 |
 Sixties
Television - Pre 60s Classics |
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0808 2024 247 Women's
Aid
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African
Patrol
ITV 1958 Grosse-Krasne Prodns Kenya Prodns |
39
x 30 minute episodes followed the adventures of a white policeman
in Kenya.
Patrol Inspector Paul Derek was played by John Bentley. The show was filmed on location in the Kenya National Game Reserve with fabulous scenery and wildlife action backgrounds |
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Alfred
Hitchcock Presents
ITV 1957 Shamley Productions / Revue |
265
episodes of this mystery thriller anthology series were introduced
and closed by the dry grave humour of Alfred Hitchcock. A further
93 one-hour shows were made under the title 'The Alfred Hitchcock
Hour'. All the shows were produced by Joan Harrison and 18 of
them were directed by the master of the macabre himself
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Armchair
Theatre
ABC 1956 - later, THAMES |
A
long-running series of both live and recorded drama presentations,
many by famous authors, some of which led to the birth of various
other series and anthologies including 'Out of This World'. The
show was also variously known as Armchair Summer Theatre and Armchair
Mystery Theatre. The many productions over the years included
included 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' ( 1962 ), 'The Apprenticeship
of Duddy Kravitz' ( 1961 ), 'Dumb Martian' ( 1962 ), 'Hot Summer
Night' and 'The Last Tycoon' ( 1959 )
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BBC
Television News
BBC 1954 |
First
presented by Richard Baker at 7:30 p.m. on 5th July 1954 as a
news summary compilation of stills, newsreels and interviews.
The actual newsreaders were not visible to the viewers until 1955
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Billy
Bunter
of Greyfriars School BBC 1952 |
30
minute children's show based on the MAGNET comic character created
by Frank Richards. The food-loving schoolboy was played by Gerald
Campion withKynaston Reeves as his schoolmaster nemesis, Mister
Quelch. Yarooh!
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Blue
Peter
BBC 1958 |
The
long-running children's programme started as a 15 minute slot
presented by Christopher Trace and Leila Williams under the general
heading of Children's Television. This was later increased to
30 minutes under its own title and Trace was joined by show doyen
Valerie Singleton when Williams departed in 1962. Also joining
the show in 62 was Petra, the seriesfirst pet dog. John Noakes
joined the crew in 1965 with 'Shep' and Peter Purves replaced
Trace in 1967. The leading light behind the production and success
of the show was Biddy Baxter
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Bronco
BBC 1959 Warner Brothers |
This
was the 68 x 60 minute episode replacement Western 'drifter' series
for 'Cheyenne' and starred Ty Hardin as the almost impossibly
good-looking ex-Confederate soldier Bronco Layne. A hallmark of
virtually all the American 'westerns' of the 50s and 60s were
the memorable title songs, this one being no exception. Bronco,
Bronco, tearin' across the Texas plain..........
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| Cannonball ITV 1959-? CBC / Normandie / Robert Maxwell |
The
rumble of the diesel, the shifting of the gears, name your destination
and brother, he'll be there, Cannonbaaaaaaall!! Brilliant 39 x 30
minute Canadian series starring Paul Birch as Mike 'Cannonball'
Malone and William Campbell as Jerry Austin, co-drivers of an eighteen
wheel road hauler and their adventures along the highways of North
America. Other main characters were played by Beth Lockerbie ( Beth
Malone ), Howard Milsom ( dispatcher Harry Butler ), Beth Morris
and Steve Barringer Ginny and Butch Malone ). The series was directed
by Les Selander and Les Goodwins |
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Cheyenne
ITV 1958 Warner Brothers |
This
American western drama series set just after the American Civil
War starred Clint Walker as the quick-draw drifter Cheyenne Bodie,
notable for his long-fringed jacket. The 107 x 60 minute series
ended when Walker walked out after a contractual dispute and it
was replaced with a similar programme called 'Bronco'
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Crackerjack
BBC 1955 |
This
long-running children's show, 439 x 40/50mins, originally compered
by Eamonn Andrews assisted by Leslie Crowther, Peter Glaze, Pip
Hinton and Jillian Comber featured Richard Hearne's character
Mr. Pastry as a regular 'guest'. Highlights included the 'Double
or Drop' quiz with losers getting a cabbage and the winner receiving,
amongst other prizes, the legendary 'Crackerjack pencil'. Other
hosts of the 50s and 60s included Jack Douglas, Ronnie Corbett
and Michael Aspel
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Criss
Cross Quiz
Junior Criss Cross Quiz GRANADA 1957-67 |
342
shows were made of this TV version of noughts and crosses, presented
by Jeremy Hawke ( until 1962 ) and Barbara Kelly. It featured
two contestants battling against each other to complete a three-in-a
row line. Noughts or Crosses were 'won' by answering questions
correctly to win games worth up to the princely sum of £100.
