On the Spot

Summary

1948 BBC live studio production of Edgar Wallace’s thriller On the Spot.

Theatre play

On the Spot by Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) [more information]

Play synopsis

A thriller of gangland life in Prohibition Chicago. Tony Perelli, the gang boss (loosely based on Al Capone), recruits men for his gang and women as his lovers with the same ruthlessness and arranges for their disposal when they become a nuisance. But Minn Lee, the half-Chinese widow, is a little too much for him, and as she gradually learns the extent of his treachery, she plans a revenge.

Production history

First performed at Wyndham’s Theatre, London in April 1930. A radio adaptation was broadcast on 9 December 1935.

Date of transmission

Thursday 3 June 1948

Time

8.30-10.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Credits

Producer

Douglas Allen

Playwright

Edgar Wallace (1875-1932)

Sets / Settings

Stephen Bundy

Cast

Archie Angus	Gangster
Patric Doonan	Jimmy McGrath
Oliver Fisher	Patrolman Ryan
Danny Green	Con O’Hara
Cyril Hardingham	A Priest
John Harvey	Angelo Verona
Milo Lewis	A Doctor
Launce Maraschal	Chief Detective Commissioner John Kelly
Evelyn Moore	A Nurse
Diana Morgan	Minn Lee
Christine Norden	Maria Pouliski
Tony Quinn	Mike Feeney
Reginald Tate	Tony Perelli
Peter Tremlett	Gangster
Joseph M. Warner	Gangster

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 8.30pm on Thursday 3 June 1948.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

America, as theme or setting; crime; thriller

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 28 May 1948 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 26; article, p. 24