Love from a Stranger

Summary: 1938 BBC studio production of Frank Vosper’s psychological thriller Love from a Stranger, adapted from a short story by Agatha Christie.
Theatre play: Love from a Stranger by Frank Vosper [more information]
Play synopsis: Love from a Stranger is a play based on Philomel Cottage, a 1924 short story by British mystery writer Agatha Christie. The plot concerns Alix, a woman in her mid-thirties, her long-time boyfriend Dick and new lover Gerald. Alix discovers that Gerald is a suspected murderer and she fears for her life and that of Dick, who is about to visit. The action takes place in Cecily Harrington’s flat in London and at a country cottage.
Production history: Premiered at Wyndham’s Theatre, London on 2 February 1936. Published by Collins in the same year.
Date of transmission: Wednesday 23 November 1938
Time: 3.00-4.30pm
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

George More O’Ferrall (1907-1982)

Playwright

Frank Vosper

Writer

Agatha Christie

Cast

Title: Televised Plays: Material from the Theatre (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Anon.
Reference: The Times, 5 December 1938, p. 8
Notes: 'The tension was suggested more by devices in the production - a long flight of steps seen in perspective, the slow ticking of a clock as the appointed hour drew near, and by the actual angles at which the pictures were taken - than by the text itself. It was quite successful for more than half way, and then, human nature being what it is, we ceased to be frightened, because the tension had been kept up too long.'

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British Universities Film & Video Council