There were also 391 shows made of a children's version called
'Junior Criss Cross quiz', for the 12 - 14 age group, which screened
early on Wednesday evenings. These were presented at various times
by Chris Kelly, Bob Holness, Mike Sarne, Chris Howland, Gordon
Luck, Peter Wheeler, Bill Grundy and Danny Blanchflower
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Dixon
of Dock Green
BBC 1955-76 |
For
21 years and 429 episodes, originally154 x 30 minutes, later 275
x 40 - 45 minutes, Jack Warner starred as the famous P.C. ( promoted
to Sergeant in 1964 ) whose character (created by Ted Willis)
originated in the 1949 Ealing film 'The Blue Lamp'. Billie Whitelaw
played his daughter in early episodes
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Dotto
ATV 1958-60 |
50
dots concealed the portrait of a personality, which was slowly
uncovered by the correct answering of contestants in this early
quiz show. Presented initially by Robert Gladwell, later Jimmy
Handley then Shaw Taylor, the prize money consisted of £5
for each dot not filled in, by the contestant guessing the personality
first
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Double
Your Money
A-R 1955 - 68 Arlington Television and Radio Ltd |
In
tandem with 'Take Your Pick', this was one of ITVs first, and
most successful quiz shows. Hughie Green presided over proceedings
assisted, at various times, by Nancy Roberts, Jean Clarke, Valerie
Drew, Julie deMarco, Sabrina, Alice Earrey and Monica Rose. The
finale, a £1000 'treasure trail' saw the contestant answering
questions in a soundproof booth
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Dragnet
ITV 1955 Mark VII - MCA |
30 minute episodes featured the activities of two Los Angeles
detectives. Sgt Joe 'just the facts, ma'am' Friday was played
by Jack Webb ( who also produced and directed the show ) with
Officer Frank Smith played by Ben Alexander. This character was
later replaced by Officer Bill Gannon ( Harry Morgan ). 'The story
you have just seen is true. Only the names have been changed to
protect the innocent'
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Emergency
- Ward 10
ATV 1957 |
This
was the first, and extremely successful, twice weekly soap opera
produced by ITV. It was set against the medical background of
Oxbridge General Hospital, following the private and public lives
of the doctors, nurses and patients. It enjoyed half-hour slots
on Tuesdays and Fridays and ran for ten years, also producing
a spin-off series in 1961 titled 'Call Oxbridge 2024'. The series
was created by Tessa Diamond and regular early stars included
Jill Browne, Richard Thorp, Glyn Owen, Ray Barrett and Charles
Tingwell. John Alderton joined the cast in 1963 as Dr Richard
Moone
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Face
To Face
BBC 1959 |
John
Freeman was the hard-nosed presenter of this 15 minute ( later
30min ) interview programme produced by Hugh Burnett. Famous names
to suffer his inquisition included Adam Faith, Gilbert Harding,
Tony Hancock, Evelyn Waugh, Professor Carl Jung and Doctor Martin
Luther King. The programme series lasted three years and is memorable
for the opening and closing credits which frequently featured
charcoal drawings of the week's victim by artist Feliks Topolski
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Frontiers
of Science
BBC 1956 - 60, BBC2 1968 - 69 |
A
30 minute programme which examined many and various aspects of
modern science, including the possibility of space travel. Originally
produced by James McCloy
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Gardening
Club
BBC 1955 |
Popular,
long-running programme presented by Percy Thrower which began
life from the roof-top garden of the Lime Grove studios. It later
evolved into Gardener's World
( BBC2 1968 ) with guest appearances and location filming |
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Garry
Halliday
BBC 1959 |
Silver
City Airways of Lydd provided the real-life facilities for this
series about the 'Biggles'-style adventures of Garry Halliday
( Terence Longdon ), a pilot for a commercial airline company.
The other main characters were played by Terence Alexander and
Ann Gudrun. Richard West produced
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Grandstand
BBC 1958 |
This Saturday afternoon non-stop sports programme remains the
longest-running of its type in the world. Based at Lime Grove
studios, it was fronted in the 50s and 60s by Peter Dimmock (2
weeks), David Coleman ( until 1968 ) and Frank Bough. Football
results were read by Leonard Martin. Horse racing commentators
were Peter O'Sullevan and Clive Graham with results read by Tim
Gudgin
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Gun
Law
ITV 1956 CBS |
Later:
Gunsmoke - 30 minute episodes later increased to 60 minutes. |
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Hancock's
Half Hour
BBC 1956, ATV-MacCONKEY 1963 ABC 1967 |
The
classic Galton & Simpson 30-minute TV comedy series starring
the tragic genius started life as a radio show in 1954. He was
ably supported by other comedy giants including Bill Kerr, Sid
James, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams and Warren Mitchell. The
episode that everyone knows is 'The Blood Donor' ( a pint? that's
nearly an armful! ). The show became 'Hancock' in 1961 and 'Hancock's'
in 1967 where he played the owner of a night club in swingin'
London
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Hawaiian Eye ITV 1959-63 Warner Brothers |
134
x 60 minute episodes were made of this detective / action series
which starred ( at various times ) Robert Conrad as Tom Lopaka,
Troy Donahue as Philip Barton, Anthony Eisley as Tracy Steele, Connie
Stevens as Cricket Blake and Poncie Ponce as 'Kazuo Kim' Quisado.
