David Kossoff
Mawruss Perlmutter: John Slater
Henry D Feldman: John Gabriel
Ruth Snyder: Mavis Villiers
Mark Pasinsky: Alan Tilvern
Miss O'Brien: Eveline Garratt
Irma Potash: Stella Richman
Deputy Marshal Ferguson: Rupert Davies
Deputy Marshal Farrell: Harold Ayer
Mrs Potash: Helen Misener
Book Agent: Jeffrey Segal
Henry Steurman: Cyril Shaps
Senator: Malcolm Hayes
Repeated from BBC Home 11th June 1955
Repeated 30th April 1956
[Charles Klein is credited as working with Montague Glass on a 1913 stage adaption of the stories]
[Montague Glass was UK-Manchester born and his family worked in the cotton trade. The family moved to New York.]
[The lead characters of the play appeared in three collections of short stories.]
[The first BBC Radio adaption was in 1928]
8th February 1956
20.30-21.50
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[That is all that the BBC Programme Database contains, it is assumed from the length that it was a drama production of the story by Robert Louis Stevenson. No repeats can be found. Possibly a first broadcast of the "1960" production.]
[Several BBC radio productions: year/producer/actor playing Jekyll:
1930/Peter Creswell/-
1944/Hugh Stewart/- (in 5 parts)
1954/Harry Towers/- (only a 30 minute play first broadcast by NBC)
1960/Raymond Raikes/Cyril Shaps (rptd 1966)(Running time 80 mins)
1978/Stanley Williamson/-
1985/Glyn Dearman/Michael Aldridge (rptd R4X 2012-2022)
1993/Patrick Rayner/Alexander Morton (rptd 1994)]
13th February 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: Late Love (1953) by Rosemary Casey (1904-1976) adapted by Cynthia Pughe.
She was just painting his portrait.
Producer: Wilfrid Grantham.
Billy Gordon: Maurice Denham
Matthew Anderson: Peter Claughton
Sarah: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Graham Colby: Mark Dignam
Janet Colby: Beth Boyd
Mrs Colby: Gladys Young
Constance Warburton: Betty Baskcomb
Repeated from 1st January 1955
19th February 1956
17.30-18.00
Death by Drowning by Agatha Christie, adapted by Anthony Aspinall
Produced by H. B. Fortuin
Sir Henry Clithering: Milton Rosmer
Col Robert Bantry: Anthony Woodruff
Maid: Elizabeth Havelock
Miss Marple: Betty Hardy
Det Insp Drewitt: Brewster Mason
Tom Emmott: Geoffrey Matthews
Raymond Sandford: Charles Hodgson
Mrs Bartlett: Molly Rankin
Joe Ellis: Brian Haines
Jimmy Brown: John Bull
Repeated 10th April 1957
20th February 1956
16.30-18.00:
Monday Matinee: Colonel Chabert (1832) by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) adapted by C. E. Webber
Paris 1817. A soldier presumed dead returns after some years.
Produced by David H. Godfrey
Jules Ferraud: Ysanne Churchman
Madeleine Ferraud: Sulwen Morgan
Rose Ferraud: Lydia Sherwood
Monsieur Delbecq: Lewis Stringer
Godeschal: Alan Reid
Simonnin: Jimmy Rossell-Evans
Colonel Chabert: Martin Lewis
Madame Vergniaud: Esme Lewis
Vergniaud: Sidney Monckton
Georges Vergniaud: Jill Nyasa
Henri Vergniaud: Wilfrid Downing
Maitre Derville: Hugh Falkus
Magistrate: John Turnbull
Clerk of the Court: Reginald Thorne
Repeated from BBC Home 7th and 12th November 1953.
[David H Godfrey also produced the play in 1952 for BBC Home, with Grizelda Hervey as Rose, Franklyn Bellamy As Vergniaud]
22nd February 1956
20.30-22.00
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976), dramatised by Lance Sieveking.
Producer: David H Godfrey
John Cavendish: Norman Claridge
Arthur Hastings: Gordon Davies
Evelyn Howard: Beatrice Gilbert
Mary Cavendish: Marjorie Mars
Dorcas: Elsa Palmer
Mrs Inglethorp: Courtney Hope
Alfred Inglethorp: Carl Bernard
Cynthia Murdoch: Annette Kelly
Hercule Poirot: Austin Trevor
Lawrence Cavendish: John Glen
Dr Wilkins: George Merritt
Manning: Stephen Jack
Mr Wells: Charles Spencer
Mace: Charles Hodgson
Det-Insp Japp: Manning Wilson
Supt Summerhaye: Owen Berry
Mr Philips: Brian Haines
Sir Ernest Heavywether: Jeffrey Segal
[Also produced in 5 parts by Enyd Williams in 2005 for R4, rptd R4X 2014-2022]
[The first mystery with Poirot- Christie received a flat 25 pounds from the publisher.]
26th February 1956
17.30-18.00
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook (1923) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976), adapted by Anthony Aspinall.
Produced by Archie Campbell.
Arthur Hastings: Peter Neil
Hercule Poirot: Kenneth Kent
Mrs Todd: Beatrice Varley
Annie: Olive Kirby
Mr Todd: James Thomason
Mr Simpson: Hugh Dickson
Eliza Dunn: Molly Lumley
Inspector: Hamilton Dyce
[The only radio dramatisation of this tale].
[First UK publication of the story in a book was in 1974]
[Animated in Japanese in 2004 as two episodes of 25 minutes - youtube ref CtrtrEgOgDI - in the series "Agasa Kurisuti no Meitantei Powaro to Mapuru" with a pet duck, Oliver...]
27th February 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: Queen in Danger (1952) by Simon Rattray, adapted by Elleston Trevor (Trevor Dudley-Smith 1920-1995).
Produced by Norman Wright.
Hugo Bishop: Robert Eddison
Gorry: Noel Hood
Maurice Jerrold: Godfrey Kenton
Thelma: Mary Wimbush
Marjorie: Monica Grey
Victor Tasman: Ian Lubbock
Det Insp Frisney: Wensley Pithey
Mervyn Speight: Brian Haines
Rex Willison: Arthur Lawrence
A woman: Eileen Thorndike
Mrs Martin: Elizabeth Gray
A dealer: Brian Hayes
Repeated from 9th November 1953
[Simon Rattray is the same person as Elleston Trevor- he used at least nine different names. This title was also published in book form as written by Adam Hall. Same person, same book.]
[The character Hugo Bishop appears in other radio plays:
1952- "Knight Sinister"
1953- "Dead Silence" in 8 parts
1955- "Dead Circuit" in 8 parts
1955- "Man Trap" ]
29th February 1956
20.30-22.00
The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (1890-1976) dramatised by John Keir Cross.
Produced by Martyn C Webster
Poirot: John Gabriel
Captain Hastings: Richard Williams
Inspector Crome: Allan McClelland
Inspector Glen: Arthur Ridley
Mary Drower: Denise Bryer
Megan Barnard: Sulwen Morgan
Donald Fraser: Simon Lack
Franklin Clarke: Ivan Samson
Thora Grey: Annette Kelly
Alexander Bonaparte Cust: Jeffrey Segal
A holiday maker: James Thomason
Police doctor: Geoffrey Hodson
[Also produced by Enyd Williams for R4 with John Moffatt as Poirot, in 2000, repeated BBC7 and R4X 2006-2021]
4th March 1956
17.30-18.00
The Case of the Kidnapped Dog by Agatha Christie (1890-1976) adapted by Anthony Llewellyn.
Producer: Norman Wright.
with Cyril Shaps and Barbara Everest.
No other details on BBC Programme Database.
No other radio broadcast of this play title found.
[No story by Christie is known with this title. This play could be based upon "The Nemean Lion" (1939) which was printed in the USA as "The Case of the Kidnapped Pekinese"]
5th March 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: The Feast (1949) by Margaret Kennedy (1896-1967) adapted by Giles Cooper.
