FABIAN OF THE YARD - all the episodes ARE available!

[todmichel]

As I understand, many people in UK are interested for this b&w series starring Bruce Seton. Most of them believe that only 4 or 5 episodes survive - and they are proposed by some dealers on the Net.

But in fact, all 39 episodes DO survive, and are preserved on 16mm prints by the Canadian Film Archives. The IMDb site only lists 36 episodes, but their list is based on the BBC showings and the two theatrical compilation features (FABIAN OF THE YARD in 1954, HANDCUFFS, LONDON in 1955), and as incredible as it sounds, FABIAN was not purely a British series (althought directed, and played by British people). It was a kind of copro, as one of the main producers had offices in NY City and London, so all the episodes were aired much earlier in the USA than in UK - sometimes weeks or even months earlier. So apparently, three of these episodes were never aired in UK.

As the 39th and last episode had for guest star the great Tod Slaughter, I asked to a Canadian friend to order it for me, and I can now attest that the DVD I got proves that the print is in perfect condition. And anybody can order it - or any other episode - for some $30.

So, if a British or US video company is really interested in releasing these old programmes on a DVD set, it's quite possible. I'm not sure that BBC has kept the rights for UK, this has to be verified, but anyway they weren't the original producers and according to Canadian archives nobody, presently, owns the rights.

If we think that most of these episodes were considered as "lost", and in fact were available in a foreign archive for decades (these 16mm prints were given by Screen Gems to the Canadian Archives, decades ago), we can probably hope for other British series as well. Let's our fingers crossed!

[Penfold]

Vintage TV being one of my interests, I was a bit surprised at your assertion; in fact the Canadian holdings of Fabian Of The Yard, and another series RCMP, were recorded in detail in the British Archive TV's multi-volume Bible, the Kaleidoscope Guides, at least five years ago. As you suggest, I expect it's the rights issue - or possibly a lack of vision - that is stopping a DVD release

[todmichel]

Thank you very much for these precisions. In fact, my assertion was based on the fact that in several British forums, I often saw people asking for "lost" episodes of the series, and invariably the answer was that they were unavailable. This Kaleidoscope volume is probably the Bible of British television, but as I live in France, I found the Canadian source quite unexpectedly, as I was looking for another series, The Lilli Palmer Theatre, whose one episode, "Forecast Unsettled", also has Tod Slaughter in the cast.
Can you please tell me if the Kaleidoscope mentions the 1952 series "Inspector Morley Investigates" (or maybe, "Inspector Morley, Late of Scotland Yard, Investigates"). It was unaired on British TV, but six episodes were released theatrically as two features, "King of the Underworld" in 1952, and "Murder at Scotland Yard" in 1954 - as well as another as a featurette, "Murder in The Grange" (this one was, however, also shown on BBC but only four or five years ago). This purely British series was shown in the USA in 1954 on WGN-TV and others, and consisted of 13 episodes. I have four of them, courtesy of an American collector, plus of course "Murder at The Grange", recorded from BBC.
At the BFI, I found stills from almost all the episodes. But as six of them were apparently never shown in any format in UK, I was just wandering if the Kaleidoscope could have supplementary information on them. For many I have the complete cast and characters credits, a little synopsis, and nothing, excepted stills, on others. This series is perhaps the most elusive of all, in its native country!
Just for memory, the regulars were Patrick Barr, Tod Slaughter and Tucker McGuire. The same trio also appeared in the featurette "A Ghost for Sale", from the same producers and director (Victor M. Gover), totally unrelated to the series, however.

[Penfold]

Available is of course different from being lost.......but anyway; because of their half-way status between TV and Film, and their not apparently being screened in the UK may mean the Inspector Morley series falls between the cracks of Kaleidoscope's remit; but as I don't possess the books myself I can't tell you.
If you wish to purchase them - here is the link; they're no longer printed, but are available as downloads......not cheap, ITV and BBC are different volumes, but they are immense (circa 6,000 pages together) and impeccably researched. And if the programmes do survive, it tells you where.... http://www.kaleidoscopepublishing.co.uk/books.html
Happy hunting.......
I assume you've tried the forum called The Mausoleum Club ???