Similar in style to '77 Sunset Strip' ( not surprising as the two
series were made at the same studios at the same time ) this Private
Eye series was set in Hawaii where the team were house detectives
at the Hawaiian Village Hotel |
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Hawkeye
and The Last
of The Mohicans ITV 1957 Normandie Prodns ( Canada ) |
A
Canadian western-type action series consisting of 39 x 30 minute
episodes and 4 telefeatures based on stories by James Fenimore
Cooper. Set in North America before the revolution it starred
John Hart as the buckskin-clad Nat 'Hawkeye' Cutler and Lon Chaney
Jr as Chingachgook, 'the last of the Mohicans'. The titles of
the telefeatures were: 'Along The Mohawk Trail', 'The Pathfinder
and The Mohican', 'The Redmen and The Renegades' and 'The Long
Rifle and The Tomahawk'
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Highway
Patrol
ITV 1956 ZIV-UA |
The
classic American police action drama shot and chased its way through
the 30 minute episodes which starred Broderick Crawford as Highway
Patrol Chief Dan Matthews and ensured that the expression 'ten-four'
would become, forever, a part of our language
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I
Love Lucy
ITV 1955 CBS, Desilu Prodns |
The179-episode classic American sitcom which featured Lucille Ball and real life husband Desi Arnaz. ( They founded Desilu studios which was later to be the home of Star Trek ). Long-suffering neighbours Fred and Ethel Mertz were played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance. The show was resurrected twice in the sixties as The Lucy Show, minus the now-divorced Desi, and Here's Lucy, with Gale Gordon as her bank manager employer |
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Ivanhoe
ITV 1958 Sydney Box Prodns Screen Gems / ITC |
Based
on Sir Walter Scott's historical character and set in the time
of Robin Hood, 39 x 30 minute episodes of this action show saw
Roger Moore play the title role in his debut on British television.
Other characters were portrayed by Andrew Keir (Prince John),
Robert Brown ( Gurth the squire) and John Pike (Bart, Gurth's
son). Herbert Smith and Bernard Coote produced the series, filmed
at Beaconsfield studios. Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe, to adventure, bold
adventure, watch him go........
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Jim's
Inn
A-R 1957 |
This
was probably the best-known of a curious type of programme known
as an 'Admag'. Essentially one long advert for various products
in a contrived storyline framework, admags were banned in 1963.
This particular programme centred around a local pub in 'Wembleham'
which was run by Jimmy and Maggie Hanley who happily spent their
time discussing the merits of various products over the bar with
their customers. Other admags included 'About Homes and Gardens'
(ATV 56), Elizabeth Allen Goes Shopping in London', 'Where Shall
We Go?' (ABC 56), 'What's In Store?' (ABC 56), 'Shop In The South',
'Over The Hills' (AR 56/57), 'Slater's Bazaar' (ATV 57/59) and
'What's New?' (AR 57)
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Jungle
Boy
ITV 1959 |
a.k.a.
