The Crucible

Summary

Granada Television production for ITV of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

Theatre play

The Crucible by Arthur Miller [more information]

Play synopsis

'The Crucible is an allegorical re-telling of the McCarthy era red scare that occurred in the United States after World War II. Based on historical accounts, the play is set during the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials when several young girls accuse innocent town members of witchcraft to avoid getting into trouble for entertaining ideas of witchery themselves. The husbands of some of the women involved try to convince the judges as to the girls’ deceit, but find them unshakeable. Eventually even the most prominent members of the community find themselves indicted, and the tension mounts as the central protagonist, John Proctor, must confess an earlier adultery in order to save his own wife from being hanged based upon charges brought by his former lover. However, because his wife lies about the adultery to save his name, the judges fail to believe his charges. Proctor is given the chance to save his own life by confessing to witchery and naming names, but chooses to die rather than betray his friends and neighbors’ (http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/works.html, accessed 18 January 2013).

Production history

The Crucible premiered in the US in 1953 and in the UK the following year.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 3 November 1959

Series

Play of the Week

Channel

ITV

Production company

Granada Television (1956-)

Credits

Director

Henry Kaplan

Producer

Henry Kaplan

Playwright

Arthur Miller

Additional details

Play tags

17th-century setting; American drama; supernatural

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Crucible (ITV, 1959)

Archive

BFI Reuben Library [more information]

Address

BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road
South Bank
London
SE1 8XT
UK

Email

Use the contact form at http://www.bfi.org.uk/form/contact-bfi-library

Website

http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/bfi-reuben-library/visiting-bfi-reuben-library

Access

The BFI Library is open from 10.30am to 7.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Access to special collections material is by appointment.

Notes

First 50 minutes surive on master umatic tape; no viewing copy exists.

Print sources

Title

Arthur Miller on the small screen 3: The Crucible (Blog article)

Author/creator

Amanda Wrigley (Author)

Reference

http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/arthur-miller-3-the-crucible, published 23 May 2013

Title

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

Reference

Published by Granada TV Network, 1960