[Tilt Araiza]

Inspector Morley isn't in either of the Kal guides. I can't find Fabian Of The Yard in the BBC guide, either, which is odd.

[todmichel]

Thank you for your answers. "Inspector Morley" was never aired in UK, this is probably the explanation for its absence from the Kaleidoscope guides (besides the fact that it was made in 1952, and the downloable books begins at 1955 I think ?). But it WAS a British television series, and even if never shown on British TV, but (partially) theatrically released as two features and one featurette as I told, it WAS shown in America, complete (13 episodes). For the purpose of a book on Tod Slaughter I made researches on it for years and to date only found the first feature, and some episodes (found in an American movie fair as 16mm prints). The series was filmed, however, on 35mm, like the "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" of the same period. Unfortunately, the producing company, Ambassador Films, stopped business decades ago and if their features ("The Curse of the Wraydons", "The Greed of William Hart", etc.) still exist, I don't know what became of their featurettes and TV episodes. ("A Ghost for Sale", however, is in the BFI collection).

About "Fabian", even if it was aired on BBC, it wasn't a BBC production, but partly an American copro (as I said, all the episodes were shown on US television weeks, and sometimes months, before their British airing).

Incidentally, beside "Moral Murder" (an episode of FABIAN) and "Forecast unsettled" (from the LILLI PALMER THEATRE) I never found another episode title with Tod Slaughter in the cast (beside the complete INSPECTOR MORLEY of course). It would be interesting to buy these Kaleidoscope downloads, but (apparently) they start from 1955... and Tod died on Fevruary 1956. I would be pleased if you could find any additional title. Thank you!

[Tilt Araiza]

The Independent Television Guide starts in 1955 because the ITV Network began that year, the BBC guide starts in 1936. I suppose if it was an independent production shown on the BBC it would fall between the cracks, but I think that would be highly unusual. Before the 1990 Broadcasting Act, independent productions tended to be a few children's programmes only (I think), imports aside I'm pretty sure everything else would be produced in-house by the BBC (I could be wrong here). To make a TV drama in 1952 without a firm commission from the BBC would take a lot of nerve or a lot of confidence in the export markets. This is all very interesting. I'll ask around to find out more.

As for Fabian not being on DVD, I don't know about rights problems but there is a lack of scope afflicting the BBC's archive when it comes to DVD release. The BBC's DVDs, both archive and new releases, are first and foremost the responsibility of the label 2-Entertain. 2E do put out some archive releases, but their attention seems to be occupied mostly by new shows. Archive shows can be licenced to other labels, but certain conditions are placed on the label by the BBC (sales projections, subtitles on all releases). The ITV companies on the other hand have one label concerned with their new releases and another label (Network DVD) that has a blanket licence over most of the archive of most of the companies that made up the ITV Network (some of the more famous shows have been released on other labels). This has lead to a huge imbalance in archive exploitation between BBC and ITV shows with well remembered BBC shows not seeing release and some pretty obscure ITV series are available to buy.

[moviepas]

All very interesting but so much BBC early material has been wiped or otherwise destroyed. I would guess a few 16mm films went west in someone's collection at home and a few such items have surfaced. The BBC being a government supported business has a lot to answer for with their wholesale destruction. The comedy series that combined the talents of the Oxbridge comedians(Cleese & buddies) is in tatters and I have a book that tells me a lot of the sad state of survival of those shows. Home videotaping was not a possibility in that period. BBC Radio archives aren't any better for many shows that were recorded prior to broadcast or off air.

ITV networks somewhat got blanketed together and there is a large archive from which many Network release are derived from. A major one is the ABC/ATV library which does have gaps in series. They say some were wiped or otherwise destroyed, just went missing by being stolen or ended up outside UK. I often wonder what overseas broadcasters did when they finished their broadcast contract of any imported series. I do know that some specials are licensed for one or two broadcasts and then the tape was supposed to be wiped. But were they?