'Adventures Of A Jungle Boy', this junior tarzan-like lad swang
through the trees of East Africa for 39 half-hour episodes after
being made an orphan when his parents failed to return from a
jungle expedition. The friends sharing his bamboo tree-top house
(or its surrounds) were Cheetah (no prizes here!), Simba (nor
here!) and Quaggo the Zebra. Michael Carr Hartley played the title
role
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Knight
Errant 59
GRANADA 1959 |
The
action/drama stories of a team of mercenary adventurers starring
John Turner as Adam Knight and his partners Peter Parker ( Richard
Carpenter ) and Liz Parrish ( Kay Callard ). The series curiously
changed its name with the times, becoming first 'Knight Errant
60' then 'Knight Errant Limited' for the 60/61 series. The lead
characters changed, being taken over by Wendy Williams and Hugh
David for the 61 shows with Kay Callard returning for the final
series
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Life
With The Lyons
BBC 1955-6 A-R 1957 |
A
fortnightly TV domestic comedy spin-off of a radio programme which
featured a real-life family. Bebe Daniels, Barbara Lyon, Ben Lyon
and Richard Lyon. The show switched channels in 1957, retaining
the same format and 'guests' which included Molly Weir and Richard
Bellaers as Robin
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Look
BBC 1955 |
A
long-running series of wildfe programmes shot in exotic locations
and introduced by Peter Scott. There was also a children's edition
shown in an early time slot
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Mark
Saber
ITV 1957-62 Danzigers |
This
was essentially a series of stories derived from a US series called
'Mystery Theatre' in which a British police inspector was working
for an American police department. During i's life it went through
an extraordinary number of title changes which were: 'Inspector
Mark Saber - Homicide Squad', 'The Vise', 'Mark Saber', 'Saber
of London'. Characters were played by many different artists and
the storyline basis also changed as it switched between being
an American and a UK series. The first Saber was played by Tom
Conway. Donald Gray took over the part for 'The Vise'
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Maverick
ITV 1959 Warner Brothers |
Light-hearted
60min semi-comedy western series about a gambler, Bret Maverick,
brilliantly played by James Garner. Curiously, alternate weeks
featured Bret's brother Bart, played by Jack Kelly and later,
even more of the Maverick clan as they were joined by another
brother, Brent ( Robert Colbert of 'Time Tunnel' ) and an English
cousin Beau played by Roger Moore
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No
Hiding Place
A-R 1959 |
236
x 60 minute episodes of this police drama series were made, which
evolved from two earlier series:' Murder Bag' ( 55 x 30 min episodes
) and 'Crime Sheet' ( 17 x 30 minute episodes ). The central character
throughout was Chief Detective Superintendent Lockhart, played
by Raymond Francis. The other main characters were DS Russell
( Johnny Briggs ), DS Perryman ( Michael McStay ), DS Gregg (
Sean Caffrey ) and DS Baxter ( Eric Lander ) whose character,
promoted to Detective Inspector, appeared in a 10 x 30min spin-off
series called 'Echo Four-Two' (A-R 61). Francis, as Lockhart,
also appeared in a Rediffusion Christmas special called 'Deep
and Crisp and Stolen' which was essentially a comedy
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On
Safari
BBC 1957-59 1961-65 |
Superb
series of beautifully-filmed wildlife programmes made mainly in
Kenya and Uganda by the husband and wife team of Armand and Michaela
Denis. Previous series by them included 'Filming Wild Animals'
(BBC 54/55), 'Filming In Africa' (BBC 55), 'Michaela and Armand
Denis' (ATV 55/58)
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Opportunity
Knocks
A-R 1956 ABC 1964-67 THAMES 1968 |
Hosted
by the legendary Hughie 'I mean that most sincerely folks' Green
this was a talent show which boosted many of its participants
to stardom. The studio audience voted for their favourite by means
of the 'clapometer' which registered the loudness of their applause
and the home audience were invited to send in votes to decide
the winner
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Panorama
BBC 1953 |
Originally
a fortnightly magazine programme this grew into TVs oldest-established
current affairs programme. Presenters included Richard Dimbleby,
Chris Chataway, Michael Barratt, Leonard Parkin and Robin Day
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Picture
Parade
BBC 1956 |
Peter
Haigh and Derek Bond ( later Robert Robinson - 1959 ) presented
this weekly magazine programme featuring film previews, new cinema
releases and the world of cinema in general, often with famous
studio guests
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Pinky
And Perky
BBC 1957 THAMES 1968 |
Highly
successful pig puppetry show based on popular music, created by
Czech puppeteers Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. The extraordinary success
of this format continued through various series right up until
1970. Many famous names appeared as guest stars on their shows,
which always took on the appearance of a number of 'cabaret-style'
scenes. By the way....Perky wore the hat
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Probation
Officer
ATV 1959-62 |
A
55-minute series which was fictional, but almost a documentary
drama about the probation service and problems faced during their
operations in London's Notting Hill area. The original cast featured
David Davies, John Paul and Honor Blackman, later joined by Jessica
Spencer
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Rawhide
ITV 1959 CBS |
Head
'em up! Move 'em out! Rollin', rollin', rollin....is there anybody
who does not know the title theme to this series, so superbly
sung by Frankie Laine. Eric Fleming starred as trail boss Gil
Favor and featured 217 x 60 minute stories about the drovers problems
as they steered their longhorns along the Sedalia trail of the
1870s. Top hands assisting in fighting off everything from indians
to outlaws to women of dubious virtue were Rowdy Yates (Clint
Eastwood), Pete Nolan (Sheb Woolley) and the chuck-wagon masters
Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) and Mushy (James Murdock). Still brilliant!
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Saturday
Playhouse
BBC 1958-61 |
A
long-running collection of plays derived from stage productions
and recorded at various studios
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Sea
Hunt
ITV 1958 Ziv-UA |
Highly
popular and superbly filmed action / drama series starring Lloyd
Bridges as Mike Nelson, who found himself involved in many underwater
adventures as the result of being hired by treasure-hunters, sub-aqua
expeditions and diverse, unscrupulous people for devious means.
