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Bleak House is the first BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. It was adapted by Constance Cox as an eleven-part series of half-hour episodes first transmitted from 16 October 1959. It stars Andrew Cruickshank in the role of John Jarndyce, Diana Fairfax as Esther Summerson and Colin Jeavons as Richard Carstone. The complete series still exists.
Adam Knight is a young man who, having tried several jobs, decides to set up an agency, 'Knight Errant '59', to solve other people's problems - whatever they may be. There's plenty of scope and, assisted by former reporter Liz and idealistic young writer Peter, the latter-day Sir Lancelot is kept busy with a variety of curious and exciting cases. The series had two titles, Knight Errant '59 and Knight Errant Limited of which only two episodes exist out of the 75 produced.
Starr and Company is a BBC television drama series aired in 1958. It was a soap opera, aired twice a week, Monday and Thursday. 77 episodes were made. The series was set in a buoy-making firm established by retired naval engineer Joseph Starr in the fictional town of Sullbridge in South East England.
The Errol Flynn Theatre is a short-lived anthology series presented by Errol Flynn, who would also play the lead in every fourth show. His then-wife Patrice Wymore and son Sean also made appearances. It was shot in England at Bray Studios but was made for the American market.
Noggin the Nog is a popular British children's character. Noggin himself is a simple, kind and unassuming King of the Northmen in a roughly Viking-age setting, with various fantastic elements such as dragons, flying machines and talking birds.
Robin Hood was produced in 1953 by the BBC, during which time these episodes were transmitted live and then re-acted the following Saturday or Sunday in order for a repeat to be shown. However, in some cases, television programmes were recorded onto 16mm film; the age and technology used in order to film titles such as Robin Hood mean that they no longer survive in their original quality, which means that transmission of these episodes by today's standards would be deemed as 'unacceptable'. However, short clips of this serial have aired as recently as 2007 as part of a documentary presented by Jonathan Ross, covering Robin Hood from its beginnings to the more recent BBC production, and shown as an example of television production in the BBC series of documentaries entitled Children's T.V. On Trial The 1950s. The show lasted only for one season, and starred Patrick Troughton as Robin Hood. Later was aired the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.
This is a real treasure for the countless fans of this flamboyant pianist and singer whose talent was almost overshadowed by his glittering stage productions. With his dazzling piano virtuosity and sparkling personality, Liberace endeared himself to millions. Dressed in his exotic suits and with a candelabra always present on the piano, he brought a special magic and charm to everything he played, whether it be the classics or the latest popular song. Here he runs the full gamut... from Chopin to Tin Pan Alley and all in his own unique style.
Murder Bag debuted in 1957, featuring Detective Lockhart and his iconic murder bag for forensic investigations.
British expatriate John A. Hunter leads safari tours in Africa.
Boy Meets Girls was a UK popular music TV show which was launched in September 1959 replacing the earlier show Oh Boy!. The show was presented and produced by Jack Good. Marty Wilde was the principal resident male artist and The Vernons Girls were the female residents. Joe Brown made regular appearances. Other artists appearing included Terry Dene, Freddy Cannon, Little Tony & His Brothers, Adam Faith and Cliff Richard. The director was Rita Gillespie for ABC Weekend Television part of the ITV network. It closed in 1960; all 26 episodes were subsequently wiped, and none survive in ITV's archive as of 2009.
A team of scientists search for the origin and purpose of a mysterious capsule found on a building site.
Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, the story of the first crewed flight into space, supervised by Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group.
Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group is sought to examine strange meteorite showers. His investigations lead to his uncovering a conspiracy involving alien infiltration at the highest levels of the British Government. As even some of Quatermass's closest colleagues fall victim to the alien influence, he is forced to use his own unsafe rocket prototype, which recently caused a nuclear disaster at an Australian testing range, to prevent the aliens from taking over mankind.
Our Miss Pemberton is a British television programme which aired on the BBC from 1957 to 1958. A drama, it was about life in a small town. All 56 episodes were broadcast live and no telerecordings appear to have survived, leaving them lost.
The programme ran on BBC in 1952-53, returning in '55 after a hiatus. "Before Your Very Eyes" featured comic monologues and simple skits, of the sort which had been popular in English music hall between the wars. Askey was ably assisted by Dickie Henderson, soon to become a major comedian in his own right.
What was the secret of the great deserted house overlooking the sea from the lonely peninsula on the Scottish coast? Why was the house so closely guarded by the silent men who would have no dealings with their neighbours' in the village below? In Judith Kerr's adaptation of John Buchan's most exciting novel Huntingtower you can see how chance brought together strange partners to solve the mystery. A retired grocer, a poet, and a band of tough, ragged Gorbals Boy Scouts combine forces to uncover the secret. Huntingtower by John Buchan was adapted as a six-part BBC Television Children's serial by Judith Kerr and first broadcast on the BBC-tv network on Sundays (5.35–6.05pm) from 16 June to 21 July 1957. It starred James Hayter and Richard Wordsworth.
The New Adventures of Charlie Chan is a British-American crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated television from June 1957, to 1958. The first five episodes were made by Vision Productions in the United States, before production switched to the United Kingdom under ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America.
The Black Brigand' (1956) - starred William Devlin as Carl the White King, Laidman Browne as Don Rogano and Anthony Newlands played Fernando. Carl the White King was a Macchiavelian figure who ruled the country with cruelty and oppression. Don Fernando, exiled from court, was a Robin Hood/ Zorro type figure who redressed ordinary people's grievances, but whose identity was unknown to the King. Series is believed to be lost.
