Tod Slaughter's television works
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:52 am
In 1952, Ambassador Films produced a TV series (13 episodes) directed by Victor M. Gover and scripted by John Gilling, "Inspector Morley, Late of Scotland Yard, Investigates". It was shot mostly in Bushey Studios, and a large number of exteriors in London and its suburbs.
The three recurrent characters were John Morley, an ex-inspector of the Yard (played by Patrick Barr), his assistant and secretary Eileen Trotter (Tucker McGuire) and arch-criminal Terence Reilly (Tod Slaughter - who in some episodes also played Patrick Reilly, Terence's brother - also a malevolent character). Frank Hawkins (as Inpector Cranshaw) and Tom Macaulay (as Inspector Grant) played alternatively as semi-recurrent characters.
Ambassador's efforts in selling their modest series to British TV were apparently vain, and in 1952 three episodes were cobbled together to form a "feature", "King of the Underworld", followed two years later by a second one, "Murder at Scotland Yard", also made of three episodes, althought the BBFC kept traces of an earlier, shorter presentation, apparently made of only two episodes, with a running time of only 57mns. The finally released version was 75mns. And the same year, 1954, another episode was released separately, as "Murder at the Grange", originally entitled "Death at the Festival". The title was hastily and carelessly remade, and in the process, they simply forgot to mention the real star of the show (although his role, in this one - as Patrick Reilly, not Terence, posing as Clarence Beacham, a butler, is more episodic than in the other episodes).
For decades I assumed that these seven episodes (two features and one featurette) were the only ones ever produced by Ambassador, but personal research at the British Film Archives proved the contrary, as I found sets of stills (some with cast lists attached) proving that 13 episodes were made. Then, quite recently, I got the proof that the entire series was broadcast in America, on WGN-TV in 1954, followed by other channels in 1955. I had some suspicion before, as an US film collector told me years ago that he found three episodes on 16mm prints, and among them was one that wasn't part of the British releases mentioned above, called "The Red Flame". I was able to watch this episode and I can confirm it's one of the "lost ones", never distributed in UK on any form, nor shown on TV (apparently the only one ever broadcast in England was "Murder at the Grange, aka Death at the Festival", surprisingly shown on BBC more than fifty years after its completion!).
The fact that it was filmed in 35mm, then made available for TV on 16mm, and shown in America (and, for at least three episodes, found) is an indication that the complete series is still existing somewhere. An interesting piece of British television's history - with the great Tod Slaughter as a choice bonus! to date I have seen five of these episodes, and in spite of their "cheapness" (sp?) they are highly enjoyable, specially in their location scenes, presenting a London lost since decades.
The "companion piece" could be "A Ghost for Sale", shot by the same company, also at Bushey, starring the three same principals, and also directed by Victor M. Gover (and theatrically released in 1954). It's not directly related to the series, as Barr, McGuire and Slaughter play totally different characters. It's constructed around segments of 1946's "The Curse of the Wraydons", from the same studio and director. Slaughter being the only actor playing in old and new footage. A print exists in the British Film Archives.
In 1956, Tod also appeared in a segment of "The Lilli Palmer Theatre" called "Forecast Unsettled", directed by Don Chaffey. The show was broadcast both in UK and USA, and all the episodes still exist "in some archives", but which ones and where? Tod plays a character named "Robinson Wills".
And quite recently I found another of his TV appearances, in one of the episodes of "Fabian of the Yard" - unfortunately one of the few that weren't shown on BBC (and is not mentioned in IMDb's website neither). This peculiar episode was entitled "Moral Murder", directed by Alfred Travers. Tod plays a character named "Palmer". The rest of the cast: Bruce Seton of course, Hugh Latimer (as Mitchell), Richard Pearson(as Sgt MacKenzie), Marjorie Stewart (as Mrs. Mitchell) and Desmond Llewelyn. The complete series (made of 39 episodes, not 36 as erroneously mentioned almost everywhere) still exist on 16mm prints at the Canadian Film Archives - and probably in some other collections, official or private, in America...