30 minute episodes
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Skyport
GRANADA 1959 |
A
drama series surrounding the life, loves and innumerable problems
of a large commercial airport. 52 x 30min shows were made starring
George Moon, Gerald Harper, Barry Foster and Lisa Gastoni
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Sportsview
BBC 1954 |
Originally
introduced by Peter Dimmock, later Brian Johnston. Features included
the first 4-minute mile and a studio boxing exhibition by world
champion Floyd Patterson. A children's version, Junior Sportsview,
was presented by Danny Blanchflower and Billy Wright from 1957
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Spot
The Tune
GRANADA 1956-62 |
209
x 30 minute shows featuredthis musical quiz show in which the
contestants had to guess the song from only a few bars of the
tune. Resident singer was Marion Ryan (pictured - mother of Paul
and Barry) backed by the Peter Knight orchestra. The show's presenters
included Ted Ray, Jackie Rae ( pictured ) and Ken Platt
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Spycatcher
BBC 1959-61 |
Bernard
Archer starred in this wartime series based on the true life stories
of spycatcher Lt Col Oreste Pinto. 19 x 30min episodes were made
telling the tales of Britains attempts to prevent enemy infiltration
by any means at its disposal. Written by Robert Barr and produced
by Terence Cook
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Sunday
Night At
The London Palladium ATV 1955-67 |
Superb
all-round entertainment show with world-class variety guests topping
the bill and featuring the fabulous high-kicking Tiller girls.
The shows were produced by Val Parnell and included a game segment
called 'Beat The Clock' in which members of the audience had 60
seconds to perform a variety of inane tasks, usually including
balloon popping. Top-line comedians acted as hosts and MCs. The
first of these was Tommy Trinder, followed by Dickie Henderson,
Bruce Forsyth, Norman 'swingin, dodgy' Vaughan and the irepressible
Jimmy Tarbuck. Probably the most memorable feature was the revolving
stage finale at the end in which famously, the Rolling Stones
refused to take part
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Sword
of Freedom
ITV 1958 Weinstein Prodns / Sapphire Films |
One
of Sapphire's classic historical action shows set in Florence
during the Italian renaissance. Edmund Purdom swashbuckled his
way through 39 x 30 minute episodes as freedom fighter Marco del
Monte, pitting his wits against the evil Machiavelli and the de
Medicis. The series also starred Adrienne Corri as Angelica and
Rowland Bartrop as Sandro. Original series title was 'The Florentine'
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Take
Your Pick
A-R 1955-68 |
The
highly entertaining quiz-show stablemate to Double Your Money
which featured Michael Miles as the questionmaster and the voice
of Bob Danvers-Walker announcing the prizes. The two sections
of the show were a 60 second 'Yes / No' interlude with the famous
gong, wielded by Alec Dane, following which the winner, if they
answered a further three questions correctly, was tempted to 'take
the money' offered by Michael or withstand his appeals and choose
to 'open the box', the choice of one of ten, which possibly contained
the Star Prize, a chance to open 'Box 13' or, in three cases,
a Booby Prize. The organ riff between segments was played by Harold
Smart
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The
Adventures
of Champion BBC 1956 Flying 'A' Prodns ( Gene Autry ) |
26
x 30 minute episodes featured Champion the Wonder Horse, Ricky
( Barry Curtis ) and Rebel the dog in this children's adventure
programme originally intended to promote Gene Autry's horse. The
ranch owner , Uncle Sandy, was played by Jim Bannon with another
regular, Will Calhoun ( Francis McDonald ) providing a light-hearted
element. The memorable title song was sung, yet again, by Frankie
Laine
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The
Adventures
of Long John Silver ITV 1957 Isola del'Oro Productions - Australia |
26
x 30 minute colour episodes were made of this Australian series
which featured Robert Newton as the one-legged swashbuckling hero
immortalised in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island'. Connie
Gilchrist played Miss Purity Pinker and Kit Taylor played the
young Jim Hawkins
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The
Adventures
of Robin Hood ITP 1955 ABC / Sapphire Films |
143
x 30 minute episodes and a spin-off film featured Richard Greene
as Robin Hood, Bernadette O'Farrell ( later Patricia Driscoll
) as Maid Marian, Archie Duncan ( Little John ), Alexander Gauge
( Friar Tuck ), Paul Eddington ( Will Scarlett ) and Alan Wheatley
as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Donald Pleasence made an occasional
appearance as Prince John. Hugely successful in both the U.K.
and U.S.A.