Producer: E J King Bull
Rev Gerald Seddon: Allan Jeayes
Rev Samuel Bott: Michael Gwynn
Mrs Siddal: Lucille Lisle
Gerry Siddal: Brian Wilde
Duff Siddal: David Enders
Nancibel: Eleanor Summerfield
Dick Siddal: Michael Hordern
Mr Paley: John Cazabon
Mrs Paley: Joan Hart
Miss Ellis: Ella Milne
Evangeline Wraxton: Jeanette Tregarthen
Canon Wraxton: Laidman Browne
Lady Gifford: Patricia Hilliard
Sir Henry Gifford: Cecil Winter
Dining-car attendan: Frank Tickle
Luke Gifford: Gabrielle Blunt
Hebe Gifford: Dorothy Gordon
Caroline Gifford: Viola Merrett
Blanche Cove: Rosamund Greenwood
Mrs Cove: Betty Hardy
Beatrix Cove: Ysanne Churchman
Anna Lechene: Grizelda Hervey
Bruce: David Pee
Repeated from BBC Home 17th and 22nd January 1953.
7th March 1956
20.30-22.00
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976). dramatized by Leslie Harcourt.
Producer: Anon
Amy Lentheran: Mollie Rankin
Dr Reilly: Tony Quinn
Dr Leidner: Manning Wilson
Sheila Reilly: ???? Wilson
Louise Leidner: Pamela Alan
Anne Johnson: Ella Milne
Father Lavigny: Neville Hartley
Richard Carey: Michael Turner
David Emmot: Ronald Wilson
Bill Coleman: Charles Hodgson
Captain Maitland: Eric Anderson
Hercule Poirot: Jacques Brunius
[Also produced in 5 parts in 1994 on R4, producer Enyd Williams, with John Moffatt and Dorothgy Tutin, repeated many times on R7/R4X.]
11th March 1956
17.30-18.00
Butter in a Lordly Dish (1948) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976)
Produced by Martyn C Webster
Florrie: Beryl Calder
Mrs Petter: Elisabeth Maude
Julia Keene: Cecile Chevreau
Hayward: Janet Morrison
Susan Warren: Barbara Lott
Sir Luke Enderby, K C: Richard Williams
Lady Enderby (Marion): Molly Rankin
A railway porter: Michael Turner
[Martyn Webster produced an earlier version in 1948 for BBC Light and Home, with Lydia Sherwood as Lady Enderby]
[This is not an adaption it was written for radio]
[Your scribe has strong memories of listening to this play in 1956.]
12th March 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: The Laughing Widow by Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960)
1920's Dartmoor.
Producer: Hugh Stewart?? (possibly not)
Matthew Greenwood: Hedley Goodall
Ivy Greenwood: Betty Hardy
Jane Garland: Angela Baddeley
Job Merryweather: Geoffrey Matthews
John Westcott: Wilfred Babbage
[In the 1956 Radio Times listing, it was indicated this was a recording from 6th and 11th March 1954- however the listing for those dates indicates differing actors in the last two roles: Job Merryweather:
Charles Wreford (who died in 1956) and John Westcott: Geoffrey Matthews. The 1956 listing did not list a producer.]
14th March 1956:
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up!: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), dramatised by Constance Cox.
Pianist: Stewart Nash
Producer: Martyn C Webster
Lord Henry Wotton: Anthony Jacobs
Basil Hallward: Denis Goacher
Lady Gwendolin Wotton: Mary Wimbush
Dorian Gray: David Peel
Lady Narhorough: Barbara Couper
Alan Campbell: Rolf Lefebvre
Adrian Singleton: Noel Davis
Mr Isaacs: Jeffrey Segal
James Vane: Michael Turner
Mrs Vane: Elizabeth Maude
Sibyl Vane: Beryl Calder
Helen Hallward: Beth Boyd
18th March 1956
16.00-17.00
The Disagreeable Man, adapted by C E Webber (1909-1969), from "Ways and Means (1952)" by Henry Cecil (1902-1976).
Producer: Martyn C Webster.
[No cast details given for 1956: cast from 1953 listing:]
Basil Meridew: Malcolm Graeme
Nicholas Drewe: Derek Hart
The Rev Maitland Temperley: James Thomason
Mrs Temperley: Sarah Leigh
Major-General Sir Bragge Purbrick: Hamilton Dyce
Isabel Stroud: Isabel Dean
His Honour Judge Strachan: Allan Jeayes
Dr Sainsbury: Alan Reid
The old man: Kenneth Connor
Mrs Thwaites: Sophie Ellis
Mr Buckram: Tony Quinn
Mrs Gaspard: Courtney Hope
Set Larch: Richard Waring
Adam Twigg QC: Geoffrey Wincott
Repeated from 4th October 1953, repeated 25/7/54
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1960 rptd 1961, for Home with Valentine Dyall as Basil.]
[There was another production by Martyn C Webster in 1967, rptd 1972, on Light and Home, with Norman Shelley as Basil and David Spenser as Nicholas.]
[There was also a televised version 28/10/1953]
19th March 1956
16.30-18.00
The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene. Adapted by Charles Hatton from the film screenplay.
Produced by Archie Campbell
Embassy Secretary: Peter Carr Forster
Baines, the butler: Mervyn Johns
Felipe, the Ambassador's son: Richard Brooke
Ambassador: Hugo Schuster
Mrs. Baines: Sonia Dresdel
Mrs. Barrow: Eileen Thorndike
Mrs. Patterson: Nancy Nevinson
Harry, the porter: Edward Lexy
Julie: Cecile Chevreau
First Policeman: Wyndham Milligan
Second Policeman: Douglas Hayes
Sergeant: Frank Tickle
Rose: Audrey Mendes
Dr. Feniton: Noel Hift
Detective-Inspector Ames: Alan Reid
Inspector Hart: John Cazabon
Chief Inspector Crowe: Russell Napier
Davis, a police photographer: Terence Soall
Repeated from 11th April 1953.
[Also produced in 1968, rptd 1975 by Ronald Mason with Richard Pasco as Baines.]
21st March 1956
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! :- Viceroy Sarah (1935) by Norman Ginsbury (1902-1991)
England, 1704.
Producer: Anon
Abigail Hill: Peggy Thorpe-Bates
Mrs Danvers: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Queen Anne: Barbara Everest
Prince George of Denmark: Olaf Pooley
Footman: George Hagan
Duchess of Marlborough: Coral Browne
Lord Godolphin: Arthur Ridley
Robert Harley: Manning Wilson
Colonel Parke: T St John Barry
Lady Monthermer: Beth Boyd
Lady Rialton: Dorit Welles
Duke of Marlborough: Godfrey Kenton
Captain Vanbrugh: Richard Hurndall
[Barbara Everest played Queen Anne in the original 1935 stage presentation]
8th April 1956
18.00-19.00
The Small Miracle (1951) by Paul Gallico (1897-1976) dramatised by R J B Sellar.
Producer: Hugh Stewart.
Father Damico: James Hayter
Pepino: Michael Walker
Dr Bartoli: Wyndham Milligan
Giani: Douglas Hankin
Friar Bernard: Michael Logan
The Bishop: Martin Lewis
A Monk: Arthur Ridley
The Lay Supervisor: Malcolm Hayes
A lorry driver: Rolf Lefebvre
A flower seller: Elma Verity
A Swiss Guard: Christopher Rhodes
Monsignor: William Fox
[Also produced by Hugh Stewart in 1953 rptd 1954, for BBC Home with Wilfred Hyde White as Damico]
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1961 for BBC Home, rptd 1964, with Willoughby Goddard as Damico]
[One film version was called Never take no for an answer]
9th April 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: A Day by the Sea by N C Hunter, adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh
Producer: Val Gielgid
Julian Anson: Robert Eddison
Laura Anson: Gladys Young
Frances Farrar: Gwen Cherrell
Miss Mathieson: Belle Chrystall
David Anson: Martin Lewis
Doctor Farley: Brewster Mason
William Gregson: Ronald Sidney
Humphrey Caldwell: Patrick Waddington
Elinor Eddison: Penny Morell
Toby Eddison: Gabrielle Blunt
Repeated from BBC Home 2rd and 8th December 1955.
