 |
|
|||
|
|
||||||
|
ACTION
TV ONLINE EPISODE GUIDE
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Director : Richmond Harding Script : Dramatised by Allan Prior from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast
: Peter
Copley (Doctor Thorndyke), Bernard Goldman
(Oscar Brodski), George Benson (Silas Hickler),
Gerald Sim (Doctor Jervis), Warren Mitchell
(Boscovitch), Cameron Hall (Mr Brice), Jack
Bligh (The Engine Driver), Frank Seton (The
Fireman), Roy Skelton (The Porter), Meadows
White (Sergeant Dickens) and Wilfred Garrison
(The Constable).
Director : Gilchrist Calder Script : Dramatised by Allan Prior from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast
: Paul
Curran (Woodthorpe), Glyn Owen (Superintendent
Morton), Patrick Troughton (Frank Belfield),
Rex Rashley (Amos Caldwell), Doris Griffith
(May Belfield), Ray Groves (The Newsboy)
and Cyril Cross (The Police Sergeant).
Director : Brian Parker Script : Dramatised by C E Webber from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast : George A Cooper (Pratt), John Le Mesurier (Pembury), Anthony Sagar (Ellis), Wanda Vantham (Maud), Edna Morris (Mrs Barton), Jennifer Stirling (Miss Bowles), Jonathan Scott (The Pet Man), Donald Bisset (Sergeant Hawkins), Tony Wall (Constable Green), Geoffrey Wincott (General O'Gorman) and Lewis Wilson (Inspector Fox).
Director : Maurice Stewart Script : Dramatised by C E Webber from a story by R Austin Freeman TX : 17th October 1964 Director : Maurice Stewart Script : Dramatised by C E Webber from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast : Robert Cartland (Crofton), Jane Downs (Mrs Crofton), Daniel Thorndike (Jobson), Harry Towb (Ambrose), Peter Jesson (The Policeman) and Margery Campi (The Policeman's Wife). Publicity : Thorndyke - The Mysterious Visitor: A temptation which constantly besets those self-effacing men in detective fiction whose function is to serve as Greek chorus while their betters get on with solving the case - the Watsons of this world - is to try a hand at some detecting themselves. And this is precisely what happens in this week's Thorndyke adventure, dramatized by C E Webber and called "The Mysterious Visitor". A man who is a patient of Doctor Jervis disappears suddenly in suspicious circumstances. Normally, Jervis would hand over a titbit of information like this to his friend; but it so happens that Thorndyke is deeply involved in another case. Consequently, Jervis decides to try and go it alone - with the result that he is soon under grave suspicion himself. In the end it falls to the master to get Jervis out of his embarrassing predicament by solving the mystery, but not before their relationship has suffered a considerable strain. Doctor Jervis is otherwise Paul Williamson, an actor who has come to detection from the usually rather cosier world of Compact. Outside television, he has worked for three years in repertory at Birmingham, where he appeared mostly in Shakespeare and frequently with Albert Finney. He has made many films, including Delayed Flight (in which he played the lead) and the mammoth production Exodus. In his leisure moments he prefers to pit his wits against nature rather than against criminals and is an enthusiastic handler of small boats. (Radio Times, October 15, 1964).