The remaining material from an early licence casualty, Associated-Rediffusion, is poor considering what had been produced in their short life.

In USA the TV manufacturer Dumont has a small network in the 1950s and Jackie Gleason started there. He saved most of his but much was dumped in the East River or such place when they demised. Other stations also dumped much early material in the same waters as legend has it. Often broadcasting companies, even NBC, stop wanting to pay storage fees on rented warehouses for programs they say they won't use again. No thought of VHS or DVD then.

Australia is not much different and so much has been junked, sometime under ill-advised economy drives. No thought is given to preserving the culture of the period. That two networks are in financial trouble in Australia(one has been bought out in the nick of time) doesn't buoy well with saving programs or having people employed to look after archives. Moving to a new location is another worry as well.

I do buy DVDs of old programs when they become available and have been collecting material from one of Australia's one time major TV production houses, now owned by a smaller network. Not everything has survived in pristine condition but...

The types of shows like Fabian were shown in Australia, but mostly by the BBC-style ABC for which we used to pay a licence fee each year but it became too costly to collect and catch non-payers. One had to buy the licence at the Post Office.

We had such series as No Hiding Place, Maigret(theme by late Australian Ron Grainer), Jimmy Edwards' Wacko(one episode on You Tube but no students in this one), The Rag Trade(b&w series), Till Death Do Us Part and so on. All have survival tragedies. We watched all these in our house on our 17" and then 21" black & white TV.

[todmichel]

In order to answer one of your questions in the post above, Moviepass, you're probably aware that BBC erased or lost 10 of the 16 episodes of their "Sherlock Holmes" séries, made in 1968 with Peter Cushing. The 6 remaining are now, of course, available on DVD in different countries including France. Well, I remembered to have seen these programmes in 1969/70 when I lived in Brussels. They were shown in English, with French or Dutch subs, despending of the channel. So I wrote to the Belgian Television and apparently they didn't keep these programmes neither - alas. It's unclear if they were destroyed, erased, etc. or, worst of all, carefully returned to BBC... to be destroyed.

"Fabian of the Yard", like "Colonel March of Scotland Yard", "Inspector Morley Investigates" or "The Lilli Palmer Theatre" is another affair, all of of them were shot in 35mm, shown in theaters in this format (at least for the three former series mentioned), then made available for TV on 16mm (so a friend of me was able to find 3 episodes of "Inspector Morley" in America) - but in spite of that they seem very hard-to-find. Excepted for the 39 episodes of "Fabian" of course, as they're available.

We have more luck with French TV, as anybody can download the old French TV-movies and series from the INA site for modest prices (20€ for a 15 episodes series for instance), they also release some of them on professional DVD (not DVD-rs), and you can find old series from the Fifties quite easily. The constant excuse of the BBC is that these tapes costed a fortune in the 1950s. Two remarks: if it's true (they say: "one tape was costing the same price than a car"), it would have been much more rational to continue to shot in 35mm or even in 16mm. Secundo, whatever was the price of a tape, it was certainly as much expensive in France, and almost nothing is lost in this country. Some of the series available (from INA, on DVD, or broadcast these days on some TV channels like "CineFx" or "CinePolar") remained hidden in vaults for FORTY years or more. Some were even never aired, but ARE available. And to my knowledge nobody could envisage VHS or DVD when these programmes were made. Conclusion?

You're right, even their radio plays were erased, and for some they just kept a 2-minutes extract, "for the record" - the record of what? As you maybe know Tod Slaughter made at least three radio plays, one hour each, in the Thirties: "Maria Marten", "Sweeney Todd", "A Christmas Carol", and later "The Crimes of Burke and Hare". And a radio serial, "The Forge of Death". What remains of this? nothing - at least in BBC archives. And of course, it's exactly the same for Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud or other thespians of this calibre. What was the price of a radio tape? a pair of rolling skates?