[Also produced in 1991 (rptd R4X 2023) for R4 by Graham Gauld with Richard Pasco as Julian.]
11th April 1956
20.00-20.30
Paul Temple And The Lawrence Affair by Francis Durbridge (1912-1998)
1 of 8 "The Little Things"
Production By: Martyn C. Webster
Paul Temple: Peter Coke
Steve: Marjorie Westbury
Mary Gardner: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Freeman: Allan McClelland
Bob Gardner: Leonard Trolley
Detective-Inspector Ivor: Manning Wilson
Charlie: James Beattie
Sir Graham Forbes: Lester Mudditt
Brian Dexter: Simon Lack
Johnny Teako: Brian Haines
Linda Teako: Belle Chrystal
Additional actors in parts 2-8:
Annette Kelly, Arthur Ridley, Brewster Mason, Denis Goacher, Geoffrey Hodson, George Merritt, John Gabriel, Marjorie Mars, Molly Rankin, Richard Williams
Pt2:18/4/56 Pt3:25/4/56 Pt4:2/5/56 Pt5:9/5/56 Pt6:16/5/56 Pt7:23/5/56 Pt8:30/5/56
Series repeated commencing 29th April 1956
[Also repeated BBC7/R4X 2009-2021]
15th April 1956
18.00-19.00
Elephants to Ride Upon by Mabel (1880-1957) and Denis (1910-1978) Constanduros
Production by Audrey Cameron
Dad, proprietor of Bobbo's Circus: Norman Shelley
Mum: Doris Hare
Pet, their younger daughter: Marjorie Westbury
Ivy, their elder daughter: Betty Linton
Sid Mum's brother: Ronald Sidney
Chloe Fox, his ex-wife: Belle Chrystall
Jimmy Forester: Charles Hodgson
Mr Forester, his father: Deryck Guyler
Piccolino, a rival circus proprietor: John Paul
[Denis was the nephew of Mabel- authors]
16th April 1956
16.30-18.00
Monday Matinee: Someone Waiting (1953) by Emlyn Williams (1905-1987), adapted by Peggy Wells.
Producer: David H Godfrey
John Nedlow: Richard Williams
Vera, his wife: Catherine Salkeld
Martin, their adopted son: Martin Starkie
Hilda: Miriam Karlin
Fenn: James Thomason
Miss Lennie: Pamela Gordon
Mrs Danecourt: Vivienne Chatterton
A neighbour: Peter Howell
His wife: Beth Boyd
Repeated from BBC Home 9th April 1956
[The film version was called Time Without Pity]
22nd April 1956
18.00-19.00
To Live in Peace by G Forzano (1884-1970), translated by V Rietti, adapted by Mollie Greenhalgh
Producer: Frederick Bradnum
Maso: Robert Rietty (1923-2015)
Maria: Marjorie Mars
Agnese: Peggy Marshall
The Doctor: Preston Lockwood
Don Geronimo: Victor Rietti (1888-1963)
Mattea: Annette Kelly
Spinoso: Eric Francis
Cecco: Peter Neil
Charles, the Corporal: Hugh David
General Miollis: Noel Johnson
Friar Silvestro: Keith Pyott
The Lawyer: Willoughby Gray
Cavaliere Dossi: David Garth
The Captain: Trevor Martin
[Victor Rietti was the father of Robert Rietty]
[Original play title "Don Buonaparte" (1931)]
23rd April 1956
16.30-17.58
Monday Matinee: Litte Boy Lost (1949) by Marghanita Laski (1915-1988)
Searching for his son.
Producer: Mary Hope Allen
Hilary Wainwright: Stephen Murray
Mrs Wainwright, his mother: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Pierre Verdler: Olaf Pooley
Madame Quilleboeuf: Vivienne Chatterton
Madame le Blanc: Betty Hardy
Sister Therese: Gladys Spencer
Mother Superior: Gladys Young
Monsieur Mercatel: Jeffrey Segal
Jean: Sulwen Morgan
Madame Mercatel: Marjorie Mars
Nelly: Olive Gregg
Repeated from BBC Home 19th and 24th November 1955.
Repeated on BBC Home 6th July 1957
29th April 1956:
18.00-19.00
Mate in Three by L. du Garde Peach (1890-1974)
Produced By: Charles Lefeaux
Leonora Dorn: Frances Day
Mary Maitland: Barbara Loft
Elizabeth: Ann Walford
Sir John Baslow: William Mervyn
Noel Lytton: Colin Gordon
James Fothergill: Noel Howlett
Repeated 9th November 1956
6th May 1956
18.00-19.00
Lucy Arnold by Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972)
A variation on Cinderella.
Produced by Martyn C. Webster
The Storyteller: Denis Goacher
Lucy Arnold: Dora Bryan
Miss Chibbett: Betty Hardy
Mrs Chibbett: Betty Linton
Mrs Arnold: Vivienne Chatterton
Samuel Arnold: James Thomason
Terence Manning: Simon Lack
Lady Emily Manning: Avice Landone
Mr Manning: William Fox
Mabel, a maid: Annette Kelly
Mr Lightheart: Frank Atkinson
Mrs Lightheart: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Repeated 26th October 1956.
[Also produced by Martyn C Webster in 1966 rptd 1968 with Barbara Mitchell as Lucy]
[Adapted by the author from the novel "Figure of Eight", which was a story subsequent to the play "Carnival" which was broadcast 1929, 1933, 1936, 1960]
7th May 1956
16.30-17.58
Monday Matinee: Edward My Son (1947) by Robert Morley (1908-1992) and Noel Langley (1911-1980)
Between WW1 and WW2..
Produced by Peter Watts
Arnold Holt: Howard Marion-Crawford
Evelyn Holt: Angela Baddeley
Dr Larry Parker: David Oxley
Harry Soames: Cyril Shaps
Mr Waxman: T St John Barry
Cunningham: Michael O'Halloran
Ellerby: Wyndham Milligan
Hanray: Dennis Arundell
Eileen Perry: Alvys Maben (1922-1963)
Mr Prothero: Ronald Sidney
Phyllis Maxwell: Prunella Scales
Betty Fowler: Virginia Winter
Repeated from BBC Home, 16th and 21st May 1953
13th May 1956
18.00-19.00
The Girl and the Soldiers by Gino Pugnetti, Translated by E. Lewis Bailey
Produced by R. D. Smith
Ernesto: Nigel Stock
Mario: Derek Farr
Lidia: Claire Bloom
Repeated 12th October 1956
14th May 1956
16.30-17.58
Landfall by Nevil Shute, adapted by Stephen Grenfell.
Produced by Michael Bakewell.
Narrator: Simon Lack
Jerry: Geoffrey Matthews
Mona: Janette Richer
Wing Commander Dickens: Olaf Pooley
Squadron Leader Peterson: Manning Wilson
Captain Burnaby: Leslie Perrins
Flight Lieutenant Hooper: Michael Hall
Corporal Lambert: Geoffrey Hodson
Wireless Operator: Rolf Lefebvre
Commander Rutherford: Donald Bisset
Trawler Commander: Martin Lewis
Miriam: Laurel Solash
Porky /Thomas: Charles Hodgson
Commanding Officer: Brewster Mason
James: Richard Mayes
Professor Legge: Hamilton Dyce
Wing Commander Hewitt: Edward Jewesbury
Mrs Burnaby: Henrietta Russell
Dad: James Thomason
Wren Officer Hancock: Annette Kelly
Commander Sutton: Richard Williams
Admiral: Eric Anderson
Nurse Loring: Janet Burnell
Nurse MacKenzie: Molly Rankin
Jorgen: Michael Turner
Repeated from BBC Home 21st and 26th January 1956.
