The Poltergeist

Summary

1950 BBC live studio production of Frank Harvey’s supernatural comedy The Poltergeist.

Theatre play

The Poltergeist by Frank Harvey (1912-1981) [more information]

Play synopsis

'An English country house is plagued by a poltergeist who destroys things in the home, rearranges pictures on the wall, and possesses the daughter of the owner causing her to be expelled from school. A psychic ghost breaker and an insurance agent help the homeowners battle and expel the spirit.' (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_Happen_at_Night; accessed 10 September 1950.)

Production history

First produced in 1946, later made into a British feature film, Things Happen at Night, 1947.

Date of transmission

Saturday 1 April 1950

Time

8.00-9.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Ian Atkins

Playwright

Frank Harvey (1912-1981)

Sets / Settings

Stephen Bundy

Cast

Margaret Anderson	Joyce Prescott
Betty Blackler	Audrey Prescott
Ysanne Churchman	Olive Venner
Julian d’Albie	Alfred Prescott
Gordon Harker	Joe Harris
Nan Munro	Hilda Prescott
Peter Murray	Bobby Ashley
Keith Pyott	Vincent Ebury
Frank Strickland	Tom Cobblestone

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 8.30pm on Tuesday 4 April 1950.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy; Edwardian drama; supernatural

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 24 March 1950 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 45; article by Lionel Hale, ‘The Importance of Being Frivolous’, p. 43