Director : Michael Leeston-Smith Script : Dramatised by Allan Prior from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast : Ronald Leigh-Hunt (John Simpson), Royston Tickner (Smith), Richard Armour (Bloggs), George Howe (Maybell), Rosemarie Reede (Phyllis Annesley), Peter Madden (Detective Superintendent Martin), Kevin Brennan (The Sergeant), James Beckett (Brodie), Ivor Salter (Stanton), Aubrey Morris (Julius Wicks), Jeanne Moody (Eugenia Kropp), Gertan Klauber (The Production Assistant), Jack Melford (The Judge) and Richard Mathews (Sir John Turville). Publicity : Thorndyke: Tonight's Thorndyke adventure takes the multi-talented Edwardian investigator into a world which he finds both unfamiliar and somewhat embarrassing; a world of flickering silent screens, where heroines are depicted trying desperately to burst the cords which bind them to the railway track. In fact there has been some very nasty work in the movie business, and Thorndyke has been called in to unravel "The Case Of Phyllis Annesley". But if he finds the atmosphere of the infant film industry not much of his taste, his associate Doctor Jervis feels quite otherwise; for him, the whole thing is chock-full of glamour and excitement. Thorndyke's faithful assistant Polton is also in his element since the case involves expert knowledge of photography, in which he is a specialist. However, there is one compensation even for Thorndyke: the Annesley case permits him to show off his talents as an advocate as well as an investigator. Peter Copley, the actor behind the Thorndyke character, is a Hertfordshire man who has been active in the theatre for more than thirty years. (Radio Times, October 22, 1964).
Director : John Gorrie Script : Dramatised by Robert Banks Stewart from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast
: Jack
May (Percival Bland), Stephanie Bidmead
(Kathy), Ernest Borrow (The Doorkeeper),
Faith Curtis (The Cloakroom Girl), Henry
Kay (The Sergeant Major), John Law (Quilter),
David Nettheim (The Stalker), Hilda Fenemore
(Mrs Brattle), Reginald Barratt (The Porter),
Edwin Brown (Brattle), Michael Beint (The
Fire Chief), Vernon Dobtcheff (The Coroner)
and John Frawley (The Croupier).
Director : Paul Bernard Script : Dramatised by Allan Prior from a story by R Austin Freeman Cast : Glyn Owen (Superintendent Morton), Kenneth Colley (Ellis), Michael Slater (Glass), Coral Morphew (Dolly Luttrell), George Cross (Colonel Darby), Peter Ashmore (Luttrell), Leonard Pearce (Shenston), Anne Godfrey (Mrs Madge Shenston), Eugenie Cavanagh (Betty Darby), Mervyn Pascoe (Sollars), Elliot Michaels (The Newspaper Boy), Gerald Taylor (The Explosives Expert) and John McKelvey (The Police Inspector). |
 Richard Austin Freeman's fictional Edwardian detective Doctor John Evelyn Thorndyke first appeared in the popular Detective anthology series in July 1964 in an adventure entitled The Case Of Oscar Brodski. The story, which concerned an investigation into the suspicious activities of Silas Hickler at a London railway station, featured character actor Peter Copley in the leading role. The popularity of this edition of Detective safely saw that a series followed a mere three months later. In the series Thorndyke was joined by two colleagues, medical man Doctor Jervis (Paul Williamson) and his photography enthusiast, manservant and assistant, Polton (Patrick Newell). The former became an official port of call during his investigations, whilst the latter acted as a kind of Holmes-eque Doctor Watson assisting Thorndyke. The series was certainly a rare example of a detective who relied on scientific know-how rather than intuitive improvisation, part forensic pathologist, part scientific investigator. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, Thorndyke was not a consulting detective - he was a scientist who became conveniently involved (or his curiosity would be firmly pricked) with matters arising from mysterious events or activities, and invariably the people involved would be close personal friends, colleagues and acquaintances. The cases were decidedly undemanding fare, yet the strength of Copley's rendition of Thorndyke enabled him to command audience attention in the pursuit of justice using scientific methods. Also unlike Holmes, Thorndyke's Watson was a capable and intelligent man capable of his own investigations, yet he too would call upon science to extricate himself from the assumption of law enforcers on the evidence at hand. The programme was short-lived (six fifty-minute editions were the sole output), and the series has disappeared in the memory of viewers over the forty years since its transmission. The series was not exported or commercially exploited and is not available in any format. Text © Matthew Lee, 2004.
The series was produced by John Robins. Script Editor for the series was K Levison. Music for the series was provided by Albert Elms. |