Repeated on BBC Home 4th May 1957
[Also produced by Betty Davies for BBC Home in 1964, rptd 1965 and 1968, with Penelope Lee as Mona]
20th May 1956
18.00-19.00
The Lady Next Door (1924) by Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) and Elmer Rice (1892-1967), Adapted by Henry Kowal
Guitar played by Freddie Phillips
Pianist. Cicely Hoye
Production by Hugh Stewart
Harriet: Helen Horton
Sister: Jill Nyasa
Aunt Ada: Joan Young
Mrs Sheridan: Madi Hedd
Ed: Philip Friend
Bert: George Margo
Doctor: Eric Anderson
[The play's original title was "Close Harmony" ]
25th May 1956
19.30-20.00
Ukridge by P G Wodehouse, Adapted By Helmar Fernback
1 of 6
Produced by H. B. Fortuin
Actors in part one not listed on BBC Programme Database.
Actors in later parts:
Ukridge: Michael Shepley
Also with Annette Kelly, Belle Chrystall, Beth Boyd, Brewster Mason, Brian Haines, Bryan Powley, Charles Hodgson, Dorothy Holmes-Gore, Geoffrey Hodson, George Merritt, Hamilton Dyce, Hubert Gregg, Jeffrey Segal, Kit Terrington, Leonard Trolley, Mairhi Russell, Manning Wilson, Margot Lister, Martin Lewis, Michael Shepley, Molly Rankin, Olaf Pooley, Rolf Lefebvre
Pt2:1/6/56 Pt3:8/6/56 Pt4:15/6/56 Pt5:22/6/56 Pt6: 29/6/56
[Also produced in 6 parts in 1992/1993 for R4 by Sarah Smith with Griff Rhys Jones as Ukridge.]
[Ukridge also appeared in a standalone story in 1959 "Battling Billson's Last Fight" produced by H B Fortuin with Naunton Wayne as Ukridge.]
27th May 1956
18.00-19.00
Cut for Partmers (1939) by Lionel Brown (1888-1964)
Produced by David H Godfrey
Sybil Grant: Helen Horton
Whelan: Allan McClelland
Hugo Arnold: Griffith Jones
Pauline: Annette Kelly
Mrs Marshall: Dorothy Green
Jill Marshall: Barbara Lott
Wallace Carson: Geoffrey Matthews
Ned Marshall: Manning Wilson
Cook: Molly Rankin
Repeated 2nd November 1956
28th May 1956
16.30-17.58
Monday Matinee: Plain Murder(1930) by C S Forester (1800-1966), adapted by Preston Lockwood (1912-1996)
Producer: Norman Wright
Oldroyd: Hubert Gregg
Morris: Lewis Stringer
John Reddy: Derek Hart
Harrison: Preston Lockwood
Clarence: Peter Assinder
Maud: Virginia Winter
Wilkinson: John Cazabon
Mrs Morris: Elizabeth Gray
Mr Campbell: Neil Tuson
Inspector Kennedy: Frank Tickle
Shepherd: Brian Roper
Mr Reddy: Oliver Burt
Miss Campbell: Elizabeth London
Repeated from BBC Home 19th December 1953 and 10th November 1955
[Also produced in 1999 by Clive Brill, on R4 with Geoffrey Whitehead as Oldroyd]
[Also produced 2014 by David Neville on R4, with David Seddon as Oldroyd, rptd R4X]
3rd June 1956
18.00-19.00
Right-Ho Jeeves (1934) by P G Wodehouse (1881-1975), adapted by Dan Ferguson.
Producer: H B Fortuin.
Bertie Wooster: Naunton Wayne
Jeeves: Deryck Guyler
Aunt Dahlia: Jean Stanley
Cynthia: Janette Richer
Augustus Fink-Whittle (Gussie): Rolf Lefebvre
Hildebrand Glossop (Tuppy): Richard Wattls
Madeline: Anne Richmond
Headmaster: James Thomason
P K Purvis: Anthony Wilson
Seppings: James Thomason
[Also produced in 17 parts as "What Ho Jeeves" by David Hatch for R4 in 1973.]
[Also produced by Peter King in 1988, rptd 1989 and 1991 for R4 with Simon Cadell as Bertie]
[This production listing in the BBC Database does not use the character name of "Gussie Fink-Nottle". Instead: Whittle?? Once in the printed book one character refers to Gussie as "Fink-Wattle"]
4th June 1956
16.30-17.58
Monday Matinee: The Leader of the House by Nigel Balchin (1908-1970).
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
James Rice, the Prime Minister: Wilfrid Hyde White
Janet Parkes, his personal secretary: Cecile Chevreau
Roderick Simmons, an Information Officer: Denis Goacher
Carol Lindsay an actress: Avice Landone
Freda Rice, the PM's sister: Marjorie Fielding
William Boumphrey, Foreign Affairs: Willoughby Goddard
Lewis Appleby, the Chancellor: Gordon Davies
Sir Charles Proot, Admiralty: Godfrey Kenton
The Minister of Ag and Fish: Edgar Norfolk
The Minister of Mines: Bryan Powley
Mr. Downes-Champney, the Lord President: Howieson Culff
Mr Amesbury, Head of the Party Office: Ballard Berkeley
Mr Jones-Fullerton, the Party Chairman: Peter Howell
Count Rudolph de Walem, Vulgarian Ambassador.: John Gabriel
Marshall, butler at No 10: Leonard Trolley
Lord Pyne: George Merritt
Repeated from BBC Home of 20/8/55.
Repeated on BBC Home 3rd and 25th August 1959
[Also produced by John Tydeman in 1970 for R4 with Michael Hordern as PM.]
[Also produced for tv by Douglas Allen, aired Nov and Dec 1955, with Willoughby Goddard as Boumphrey]
10th June 1956
18.00-19.00
White Ladies (1935) by Francis Brett Young (1884-1954), Adapted by Anthony McDonald
Produced By: Norman Wright
Gibbs: Middleton Woods
Bella: Marjorie Westbury
Jasper: Anthony Toller
Mrs Fladburn: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Henry: Denis Goacher
Mr Fladburn: Emerton Court
Marjorie Asphill: Kathleen Helme
Ernest Wilburn: Manning Wilson
Aunt Hattie: Ella Milne
Boy: Brian Roper
Wilkinson: Eric Lugg
Miss Penney: Gladys Spencer
Pomfret: Norman Claridge
Repeated 5th October 1956
11th June 1956
16.30-17.58
Monday Matinee: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, dramatised by Jonquil Antony
Production by Audrey Cameron
Philip Ashley: John Westbrook
Ambrose Ashley: Austin Trevor
Seecombe: Martin Lewis
Louise: Annette Kelly
Nick Kendall: Richard Williams
Giuseppe: Robert Rietty
Rainaldi: Roger Delgado
Rachel: Mary Wimbush
Mary Pascoe: Molly Rankin
Tamlyn: Wilfred Babbage
Mr Couch: Leonard Trolley
Repeated from BBC Home of 7th and 12th January 1956
Repeated on BBC Home 6th November 1958.
13th June 1956
20.00-20.30
King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard adapted by Alec Macdonald.
1 of 8 -No details for part one.
Produced By: Archie Campbell
Cast for part 2:
Allan Quatermain: Deryck Guyler
Sir Henry Curtis: Ralph Truman
Captain Good: Richard Williams
Umbopa: Frank Singuineau
Infadoos: Errol John
Scragga: Roger Snowdon
Gagool: Patience Collier
Twala: Orlando Martins
Dom Jose: Roger Delgado
Additional Cast in later episodes:
Hamilton Dyce, Harry Quashie, Lionel Ngakane, Nadia Cattouse, Pauline Henriques, Peter Neil
Pt2:20/6/56 Pt3:27/6/56 Pt4:4/7/56 Pt5:11/7/56 Pt6: 18/7/56 Pt7:25/7/56 Pt8:1/8/56
Other productions: Year, Network, Director, Parts
1946/Light/Ayton Whitaker/8
1966/Home/Brian Miller/8 rptd 1967
1990/R4/Nigel Bryant/1 (90m) rptd 1991
2017/R4/Liz Webb/2 rptd R4X
17th June 1956
18.00-18.58
"Wait for me, Georgina" by R S Clark
with Brenda Bruce and James McKechnie.
