The Guilty Party

Summary

1953 BBC live studio broadcast of Royston Morley’s political drama The Guilty Party.

Theatre play

The Guilty Party by Royston Morley [more information]

Play synopsis

'Sir Robert Bristow...is Attorney-General in a British Government, a man of mind and strong character. His father, a hard-bitten Yorkshire businessman, put him through school and university, then left him to make his way at law. This he did brilliantly, marrying a decorative socialite hostess on the way. Now, on the eve of promotion to Cabinet rank, his success would seem assured. But in fact his position, both political and personal, is far from invulnerable, so that when a scandal threatens, which seems to tie together the various threads of his discontent, Sir Robert needs all his strength of character to cope, for the issue is corruption’ (Peter Forster, Radio Times, 11 September 1953, p. 14).

Production history

Presented at the Opera House, Manchester, by producer Henry Sherek in the autumn of 1952.

Date of transmission

Sunday 13 September 1953

Time

8.30-10.15pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Rosemary Hill

Playwright

Royston Morley

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Ronald Adam (1896-1979)	Henry Canning
Reginald Atkinson	Messenger
Robin Bailey	Sir Robert Bristow
Gordon Bell	Herbert Turner
Lyndon Brook	Young Man
Cecile Chevreau	Caroline Elliott
James Drake	Anthony Carstairs
Winifred Hill	Fisher
Alvys [or Alvis] Maben	Lady Bristow
Ferdy Mayne	Charles Price
George Merritt	James Bristow

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 7.00pm on Thursday 17 September 1953.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

politics

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 11 September 1953 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing and photograph, p. 14