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The
Adventures
of Sir Lancelot ITV 1956 Sapphire Films |
30
x 30 minute episodes starred William Russell ( later to appear
in Doctor Who ) as the gallant Arthurian knight of the round table
along with King Arthur ( Bruce Seton, Ronald Leigh-Hunt ), Queen
Guinevere ( Jane Hylton ) and Merlin ( Cyril Smith ). Made at
the Nettlefold studios, Walton-on-Thames
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The
Adventures
of William Tell ITV 1958-59 ITC - NTA |
Fabulous
action / adventure series starring Conrad Phillips as the famous
freedom fighter in 14th century Switzerland. 39 x 30 minute episodes
were made at National Studios and on location in the Welsh mountains,
telling the story of Tell's outlaw struggles against Austrian
overseer Landburgher Gessler, played by the wonderful Willoughby
Goddard. Jennifer Jayne played his wife Hedda and his son by Richard
Rogers. Nigel Greene turned up periodically as Tell's friend and
ally, 'The Bear'. Series producer was Ralph Smart. DAH da da DAH
da Daaaaah........
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The
Army Game
GRANADA 1957 |
153
x 30 minute episodes featured the motley British Army equivalent
of Bilko based in hut 29 of the Nether Hopping Surplus Ordnance
Depot. The mainstays of the series were Sgt Major Bullimore played
by William Hartnell ( replaced by Bill Fraser as CSM Claude Snudge
in 1958 ) and Private 'excused boots' Bisley played by Alfie Bass.
Pte Popplewell was played by Bernard Bresslaw whose catchphrase
'I Only Arsked' became the title of the 1958 Hammer feature film.
A 1960 spin-off series was entitled 'Bootsie and Snudge'
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The
Arthur Haynes Show
ATV 1956 |
A
comedy mixture of sketches written by the great Johnny Speight,
and music, starring Arthur Haynes and featuring Nicholas Parsons,
Patricia Hayes, Graham Stark and Dermot Kelly. Probably most famous
for its 'tramp' characters and sketches
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The
Benny Hill Show
BBC 1955-57, 61, BBC11964-66 ATV 1967, BBC1 1968, THAMES 1969 |
The
king of innuendo and light-hearted smuttiness and slapstick started
his television career a lot earlier than most people realise.
Early shows contained, besides the ubiquitous gorgeous girls,
parodies of current hit shows, later moving on to comedy playlets
and the famous sketch sequences
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The
Billy Cotton
Band Show BBC 1956 |
50
minute shows featuring non-stop dancing, music and comedy fronted
by the all-round entertainer. This show evolved from the earlier
'Wakey, Wakey', ( Billy's catchphrase ) and was to become Billy
Cotton's Music Hall in 1965. Resident entertainers included Russ
Conway and Kathie Kay. Billy Cotton Jr produced the show
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The
Buccaneers
ITV 1956 Sapphire Films |
39
x 30 minute episodes told the swashbuckling tales of a band of
pirates set in the Bahamas in 1722. Robert Shaw made his TV debut
in the show as Captain Dan Tempest, battling against Blackbeard
and other undesirable cutthroats in a bid to earn their pardon
from Governor Woodes Rogers, played by Alec Clunes. Produced by
Sidney Cole
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The
Count
of Monte Cristo ITV 1956 Vision Prodns - TPA |
Edmund
Dantes, the nineteenth century Alexandre Dumas hero flashed his
sword through 39 x 30 minute episodes, played by George Dolenz
and accompanied by a bearded mute and Fortunio Bonanova. The series
recounted episodes of his life following his acquisition of the
Monte Cristo fortune. First shown in America a year earlier
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The
Gay Cavalier
A - R 1957 George King Prodns |
Hardly
a title which would be considered for an action series these days!
13 x 30 minute episodes were made of this historical action drama
which starred Christian Marquand as Captain Claude Duval, swashbuckling
his way through the English civil war, directed by Terence Fisher
and Lance Comfort
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The
Good Old Days
BBC 1953 |
Old-time
Edwardian music-hall format show originally chaired by Don Gemmell,
later Leonard Sachs. The show was transmitted from the Leeds City
Varieties Theatre and produced by Barney Colehan
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The
Invisible Man
ITV 1958 Official Films |
26
x 30 minute episodes saw scientist Peter Brady, ( anonymous in
the credits but voiced by Tim Turner ) rendering assistance by
virtue of his unique talents to the police and the government.