No other information held on BBC Programme database.
There was a play with this title on BBC Home on 3rd March 1956, "with Ursula Howells and Richard Hurndall" - possibly the same production but the different actor names suggest not.
There is a photocopy of a radio script with this title held at the University of New South Wales, the author is listed as Russell S Clark. AusLit advises that Russell S Clark is aka Gilbert Anstruther (1909-1989)
18th June 1956
16.30-17.58
The Gay Dog (1952) by Joseph Colton, adapted by James R Gregson.
Jim has a greyhound.
Producer: Vivian A Daniels
Jim Gay: Wilfred Pickles
Maggie, his wife: Megs Jenkins
Sally Gay, their daughter: Shirley King
Peter: Brian Trueman
Mrs James: Nan Marriott-Watson
Spud Ryan: Randal Herley
Minnie Gay: Florence Gregson
Bert Gay: Tom Harrison
The Rev Henry Gowland: Noel Iliff
Leslie Gowland: Geoffrey Wheeler
Peggy Gowland: Vera McKechnie
Repeated from BBC Home, 2nd and 7th January 1954
[A revised version of "A Dog for Delmont" (1951)]
[Note: The Gay in the title derives from a characters surname. There has been a change of word meaning since 1952: "gay" meant Carefree, Bright, Happy - and derives from 'gaiety' as in Gaiety Theatre]
24th June 1956
18.00-19.00
The Trouper by Jeffrey Segal (1920-2015)
Pantomime.
Produced by Audrey Cameron.
Bus driver: Jeffrey Segal
Gus Gleason: George Merritt
Miss Burke: Betty Linton
Sam Kitchin: James Thomason
Charlie, the stage-door keeper: Leonard Trolley
Jean Ainslie, the stage-director: Molly Rankin
Bill Malcolm, the producer: Brewster Mason
Harry, the pianist: Alan Paul
The Good Robber: Trevor Martin
The Bad Robber: Richard Waring
Principal Boy: Betty Huntley-Wright
Principal Girl: Annette Kelly
Theatre Manager: Norman Wynne
J J Davies, the critic: Godfrey Kenton
Policeman: Hamilton Dyce
Courtney Hill: Wilfred Pickles
Repeated 19th October 1956
[Also produced by Audrey Cameron in 1954 for BBC Home, with Aline Waites as Miss Burke, and Michael Turner as Sam.] ]
1st July 1956
18.00-19.00
The Birds of Sadness by Rachel Grieve
The North Wales mountains.
Produced By: David H. Godfrey
Philippa Carver: Elizabeth London
Naomi Redfern: Grizelda Hervey
Mr Hughes: E Eynon Evans
Robin Carver: Denis Goacher
Mr Stanley: Jeffrey Segal
Camilla May: Marjorie Westbury
Peter May: Allan McClelland
Alfie Redfern: Brewster Mason
Henry Owen: Norman Wynne
Suzanne Owen: Betty Hardy
Iago: Hugh David
Mr Garside: Ian Sadler
[Also produced by David H. Godfrey in 1952 for BBC Home with Joan Sanderson as Naomi and Kenneth Williams as Mr Stanley.]
2nd July 1956- historic note- from now until 23rd December 1956 the BBC replaced the temporarily silenced "Big Ben" (note "E") with "Great Tom" (note "A flat") from St Paul's. Tom received due credit in the listings.
8th July 1956
18.00-19.00
The Gorgon's Head (1932) by Ladbroke Black (1877-1940), adapted by Stephen Black
Unintended petrifications.
Produced by Martyn C Webster
Charles Tempest, a solicitor: Emrys Jones
Darcy Pringle, a sculptor: Simon Lack
Prof Addington Crane: Hamilton Dyce
Chloe Heathcote, his niece: Sara Gregory
P C MacMunn, a London policeman: Lewis Stringer
Mrs MacMunn: Elizabeth Maude
Peter, an art critic: Charles Hodgson
[Also produced by Martyn C Webster in 1954 with Richard Hurndall as Charles]
[Stephen Black was the son of Ladbroke Black]
[Ladbroke Black also wrote as Lionel Day, Lewis Jackson, John Andrews, and Paul Urquhart]
15th July 1956
15.15-16.00
"It's Magic"
A partly narrated short version of the soundtrack of the 1948 film.
Original story by Sixto Pondal Rios (1907-1968) and Carlos A. Olivari (1902-1955)
Screenplay by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein
Film director: Michael Curtiz
BBC Editor/Director: Anon
Narrator: Gerry Wilmot
Film cast:
Georgia Garrett: Doris Day
Peter Virgil: Jack Carson
Elvira Kent: Janis Paige
Oscar Farrar: Oscar Levant
Uncle Lazlo: S Z Sakall
[Possibly a repeat of the Home broadcast of 24th May 1949, adapted from the film by Gordon Crier - or of the Home program of 3rd April 1950, edited by John Angier and Produced by Thurstan Holland. Sadly none of the three broadcasts have full radio credits and may all be different- or the same.]
[The 99 minute film was made as "Romance on the High Seas" but retitled in the UK]
[BBC Database incorrectly refers to Janice Paige]
15th July 1956
18.00-19.00
Wrong Number by Norman Edwards
Piano: Cicely Hoye
Producer: Hugh Stewart
Aloysius: Richard Waring
Doctor Pole: Robert Harris
Max: John Carol
Mildred Jones: Virginia Winter
An announcer: Robert Sansom
Bill Saunders: Malcolm Graeme
Jack Bates: Hamilton Dyce
Miss Crystal: Hazel Hughes
Fat Cyril: Allan Jeayes
A Police Sergeant: Allan McClelland
Inspector Blake: Campbell Singer
[A 1959 60 minute film was based upon the play]
22nd July 1956
18.00-19.00
Hunter's Moon
with Paul Rogers
No other details given on BBC Database
Something of a mystery drama(?)- we know nothing about it.
[The Hunter's Moon is the full moon in October]
An apparent holiday break followed - there may have been drama during this fallow period, with only a title in the Programme Listing (no details).
There were some edited film sound tracks (usually musicals) adapted by Gordon Gow or Trafford Whitelock.
26th September 1956
20.30-22.00
Journey's End by R C Sherriff.
Spring 1918.
Produced by Peter Watts
Captain Hardy: Frank Partington
Lieutenant Osborne: Brewster Mason
Private Mason: Ronald Sidney
Second Lieutenant Raleigh: David Enders
The Company Sergeant-Major: Richard Gray
Captain Stanhope: John Westbrook
Lieutenant Trotter: James Thomason
Second Lieutenant Hibbert: Alan Edwards
The Colonel: Eric Anderson
A German Soldier: Peter Neil
Repeated 1st October 1956
3rd October 1956
20.30-22.00
Badger's Green by R C Sherriff adapted by Owen Reed.
Producer: Patrick Dromgoole
Dr Wetherby: Edward Chapman
Major Forrester: Aubrey Dexter
Mr Twigg: Richard Goolden
Mr Butler: Dudley Rolph
Mr Rogers: Lewis Gedge
Dickie Wetherby: Geoffrey Matthews
Miss Rawlinson: Sheila Allen
Mary: Joscelyn Page
Chauffeur: Denis Raymond
Morgan: Anthony Collin
George: J Barrie
Repeated 8th October 1956
[From this point there were many dramas from earlier in the year repeated. See first broadcast date in 1956 above for details.]
4th October 1956
20.00-20.30
The Little Walls
(No other information given for 4th October- data below is from 11th October:
by Winston Graham. Dramatised by Denzil Roberts
1 of 6.