We can assume that Tod probably appeared in some other TV series during the Fifties. Unfortunately, the rarity of these old shows, their senseless destructions by TV producing companies, and the lack of informations is a severe handicap for further research. Alas.
The three recurrent characters were John Morley, an ex-inspector of the Yard (played by Patrick Barr), his assistant and secretary Eileen Trotter (Tucker McGuire) and arch-criminal Terence Reilly (Tod Slaughter - who in some episodes also played Patrick Reilly, Terence's brother - also a malevolent character). Frank Hawkins (as Inpector Cranshaw) and Tom Macaulay (as Inspector Grant) played alternatively as semi-recurrent characters.
Ambassador's efforts in selling their modest series to British TV were apparently vain, and in 1952 three episodes were cobbled together to form a "feature", "King of the Underworld", followed two years later by a second one, "Murder at Scotland Yard", also made of three episodes, althought the BBFC kept traces of an earlier, shorter presentation, apparently made of only two episodes, with a running time of only 57mns. The finally released version was 75mns. And the same year, 1954, another episode was released separately, as "Murder at the Grange", originally entitled "Death at the Festival". The title was hastily and carelessly remade, and in the process, they simply forgot to mention the real star of the show (although his role, in this one - as Patrick Reilly, not Terence, posing as Clarence Beacham, a butler, is more episodic than in the other episodes).
For decades I assumed that these seven episodes (two features and one featurette) were the only ones ever produced by Ambassador, but personal research at the British Film Archives proved the contrary, as I found sets of stills (some with cast lists attached) proving that 13 episodes were made. Then, quite recently, I got the proof that the entire series was broadcast in America, on WGN-TV in 1954, followed by other channels in 1955. I had some suspicion before, as an US film collector told me years ago that he found three episodes on 16mm prints, and among them was one that wasn't part of the British releases mentioned above, called "The Red Flame". I was able to watch this episode and I can confirm it's one of the "lost ones", never distributed in UK on any form, nor shown on TV (apparently the only one ever broadcast in England was "Murder at the Grange, aka Death at the Festival", surprisingly shown on BBC more than fifty years after its completion!).
The fact that it was filmed in 35mm, then made available for TV on 16mm, and shown in America (and, for at least three episodes, found) is an indication that the complete series is still existing somewhere. An interesting piece of British television's history - with the great Tod Slaughter as a choice bonus! to date I have seen five of these episodes, and in spite of their "cheapness" (sp?) they are highly enjoyable, specially in their location scenes, presenting a London lost since decades.
The "companion piece" could be "A Ghost for Sale", shot by the same company, also at Bushey, starring the three same principals, and also directed by Victor M. Gover (and theatrically released in 1954). It's not directly related to the series, as Barr, McGuire and Slaughter play totally different characters. It's constructed around segments of 1946's "The Curse of the Wraydons", from the same studio and director. Slaughter being the only actor playing in old and new footage. A print exists in the British Film Archives.
In 1956, Tod also appeared in a segment of "The Lilli Palmer Theatre" called "Forecast Unsettled", directed by Don Chaffey. The show was broadcast both in UK and USA, and all the episodes still exist "in some archives", but which ones and where? Tod plays a character named "Robinson Wills".
And quite recently I found another of his TV appearances, in one of the episodes of "Fabian of the Yard" - unfortunately one of the few that weren't shown on BBC (and is not mentioned in IMDb's website neither). This peculiar episode was entitled "Moral Murder", directed by Alfred Travers. Tod plays a character named "Palmer". The rest of the cast: Bruce Seton of course, Hugh Latimer (as Mitchell), Richard Pearson(as Sgt MacKenzie), Marjorie Stewart (as Mrs. Mitchell) and Desmond Llewelyn. The complete series (made of 39 episodes, not 36 as erroneously mentioned almost everywhere) still exist on 16mm prints at the Canadian Film Archives - and probably in some other collections, official or private, in America...
We can assume that Tod probably appeared in some other TV series during the Fifties. Unfortunately, the rarity of these old shows, their senseless destructions by TV producing companies, and the lack of informations is a severe handicap for further research. Alas.