This was in exchange for being allowed to conduct experiments
to try and return himself to normal after a laboratory accident
experimenting with the refraction of light had left him completely
invisible. Superb special effects, rather than strong storylines,
were responsible for the success of this Ralph Smart produced
series based on the story by H.G.Wells. Lisa Daniely starred as
Brady's sister and Deborah Watling as his young niece
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The
Ken Dodd Show
BBC 1959-63 1966 |
The
first of various series of shows starring the genius of the buck-toothed,
shock-haired Liverpudlian who made Knotty Ash world famous and
introduced us to the delights of the Diddy Men. Despite his manic
appearance, comedy and trademark feather duster he actually had
an excellent singing voice, evidenced by his success with various
songs in the British charts of the Sixties
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The
Kilt Is My Delight
BBC 1957-63 The White Heather Club BBC 1957-68 |
'Kilt'
was a traditional offering of Scottish dancing and song , produced
in tandem with the possibly more famous and slightly more 'commercial'
White Heather Club. Both productions emanated from the BBC's Glasgow
studios. These types of show were almost compulsory viewing every
New Year's Eve and regularly featured the talents of Moira Anderson,
Duncan Macrae, Andy Steweart, Jimmy Shand, Jimmy Logan and Roddy
McMillan. The Clan Hay dancers and the Royal Scottish Country
Dance Orchestra were also frequently featured. 'Kilt' was produced
by Alan Rees and 'Heather' mainly by Iain MacFadyen
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The
Larkins
ATV 1958-60 1963-64 |
The
original 'Eastenders' - featured the comedy and farce surrounding
the lives of this Cockney family headed by the long-suffering
Alf, played by David Kossoff. His nemesis, henpecking battleaxe
wife was played by the wonderful Peggy Mount. The series was created
and written by Fred Robinson and produced by Alan Tarrant. Other
series regulars included son-in-law ex-GI Jeff Roger ( Ronan O'Casey
), his wife Joyce ( Ruth Trouncer ) and Shaun O'Riordan as son
Eddie. Their neighbours were the Prouts, Myrtle ( Hilary Bamberger
- the pretty one ) and Hetty ( Barbara Mitchell - the nosy one
). A film spin-off called 'Inn For Trouble' was made in 1959
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The
Lenny the Lion Show
BBC 1957-58 |
A
Johnny Downes-produced show which started out as part of Children's
Television but which gradually saw host ventriloquist Terry Hall
and his mickey-taking lion-shaped doppelganger Lenny evolve into
a general entertainment show, often featuring top ten chart acts.
These series were followed in 1959 by 'Lenny's Den' which was
a series of 10min shows and another popular family entertainment
show from 1962-63 called 'Pops and Lenny'
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The
Lone Ranger
BBC 1957- Apex / Jack Chertok / Clayton Moore Jack Wrather Corporation |
If
you know nothing about this American series you shouldn't be here.
The classic 'Batman' of the wild west, the Lone Ranger, had been
championing justice on American TV since 1949. The masked man,
accompanied by his horse Silver and faithful indian companion
Tonto galloped through a huge number of 30 minute episodes. Although
armed with silver bullets, he hardly ever shot anyone, preferring
to capture 'em alive, leaving behind a trademark bullet. Clayton
Moore ( and briefly John Hart ) played the masked lawman, and
the role of Tonto by Jay Silverheels. The series was based on
radio stories written by Fran Striker which were developed with
George Trendle for television. Two spin-off films were made -
'The Lone Ranger' (Warner Bros 55 ) and 'The Lone Ranger and The
Lost City of Gold' ( United Artists 58 ). Hi-Ho Silver.....awaaaaaay
and another great theme tune. Who was that masked man?
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The
Phil Silvers Show
BBC 1957 CBS |
One
of the all-time classic 30min sit-coms, created and produced by
Nat Hiken, still being networked today.The series, more popularly
known as 'Sgt Bilko' featured the layabout, scheming, money-grabbing
members of the motor pool platoon based at Fort Baxter, Kansas
( later Fort Fremont, California ). Silvers played the part of
Master Sergeant Ernie Bilko, whose get-rich-quick schemes were
always to the detriment of his men and long-suffering Camp Commander,
Colonel Hall ( Paul Ford ). Platoon regulars were Cpl Barbella
( Harvey Lembeck ), Private Duane Doberman ( Maurice Gosfield
) and Cpl Henshaw ( Allan Melvin ). The series was originally
named 'You'll Never Get Rich'
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The
Sky At Night
BBC 1957- |
Unbelievably
long-running monthly astronomy and space-related informational
series which began in April 1957, originally and every episode
since presented by the ebullient Patrick Moore. It began life
six months before the launch of Sputnick and has been a feature
of late night viewing ever since. A junior version called 'Seeing
Stars' ran for 8 x 4 minute episodes during children's television
in 1970
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This
Is Your Life
BBC1955-64 THAMES 1969 |
A
British version of the successful NBC TV show which was presented
by Eamonn Andrews where celebrities were treated to a 'surprise'
at his appearance with 'The Red Book' and an invite to the studio
to have revealed publicly the story of their life. Things didn't
always go according to plan. Danny Blanchflower famously refused
to appear on the show, leaving
Andrews, his guests and a large studio audience in the lurch |
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This
Week
A-R 1956-68 THAMES 1968 |
This
show - 'A window on the world behind the headlines'- was a weekly
public affairs programme whose presenters included Rene Cutforth,
Michael Westmore, Ludovic Kennedy and Daniel Farson
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Tonight
BBC 1957-65 |
A
current events programme which occupied an early evening spot
on weekdays, highlighting both the important and less important,
but always controversial, news items of the day. Early reporters
supporting main presenter Cliff Michelmore included Alan Whicker,
Julian Pettifer, Kenneth Allsop, Magnus Magnusson, Derek Hart,
Macdonald Hastings, Brian Redhead and Geoffrey Johnson Smith.