Cast in Episode 2:
Produced By: Norman Wright
Philip Turner: Godfrey Kenton
Inspector Tholen: Olaf Pooley
Commander Coxon: Jack May
Informer: Geoffrey Matthews
Count Louis Joachim: Laidman Browne
Police Assistant: John Brvning (??)
Arnold Turner: Norman Wynne
Hotel Manager: Garard Green
Charlotte Weber: Grizelda Hervey
Leonie Winter: Anne Cullen
also with Gladys Spencer
Additional cast in parts 3 to 6:
Captain Sanbeigh: Brian Haines
Nicolo da Cossa: Raymond Young
The Master of Kyle: Duncan McIntyre
also with Trevor Martin, Morris Sweden,
Pt2:11/10/56 Pt3:18/10/56 Pt4:25/10/56 Pt5:1/11/56 Pt6:8/11/56
[Also produced by Ned Chaillet in 1991 for R4, rptd R4X 2016-2022]
10th October 1956
20.30-22.00
Miss Mabel by R. C. Sherriff adapted by Peter Watts.
Produced by Wilfrid Grantham
Miss Mabel's maid: Annette Kelly
Peter Barlow: Peter Halliday
Mary Rowland: Juliet Pollard
Watkins: George Hagan
Mr Smirthwaite: Denys Blakelock
Miss Mabel: Gladys Young
Mr Wilson, the Vicar: James Thomason
Mrs Wilson, his wife: Joan Ireland
Dr Harrison: Brewster Mason
Maid at the Vicarage: Rowena Cooper
Police Inspector: Peter Neil
Repeated 15th October 1956
[Also produced by Peter Watts in 1952 for BBC Home with Joan Harben as Miss Mabel]
[Also produced by Hugh Stewart in 1961 for BBC Home with Joyce Barbour as Miss Mabel.]
14th October 1956
15.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Memory For Murder by Merrick Winn
Production: Audrey Cameron
with Hugh Burden
[This is the sole mention of Merrick Winn in the BBC Programme Database]
[Merrick Winn appears to have been a journalist, who in 1952 wrote in The Post "There may be men on the moon in 25 years time". In January 1956 he interviewed Raymond Chandler for the Daily Express.]
15th October 1956
20.30-21.00
The Long Way Round by Stephen Grenfell.
Polio at age 22.
Producer: Alan Burgess
Sheila: Jean Harvey
Father: Robert Sansom
Mother: Thea Wells
Alice: Dorothy Black
Richard: Derek Hart
John: James Thomason
Doctor: Wyndham Milligan
Mrs Hooper: Ella Milne
Sister: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Durrance: Anthony Woodruff
Doctor: Philip Cunningham
Janet: Pamela Binns
17th October 1956
20.30-22.00
Home at Seven (1950) by R C Sherriff (1896-1975)
He arrives home at the usual time- but 24 hours late.
Producer: Martyn C. Webster
David Preston: Hamilton Dyce
Janet Preston: Ursula Howells
Dr Sparling: John Wyse
Major Watson: Eric Anderson
Inspector Hemingway: Peter Neil
Mr Petherbridge: James Thomason
Peggy Dobson: Brenda Peters
Repeated 22nd October 1956
[Also produced 1951 for BBC Home by Ayton Whitaker with Ralph Richardson as David.]
[Also produced by Martyn C. Webster in 1966 rptd 1970 for R4 with Patrick Barr as David.]
[Also a 1952 film and a 1956 BBC TV play]
21st October 1956
15.30-16.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Look In The Mirror By Aileen Burke and Leone Stewart
Produced by Norman Wright
Mrs Barnes: Gladys Spencer
Edward Musgrave: Hubert Gregg
Miss Johnson: Janette Richer
Basil Fellows: Geoffrey Lewis
Nurse: Peggy Thorpe-Bates
Dr Rawlings: Brewster Mason
Tom Atkins: Martin Lewis
[The two authors sometimes used the pseudonym Stewart Burke]
22nd October 1956
20.30-21.00
Arctic Manhunt by Bob Kesten
Producer: Alan Burgess
Eames: Jon Farrell
McDowell: George Margo
King: Guy Kingsley Poynter
Gardlund: Gerik Schjelderup
Lang: Peter Mannering
Verville: Stuart Nichol
Riddell: Bill Nagy
Hersey: Alan Keith
Millen: Marvin Kane
24th October 1956
20.30-22.00
The Long Sunset by R C Sherriff (1896-1975)
AD 410.
Produced by Ayton Whitaker
Narrator: John Gabriel
Marcus: Philip Cunningham
Lugar: James Thomason
Serena Julian's wife: Avice Landone
Paula Julian's daughter: Monica Grey
Julian: Brewster Mason
Otho, Julian's son: Aubrey Woods
Portius: George Merritt
Lucian: Harcourt Williams
Arthur: Joseph O'Conor
Gawaine: Richard Bebb
Repeated from BBC Home of 23rd April and 8th August 1955.
Repeated 29th October 1956
[Also produced by Martin Jenkins in 1971 rptd 1976 and 1984 for R4 with John Rye as Marcus]
28th October 1956
15.30-16.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre 'Mustard Yellow' by Jon Manchip White (1924-2013)
Produced by Archie Campbell
The narrator: Tom Sheffield
A racing motorist: Denis Goacher
Marco Torelli, a team manager: Dino Galvani
Pietro Cavalotti, another driver: Giulio Finzi
Herr Lange, a steward: Rudolph Offenbach
An observer: Gyuri Wagner
29th October 1956
20.30-21.00
Epidemic by Margaret Hotine (1925-1992)
Glasgow 1956 Smallpox.
Producer: Alan Burgess
Dr Scott: John Rae
Health Inspector: Charles Houston
Dr Mackay: Andrew Crawford
Headmaster: Richard Statman
Medical Officer of Health: Malcolm Graeme
Consultant: Alastair Hunter
Manageress: Margaret Butt
Dr Stewart: Isla Cameron
Official: Leslie Glaser
Woman: Dorothy Black
Scotsman: Ben Williams
Wife: Madeleine Christie
Cameron: James Bullock
Student: Keith Faulkner
Sister Thompson: Gay Balfour
Nurse: Linda King
Small boy: Patricia Hayes
31st October 1956
20.30-22.00
The Telescope by R C Sherriff (1896-1975)
The struggles of a young vicar.
Production by Val Gielgud (1900-1981)
Mr Pinnock: Bryan Powley
John Mayfield: Sebastian Shaw
Mary Mayfield: Belle Chrystall
Miss Brown: Betty Linton
Mrs Palmer: Vivienne Chatterton
Joe: Bunny May
Ben Brooks: George Merritt
Sergeant Wallis: Hamilton Dyce
Repeated 5th November 1956
Also repeated on BBC Home on 8th June 1957
[Originally written for radio. Also produced -in 73 min excerpt form- for BBC tv (5th Nov 1957) by Ayton Whitaker with Patsy Byrne, Frank Finlay, Melvyn Hayes, Edward Woodward]
4th November 1956
18.00-19.00
On Loan by Giovanni Papini (1881-1956) adapted by Jon Manchip White (1924-2013)
Production By: Michael Bakewell
Sandrino: Robert Rietty
Novella: Christine Finn
Bruno: Richard Bebb
Princess Bernhardt: Mary Wimbush
Krammerheim: Morris Sweden
Count Laszlo: Cyril Shaps
Hortense: Kathleen Helme
Prince Rupert: Trevor Martin
Prince Frederick: Patrick Godfrey
Baroness von Chezy: Edith Savile
Gerd: Frank Partington
Repeated 16th November 1956
[There is no indication which work by Papini this is based upon]
7th November 1956
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! : You Never Can Tell (1897) by Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Produced by Frederick Bradnum
Dolly Clandon: Rowena Cooper
Valentine, a dentist: Robert Bernal
A parlour maid: Dera Cooper
Philip Clandon: Charles Hodgson
Mrs Clandon: Margaret Gordon
Gloria Clandon: Jill Bennett
Fergus Crampton: Allan Jeayes
Finch McComas: Eric Anderson
The waiter: Preston Lockwood
Walter Bohun, Q C: Barry Letts
Repeated 12th November 1956
[Other productions: year/network/producer/actor playing waiter:
1952/N3/Esme Percy/Harcourt Williams
1952/Home/Frederick Bradnum/Richard Hurndall
1961/Home/Hugh Stewart/Bobby Howes
1971 rptd 1973,1977,1979/4/Betty Davies/Michael Kilgarriff]
11th November 1956
18.00-19.00
The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan, Adapted by Cynthia Pughe
Produced By: Archie Campbell
John Taplow: Brian Smith
Schoolboy: Anthony Adams
Frank Hunter: Peter Neil
Millie Crocker-Harris: Belle Chrystall
Andrew Crocker-Harris: Robert Harris
Dr Frobisher: Richard Williams
Peter Gilbert: Peter Assinder
Mrs Gilbert: Angela Munnion
Repeated 23rd November 1956
[Other productions:
Year/Network/Producer/Actor playing Taplow
1949 rptd 1950/Home/Mary Hope Allen/Peter Scott
1957/rptd 1958,1964,1970,1971,1978/Home/Norman Wright/Anthony Adams
1982 rptd 1986,1990/R4/Ian Cotterell/Stephen Garlick
2011 rptd 2013/R4/Rosaling Ayres/???]