Inspector Paul Derek is based in Nairobi, Kenya but travels throughout the colonial territory solving crimes. The nature of the bad behavior is often unique to the African locale. The phone number at the office is 1356.
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
O.S.S. was a Buckeye Productions and Associated Television co-produced wartime television drama series. It ran for 26 half-hour monochrome episodes during the 1957-1958 season and was distributed by ITC Entertainment and networked in the United States by ABC. The series followed the adventures of Frank Hawthorne, an agent with the American Office of Strategic Services, who operated behind Nazi lines in occupied France.
Life with the Lyons is a British radio and television domestic sitcom dating from the 1950s.
An eight part BBC miniseries about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was notable as being the first production featuring an actor depicting Jesus.
Dick and the Duchess is a rare 1950s CBS situation comedy shot and set in London; it was one of the earliest of filmed television series in the UK. A multinational insurance company stationed American Dick Starrett in London as an investigator and adjuster. His wife, Jane, daughter of an English earl, and her family were less than enchanted with her marriage to a commoner — and an American at that. Jane feels that she had been 'Americanised' by movie and television crime stories enough to be a detective, so she often tries to help with Dick's investigations, although she usually causes more problems by doing so.
A series of actors and actresses performing dances with each other.
Former spy Richard Hannay is drawn out of retirement to stop a criminal conspiracy involving hypnotism and blackmail. A sinister organisation kidnaps the children of prominent figures to manipulate global affairs, forcing Hannay to confront the deviously charismatic Dominick Medina in a battle of wits and psychological warfare.
Intertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in 1860s London.
Sword of Freedom was a 1958 drama adventure series for a family audience. Like several of its predecessors, it was produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and fitted into the same swashbuckler genre as previous productions. It ran for 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.
Private Investigator was a groundbreaking British television drama that delved into the shadowy, complex world of private detection through the cases handled by an English detective agency. Central to the series was the character of John Unthank, played by seasoned actor Campbell Singer, whose understated but authoritative screen presence anchored the show. Unthank was supported by a capable team portrayed by Ursula Camm, Douglas Muir, Ian White, and Allan McClelland.
Interesting fifteen episode miniseries broadcast weekly by BBC in 1954-1955. It covers different aspects of the air war during World War II. It also briefly contextualises the development of aircraft immediately before and after the war.
In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.
A former army officer tries to adapt to life on 'Civvy Street'.
The Flower Pot Men is a British children's programme, produced by BBC television, first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years, which was produced in a new version in 2001. The show was the basis for a comic strip of the same name in the children's magazine Robin.
St. Ives was a television mini-series broadcast in 1955. Based on the novel of the same name, it aired on the BBC for a total of six 30-minute episodes. Cast included William Russell, Noelle Middleton, and Francis Matthews. The most notable aspect of the production is that, unlike many BBC series of the era, the episodes still exist. Later BBC television versions of the story aired in 1960 and 1967, but are believed to have been wiped.
The first BBC TV version was presented as an 8 part x 30mins. serial between 6 Feb 1951 and 27 Mar 1951. The original production was broadcast live from the Children's TV studio at Lime Grove. There was one transmission during the week with a live repeat, often with a totally different crew, on Sundays. In those days, the amount of telecine (film inserts) was relatively small, so there was great pressure on the actors and the camera crews.
In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.
Face To Face is a BBC television series originally broadcast between 1959 and 1962, created and produced by Hugh Burnett, which ran for 35 episodes. The insightful and often probing style of the interviewer, former politician John Freeman, separated it from other programmes of the time. The series was revived in 1989 with Jeremy Isaacs as the interviewer. This version ran until 1998.
Bunter is up to his usual pranks; falling asleep in class, stealing jam and cakes from other boys' lockers, chalking rude things on the blackboard, getting six of the best from Mr Quelch, failing to turn up for cricket, scuffling with the local vagrant and even being threatened with expulsion.
A gala programme broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also revived in 1994. It was hosted by a leading star and featured specially made short, seasonal editions of the previous year's most popular sitcoms and light entertainment programmes.
A treasure has been hidden at Woburn Abbey at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. When the sale of the present-day estate is threatened three children find this treasure by means of five clues hidden in a deer's antler.
Children's programme featuring animated nursery rhymes.
The Artful Dodger was a short-lived black-and-white British sitcom starring Dave Morris and Gretchen Franklin. It ran for one series in 1959. It was written by Frank Roscoe and Dave Morris.
Comedian Arthur Askey and his buddy Stinker reside in a flat on top of Associated-Rediffusion's Television House in Aldwych, getting into all sorts of comedic situations. The series was based on the BBC radio comedy Band Waggon. Produced for the ITV network by Associated-Rediffusion, all nine episodes survive in the archives.
Fabian of the Yard is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, produced by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earliest plice procedural made for British TV, sharing many points of commonality with the U.S. series Dragnet. There were 36 episodes in total, of 30 minutes each. The first thirty were broadcast consecutively on Saturday evenings between 13 November 1954 and 22 June 1955, with the exceptions of Christmas Day and New Year's Day which happened to fall on a Saturday. For unknown reasons, the final six were held back, and later broadcast intermittently between November 1955 and February 1956.
Robert Beatty stars as Detective Inspector Mike Maguire, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman posted to New Scotland Yard, in this 1950s series depicting London's fight against crime.