The show often ended with a musical finale featuring the talents
of Jimmie MacGregor and Robin Hall. In 1965 the programme was
superseded by Twenty-Four Hours (1965-72) which was a 10:30 late
night programme but which still featured virtually the same presentation
team
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Wagon
Train
ITV 1958 BBC 1962 Revue / MCA |
Another
entry from the seemingly endless supply of American classic western
series. This one featured Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams, a wagon-master
in charge of a pioneer wagon train travelling from Missouri to
California in the wild west 1860s. Story lines included all the
usual elements such as outlaws and indian attacks, but there was
also a strong human element involved, examining the nature of
the various main characters. Co-star was Robert Horton as trail
scout Flint McCullough. Assistant wagon master Bill Hawks was
played by Terry Wilson and Charlie Wooster the cook by Frank McGrath.
John Wayne appeared as a guest star in the episode 'The Colter
Craven Story'. Most, but not all episodes were called 'The........Story'.
After Bond's early death, John McIntire took over the role of
wagon master as Chris Hale
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Whack-O!
BBC 1956 |
A
sitcom which featured the great Jimmy Edwards in his most famous
comedy role as headmaster of Chiselbury public school, assisted
by the less-than-competent Mr. Pettigrew, played by Arthur Howard.
Frank Muir and Denis Norden were the main scriptwriters and a
spin-off feature film 'Bottoms Up' was produced in 1960
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What
The Papers Say
GRANADA 1956 |
A
topical current events programme which analysed the press's handling
of news stories during the previous week. Introduced by Kingsley
Martin and Brian Inglis, the programme became 'What the Weeklies
Say' in 1968 before being succeeded by 'The Papers'
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What's
My Line?
BBC 1951 |
One
of the first British TV panel games, based on an American idea.
A panel of players tried to guess the occupation of various guests
with strange, and unlikely, jobs by watching a short mime of their
vocational activity and then asking questions, to which the guest
could only answer 'yes' or 'no'. Originally chaired by Eamonn
Andrews, the panel consisted of David Nixon, Lady Isobel Barnett,
Barbara Kelly and Gilbert Harding
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Whicker's
World
BBC 1959- |
The
general title for many series of worldwide exploration and culture
sampling by the globetrotting reporter Alan Whicker. The programme
began life as a revisit to the slots that Whicker had made for
the Tonight programme, but soon blossomed into even more exotic
travels. Other ( sixties ) Whicker series include 'Whicker Down
Under' (BBC 61), 'Whicker On Top Of The World' (BBC 62), 'Whicker
Down Mexico Way' (BBC 63), Alan Whicker Report Series: The Solitary
Billionaire (J. Paul Getty)( 1964), Whicker's World (1965-67),
General Stroessner of Paraguay (1968), Count von Rosen (1968),
Papa Doc--The Black Sheep (1968), 'Whicker's New World' (Yorkshire
TV 69 ) and 'Whicker In Europe' (Yorkshire TV 69-70)
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White
Hunter
ITP 1958 Beaconsfield Prodns |
Filmed
in East Africa, this 39 x 30 minute episode action drama series
was based on the life of big game hunter John A. Hunter. The storylines
were fairly predictable, but none the less interesting for that,
and the various ill-behaved wild animals and jungle villains were
kept in their place by Rhodes Reason in the title role
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Your
Life In Their Hands
BBC 1958-64 |
A
series of programmes which took television cameras into hospitals
and, controversially, operating theatres to give the viewing public
a 'behind-the-scenes' look at the health service. The first presenter
was consultant physician Dr. Charles Fletcher. Mobile units were
used to record the operations on videotape, using up to six cameras
to catch the 'action' from all angles
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Zoo
Quest
BBC 1954-64 |
30
minute reports based on zoological expeditions jointly sponsored
by the Television Service and London Zoo. The first show featured
David Attenborough in the West African forests
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Zoo
Time
GRANADA 1956 |
331
x half hour shows by the Granada TV film unit based at London
( later Chester ) Zoo were introduced by Desmond Morris ( later
Harry Watt and Chris Kelly ) and examined animal behaviour. Very
much aimed at the younger viewer, Morris was no less popular with
the adult audience
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Lucky Dip
- AR 1958-61 - Forerunner of Tuesday Rendezvous and Five O'Clock
Club  Imported
U.S. Western Series Made In The Fifties I can remember seeing episodes from most of these at one time or another, but I am not certain whether the entire series was bought / transmitted on U.K. television in all cases. There are certainly lots more U.S. 'westerns' but I have not been able to confirm by other means whether they have ever been transmitted in the U.K.
Click here to see FiftiesWeb - a Fifties site which has some superb pages featuring Western TV shows |
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