The Petrified Forest

Summary

BBC Television production of Robert E. Sherwood’s The Petrified Forest.

Theatre play

The Petrified Forest by Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) [more information]

Play synopsis

'The scene is the Black Mesa Bar-B-Q petrol filling station and cafe at a lonely crossroads in the eastern Arizona desert’ (Radio Times, 22 June 1956, p. 38). Gabby, the daughter of the station’s owner, longs to go to Paris to become a painter. She falls in love with Alan Squier, a failed author who stops at the restaurant on his way to California and proposes elopement. Everything changes when the escaped criminal Duke Mantee arrives and holds them hostage.

Production history

First produced on Broadway in 1935.

Date of transmission

Thursday 28 June 1956

Time

8.30pm (90 mins)

Series

Henry Sherek Presents

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Hal Burton

Playwright

Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955)

Designer

Hal Burton

Cast

Beckett Bould	Gramp Maple
Faith Brook	Mrs Chisholm
Larry Burns	Jackie
Earl Cameron	Slim
Neville Crabbe	Joseph
Paul Erickson	A Telegraph Lineman
Barry Foster	Boze Hertzlinger
Liam Gaffney	Jason Maple
Alan Gifford	Mr Chisholm
Keith Grieve	Another Lineman
Lois Maxwell	Gabby Maple
Kevin Miles	Ruby
Andrew Osborn	Alan Squier
Joyce Parry	Paula
Wiliam Sylvester	Duke Mantee

Additional details

Play tags

America, as theme or setting; end-of-the-world; thriller

Print sources

Title

BBC Television: The Petrified Forest (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 30 June 1956, p. 8

Title

Plays and Sport (Newspaper review)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 1 July 1956, p. 9

Title

Radio Times, 22 June 1956 (Magazine)

Linking notes

mentioned on cover, plus pp. 6, 38-39