[Tilt Araiza]

There's an extra twist of the knife for Rediffusion. The rights to their programme archive were bought by a company called Archbuild under the impression that it was buying a ready-for-exploitation library. What it actually has is the rights to a bunch of programmes that it doesn't actually own copies of, most copies of Rediffusion shows reside at the British Film Institute and they ask a lot of money to release those copies.

[todmichel]

There's an extra twist of the knife for Rediffusion. The rights to their programme archive were bought by a company called Archbuild under the impression that it was buying a ready-for-exploitation library. What it actually has is the rights to a bunch of programmes that it doesn't actually own copies of, most copies of Rediffusion shows reside at the British Film Institute and they ask a lot of money to release those copies.

I don't understand very well, you mean "rediffusion" of FABIAN? or are you speaking of something called "Rediffusion"? (sorry for the quiproquo but English isn't my first language).
If some company has the rights for FABIAN, but not the copies, they could contact the Canadian Archives. I paid about 30 Canadian $ for one episode, so in the worst it would cost 30x39=1,170 Canadian $, not an extravagant amount of money for a video company.
I known the extravagant prices of the BFI. Moreover, they simply refused to make a DVD of one of their TV show, even if I was accepting to pay for the transfer. I even told them it was for researching the career of Tod Slaughter, etc. At first they even denied to have the programme ("Forecast Unsettled", from the Lilli Palmer Theatre), when it was listed on their website among their collection! even if you want simply watch it in their building, they refuse to transfer their source (probably a master?) to DVD for local consultation. It's incredible... what is the utility of an archive that keep its collections unwatched? so I'm now turning my search toward America, as all the 34 episodes were aired in USA.
Some years ago, in 1993, when "The Curse of the Wraydons" was still unavailable, I finally found the company that owned the rights and wrote them. They answered almost immediately, the print was in the Channel Four building for a "next" airing. They sent me a written authorization for obtaining a VHS of the movie, as the airing date wasn't known. So I contacted Channel Four, sent them a fax of the letter, and got the copy of this 92mns movie in only one week. And I paid only 65 pounds. Quite a difference with the BFI policy. I bought a lot of still reproductions from them, and the prices were much higher than what I paid for original 8x10 stills of the 1936 Sweeney Todd in Los Angeles!

[Tilt Araiza]

Whoops, I got a little carried away there and ran onto a separate matter from Fabian. Associated-Rediffusion (later renamed Rediffusion London), was a TV company that broadcast over the ITV Network until it lost its franchise licence, ceasing broadcasting in 1968*. Nothing to do with Fabian, sorry.

*It's a bit more complicated than that, but I don't think you'd gain much by knowing the full details.

[todmichel]

Whoops, I got a little carried away there and ran onto a separate matter from Fabian. Associated-Rediffusion (later renamed Rediffusion London), was a TV company that broadcast over the ITV Network until it lost its franchise licence, ceasing broadcasting in 1968*. Nothing to do with Fabian, sorry.

*It's a bit more complicated than that, but I don't think you'd gain much by knowing the full details.

Oh, I see. Incidentally, do you know what company is now in charge of the old "Towers of London" TV productions? it appears that Towers of London stopped business in 2008, and apparently the old TV programme "Lilli Palmer Theatre" was produced by them. I still try to find one of the 34 episodes, "Forecast Unsettled". It was filmed in 35mm so chances are that something subsists...

[Gregbert]

I just want to pop in and say that those Kaleidoscope guides are amazing! Anyone who is a fan of British television and its archive holdings should pick them up. They are expensive but electronic and an invaluable research guide. I have the BBC, Indepenedent and Comedy Guides. Good stuff!

[Tilt Araiza]

Forecast Unsettled does exist on 35mm (where, I don't know, but the Kal guide lists it as extant). It's listed as part of the "Theatre Royal" series, credited as a "A Towers of London Productions production for ITC", ITC being Lew Grade's production and distribution company (Grade also had control over ATV, another one of those ITV Network franchise holders). Kal doesn't have any UK transmission dates though.

[todmichel]

MORAL MURDER (1954)