12th November 1956
20.30-21.00
The Phone Rings at Night by Stephen Grenfell
Produced by Alan Burgess
Dr Arthur Bane: Charles E Stidwill
Dr Adams: Mary Morell
Bolton: Peter Burton
Rose: Brenda Dean
Desmond: Malcolm Graeme
policeman: Ben Williams
Monica: Jane Barratt
Operator: Trevor Martin
Monty: Eric Anderson
Baker: Haydn Jones
Arnott: Bruce Stewart
Peter: Derek Hart
14th November 1956
20.30-22.00
Monday Matinee: The Final Test (1953) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977), adapted by Cynthia Pughe.
Produced by Royston Morley
A cricketer's last match for England.
Sam Palmer: Patrick Barr
Bill Jarvis: Gordon Davies
Reggie Palmer: Ray Jackson
Ethel his aunt: Helena Pickard
John Higgs: George Merritt
Sid Thompson: Campbell Singer
Frank Weller: Allan McClelland
Cora: Brenda Bruce
The Beer Drinker: Stanley Rose
The Stout Drinker: Gordon Whiting
Mrs Price: Violet Gould
Potboy: Charles Hodgson
A stranger: Jeffrey Segal
Alexander Whitehead: George Benson
Miss Fanshawe: Agnes Lauchlan
As themselves: Frank Tyson, Brian Close, Colin Cowdrey, Brian Johnston, Rex Alston, John Arlott, Jill Balcon, C. Day Lewis, Frank Phillips, Michael Brooke, Christopher Pemberton
Repeated 19th November 1956
[Also produced by Robert Harris in 1963 with David Valla as Reggie.]
[Written for BBC TV -broadcast July 1951, and made into a cinema film, released 1953. The film included Ray Jackson as Reggie and Brenda Bruce as Cora.]
18th November 1956
Mr. Faint-Heart by Ian Hay (John Hay Beith, 1876-1952) adapted by Cynthia Pughe.
Producer: Charles Lefeaux
Daphne: Joy Hodgkinson
Steward: Eric Francis
Aubrey: Derek Hart
Mary: Cicely Paget-Bowman
Tony: Peter Howell
Myra: Mary Watson
Joe: Peter Copley
Mr Pumphrey: James Thomason
Mrs Pumphrey: Joanna Glass
Lemuel K: William Mervyn
Repeated 30th November 1956
[Also produced by Charles Lefeaux for BBC Home in 1955, with George Merritt as Steward and Geoffrey Matthews as Aubrey.]
19th November 1956
20.30-21.00
The Strange Case of the Woman in Brown by Anthony Jacobs
Producer: Alan Burgess
1949: Ghosts in a London office.
Angela Benson: Adrienne Corri
Mr Osborn: Anthony Jacobs
Mrs Johnson: Hester Paton-Brown
Miss Dixon: Olive Kirby
Miss Watson: Nan Marriott-Watson
Ruth: Ann Godley
Girl: Janette Richer
Official: Mervyn Blake
Mr Thompson: Edgar Norfolk
21st November 1956
20.40-22.00
Curtain Up! : The Shining Hour by Keith Winter
Adapted by Hugh Stewart
A Yorkshire farmhouse.
Produced by Norman Wright
Hannah Linden: Betty Hardy
Judy Linden: Mairhi Russell
Henry Linden: Norman Claridge
Micky Linden: Derek Hart
Mariella Linden: Mary Wimbush
David Linden: John Glen
Repeated 26th November 1956
[Adapted from a 1951 BBC TV play]
25th November 1956
18.00-19.00:
Sunday Theatre: Time Out Of Mind by Geoffrey Trease
Produced by Colin Shaw
BBC North of England
Jane Waverley: Jill Fenson
The Rev Arthur Rawley: Geoffrey Banks
Woodburn: Jeffrey Denton
Lord Nowell: Norman Partriege
Mr Larkdale: Leslie Moorhouse
Mr Babbington: Harry Moseley
Also with Mildred Dyson, Renee Stanton, Tom Harrison, Jeffery Dench, Reginald Waithman and Eric Howard
Repeated from BBC Home of 18th April 1956
Repeated 7th December 1956
26th November 1956
20.30-21.00
The Children of Aunty by Stephen Grenfell
Producer: Alan Burgess
Aunty: Betty Hardy
Donnie: Jill Raymond
Jenny: Sandra Alfred
Johnny / MIkey: Patricia Hayes
Mrs Sopwith: Linda King
Official: Margaret Hotine
Housemother: Madeleine Christie
Jack: Geoffrey Lewis
28th November 1956
20.30-22.00
Curtain Up! : Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Adapted by Gilbert Thomas
Production by Martyn C. Webster
George Milton: Alan Tilvern
Lennie Small: Robert Beatty
Old Candy: MacDonald Parke
Slim: Michael Turner
Carlson: Stuart Nichol
Whit: Philip Keatley
Curley: Brian Haines
The Boss: John Gabriel
Curley's wife: Mavis Villiers
Crooks: Earl Cameron
Repeated 3rd December 1956
[Other productions:
Year/Network/Director/Actor playing Lennie/George
1967 rptd 1973/Home/Joe Burroughs/Robert Beatty/Harry Towb
1992 rptd 1993/r4/Richard Wortley/Kerry Shale/Peter Whitman
2010/r4 rptd R4X/Kirsty Williams/---/---]
2nd December 1956
18.00-19.00
H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1947) by Nicholas Monsarrat (1910-1979) adapted by Captain Kenneth Langmaid
Produced by Charles Lefeaux
Lieut Commander Pennington (Number One): Patrick Troughton
Commander Wainwright: Michael Hordern
Commander Selby: Donald Gray
Leading Seaman Bridger: Basil Lord
Lieut Guthrie (Chief): Bryden Murdoch
Lieut Emery (Guns): Colin Gordon
Lieut Haines (Pilot): Douglas Wilmer
Midshipman Wade (Snottie): Nigel Stock
Quartermaster: Derek Birch
Petty Officer Adams (Chief Bosun's Mate): Deryck Guyler
Signalman: Alan Reid
Surgeon Lieut Donovan: Arthur Lawrence
Sick Berth Attendant Payton: Richard Waring
Chief Engine Room Artificer Harrington: Michael O'Halloran
Stoker Petty Officer Blake: Geoffrey Bond
Repeated from BBC Home of 30th January 1954 and 4th February 1954
Repeated 14th December 1956
3rd December 1956
20.30-21.00
The Trial of Dr. Petiot by Bob Kesten (1919-1969)
Producer: Alan Burgess
1946.
