An Enemy of the People

Summary

1957 Granada Television production for ITV of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, in an English version by Arthur Miller.

Theatre play

An Enemy of the People [En folkefiende] by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) [more information]

Play synopsis

'Doctor Thomas Stockmann is a popular citizen of a small coastal town in Norway. The town has invested a large amount of public and private money towards the development of baths [...]. The town is expecting a surge in tourism and prosperity from the new baths, which are said to be of great medicinal value, and as such a source of great local pride. Just as the baths are proving successful, Stockmann discovers that waste products from the town’s tannery are contaminating the waters, causing serious illness amongst the tourists. He expects this important discovery to be his greatest achievement, and promptly sends a detailed report to the Mayor, which includes a proposed solution which would come at a considerable cost to the town. To his surprise, Stockmann finds it difficult to get through to the authorities. They seem unable to appreciate the seriousness of the issue and unwilling to publicly acknowledge and address the problem because it could mean financial ruin for the town. [...] The townspeople — eagerly anticipating the prosperity that the baths will bring — refuse to accept Stockmann’s claims, and his friends and allies, who had explicitly given support for his campaign, turn against him en masse. He is taunted and denounced as a lunatic, an "Enemy of the People" '. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Enemy_of_the_People.

Production history

1882.

Date of transmission

Wednesday 20 March 1957

Series

Play of the Week

Channel

ITV

Production company

Granada Television (1956-)

Credits

Director

Silvio Narizzano

Producer

Silvio Narizzano

Playwright

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

Adaptor of Script

Elspeth Cochrane

Translator

Arthur Miller (credited with ‘the English version’)

Cast

Julia Chester	an unnamed part
Tom Criddle	Billing
Jill Dixon	Petra
Michael Ely	an unnamed part
Edward Forsyth	Horster
Brian Franklin	Ejilif
Joanna Glass	an unnamed part
Reginald Marsh	Drunk
Clive Morton	Peter Stockmann
George Ricarde	an unnamed part
John Robinson	Dr Stockmann
John Salew	Aslaken
Jessica Spencer	Mrs Stockmann
Tony Sympson	Morten Kiil
Malcolm Watson	an unnamed part
Anthony Wilson	Morten
Peter Wyngarde	Hovstad

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; American drama; Norway, as theme or setting; Norwegian drama

Print sources

Title

An Enemy of the People: Granada Play Impressive (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Manchester Guardian, 21 March 1957, p. 5

Title

Didactic and Proud of It (Newspaper review)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 24 March 1957, p. 12

Title

Ibsen on ITV: An Enemy of the People (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 21 March 1957, p. 3

Title

Plays for the Millions: The First 75. A Cross Index of Granada TV Play Productions (Book)

Reference

Published by Granada TV Network, 1960

Title

TV Times, 15 March 1957 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 19, with photograph