Dr Petiot (1897-1946): Ralph Truman
Public Prosecutor: David Peel
Judge: Geoffrey Wincott
Floriot: Hamilton Dyce
Vernon: Frank Partington
Guschinow: Haydn Jones
Mme Guschinow: Irene Prador
Michel Cadoret: Eric Francis
Psychiatrist: Brian Haines
5th December 1956
20.25-22.00
Curtain Up! : The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
The BBC Programme Database has no details of this production. Below are the productions identified on other transmission dates.
Other productions: year/network/producer/actor playing Nina
1953/Home/Gielgud and Godfrey/Ursula Howells
1960/Home/Cedric Messina/Vanessa Redgrave
1963/Home/Val Gielgud/Virginia Maskell
1968 rptd 1969/r3/Charles Lefeaux/Zena Walker-(rptd r4 1969, 1971 & 1973)
1981/r4/Gerry Jones/Petra Markham rpt r3 1983
1986 rpt 1987/r4/David Hitchinson/-rewritten-
1993/r4/Cherry Cookson/Helena Bonham Carter (rptd r3 1997) (also rptd r4x)
2010 rpt 2014/r3/Dominic Hill/Ashley Smith
2023/r3/Toby Swift/Erin Doherty
[Also produced by Gordon House in 2006 for BBC WS]
9th December 1956:
18.00-19.00
Sunday Theatre: The Atom Bowler by Jay Black and Stephen Black (1912-2006)
Cricket meets science.
Produced by R. D. Smith
P C Harding: Ben Williams
Tom Dingley, landlord: Malcolm Hayes
Sid: Nicky Edmett
BBC Announcer: John Snagge
Mrs Dingley: Sheila Raynor
Bert Barleycorn: Glyn Dearman
The Vicar of Pelling: Peter Neil
Charlie Cobb: Eric Anderson
First Oxford Young Man: Charles Hodgson
Second Oxford Young Man: Patrick Godfrey
BBC Commentator: Derek Hart
Stedman, Australian Captain: Bruce Stewart
Dominions Secretary: Geoffrey Lewis
Professor: Haydn Jones
Also with Peter Carver, Leigh Crutchley, John Dearth, Vanda Godsell, Harold Lang, Molly Lawson, Diana Lincoln, Wyndham Milligan, Anthony Sagar, June Wenner.
Repeated 21st December 1956
[Also produced by Ayton Whitaker in 1946 for Home with Cyril Gardiner as Robinson, again in 1947 with Allan Cuthbertson as Robinson, again in 1948 with John Stacy as Robinson ]
10th December 1956
16.30-17.58
No Bail for the Judge (1952) by Henry Cecil (Henry Cecil Leon, 1902-1976) adapted by C E Webber
Produced by H B Fortuin
Bert Evans: Gordon Davies
Elizabeth Prout: Monica Grey
Ambrose Low: Hugh Burden
Sir Edwin Prout: Martin Lewis
Colonel Brain: D A Clarke-Smith
Attorney General: Richard Williams
Sydney Trumper: Leslie Perrins
Beryl: Annette Kelly
Sir Malcolm Morley: Olaf Pooley
Professor Pintree: Rolf Lefebvre
Lord Chief Justice: Arthur Ridley
Det Supt Sharkey: Hamilton Dyce
Sam Sprigg: Jeffrey Segal
Mr Black: Brewster Mason
Gordon MacNaghten: Gordon Davies
Henry Hunt: Leonard Trolley
Repeated from BBC Home 10th March 1956
[Henry Cecil Leon was a barrister and a county court judge. ]
12th December 1956
20.45-22.00
Trio for Two by Marius Goring (1912-1998).
Adapted from Monsieur Lamberthier (1927) by Louis Verneuil (1893-1952).
Producer: Peter Watts.
The New Tenant: Olaf Pooley
Germaine: Grizelda Hervey
Maurice: James McKechnie
Repeated 17th December 1956
[The book was filmed as Jealousy(1928), Deception (1946)]
[Other BBC Radio productions:
4/7/1949 as "The Third Man" BBC Home, producer anon- with Marius Goring as Maurice.
22/1/1951 as "Monsieur Lamberthier"- producer Frank Hauser. BBC Home- with Marius Goring as Maurice.
17/4/1961 as "Trio for Two" BBC Home, producer Norman Wright.]
19th December 1956:
20.40-22.00
Curtain Up! : On The Spot (1930) by Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) adapted by Howard Rose.
America: Chicago
Producer: R D Smith
Patrolman Ryan: Rupert Davies
Commissioner John Kelly: Ian Sadler
Doctor: Wyndham Milligan
Priest: Leonard Trolley
Tony Perrelli: Anthony Jacobs
Minn Lee: Diana Wong
Angelo: Malcolm Hayes
Maria Pouliski: Faith Brook
Con O'Hara: Alan Tilvern
Jimmy McGarth: Philip Keatley
Mike Feeney: Roger Snowdon
Repeated 31st December 1956
[Also produced by Jean Bower in 1976 for R4 in a version adapted by Raymond Raikes]
[The first BBC production was by Howard Rose in 1935]
23rd December 1956
18.00-19.00
Snowball by Jeffrey Segal (1920-2015)
Produced by Audrey Cameron
Major Rodney: Peter Neil
Quartermaster-Sergeant Barker: Allan McClelland
Corporal Dusty Miller: Haydn Jones
Corporal Jack Middleton: Nigel Stock
Snowball: Bryan Powley
Pasqualino: N Nevinson
Driver Potts: Patrick Godfrey
Francesco: Jeffrey Segal
Dolly Middleton: Cecile Chevreau
Repeated on BBC Home 24th December 1957
25th December 1956
17.30-18.15
Puss in Boots by Johnny Speight (1920-1998) and Dick Barry
Music: The George Mitchell Choir, Blanche Moore accompanied by William Ternent and his Orchestra
Produced By: Dennis Main Wilson
The Hero: Francis Howerd (Frankie Howerd)
The Heroine: Carole Carr
Rock and Roll, the Broker's Men: Monty Stevens and Lee Young
The Bad Baron: Dennis Price
The Good Fairy: Sabrina
Tom the Cat: Mr William Ternent
Idle Jack: Dickie Valentine
26th December 1956
16.00-17.00
Cinderella by Roy Plomley
Music by Eric Coates and Ernest Tomlinson and lyrics by Henrik Ege.
BBC Chorus (Chorus-Master, Leslie Woodgate )
BBC Concert Orchestra (Leader. John Sharpe )
Conductor, Charles MacKerras
Produced by 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
Repeated from 20th December 1955
28th December 1956
17.00-17.58
Lost Horizon by James Hilton, adapted by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham
Producer: Hugh Stewart
Mallinson: Hugh Burden
Conway: Guy Rolfe
Barnard: Errol MacKinnon
Miss Brinklow: Elma Verity
Chang: Heron Carvic
Henderson: Lionel Gamlin
Rutherford: Ralph Truman
The High Lama: Robert Farquharson
Lo-Tsen: Janette Richer
[First produced on BBC Radio by Barbara Burnham in 1934 with Charles Mason as Mallinson]
[Also produced for BBC Home in three parts by Graham Gauld in 1966 rptd 1969 with Gordon Gardner as Mallinson]
[Also produced for R4 in three parts by Graham Gauld in 1981 with Andrew Branch as Mallinson- rptd R7 and R4X 2010-2023]
31st December 1956
20.30-21.00
It'll Need a Miracle by Margaret Hotine.
Producer: Alan Burgess.
Alocoholism.
Jim: Sydney Tafler
Vera: Joy Shelton
Sister Johnson: Thea Wells
Almoner: Olwen Brookes
Major Smith: Russell Napier
Police Officer: John Baker
Man: Ben Williams
===end====
Compiled by Stephen Shaw 2024
(....thanks again, Stephen ...-ND)
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