The Typewriter

Summary

Associated-Rediffusion production of Cocteau’s The Typewriter for ITV, directed by Joan Kemp-Welch. The production script was based on the text performed at the Théâtre Hébertot, Paris in 1941.

Theatre play

The Typewriter [La Machine á écrire] by Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) [more information]

Play synopsis

The plot follows the criminal investigation of an anonymous poison pen campaign in a small French town. The anonymous letters, signed by ‘The Typewriter’, reveal some hidden misdeed in an outwardly respectable person’s past and lead several recipients to commit suicide.

Production history

Premiered in Paris in 1941. In his 2011 blog article on the 1962 Associated-Rediffusion production of the play, John Wyver writes as follows: Kenneth Krause’s 2003 book The Drama of Fallen France ‘contains a detailed account of the controversial circumstances in which the play was first produced in Nazi-occupied Paris. Starring Cocteau’s sometime lover and perennial muse Jean Marais as identical twins, the play opened at the Théâtre Hébertot, then closed and then, after some amendments to appease the censors, reopened. To some at the time the play was taken as a critique of the petty and provincial middle-classes (an intention that is discernible in the [1962] A-R television production), but Krause’s reading of its presentation in 1941 foregrounds the queer subtext’ (http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/the-typewriter-a-r-for-itv-1962, accessed 5 November 2012).

Date of transmission

Tuesday 20 November 1962

Time

9.15pm

Series

Play of the Week

Channel

ITV

Production company

Associated-Rediffusion (1955-1964)

Credits

Director

Joan Kemp-Welch (1906-1999)

Producer

Joan Kemp-Welch (1906-1999)

Playwright

Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

Adapted for Television by

Giles Cooper (1918-1966)

Translator

Giles Cooper (1918-1966)

Designer

John Clements (1910-1988)

Cast

Jeremy Brett	Pascal, Maxime
Geoffrey Chater	Didier
Margaret Johnston	Solange
Gemma Jones	Post Mistress
Pat Sandys	Margot
Patrick Wymark	Fred

Additional details

Play tags

French drama; suicide

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Typewriter (ITV, 1962)

Archive

BFI Research Viewing Service [more information]

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7957 4726

Email

Use the contact form at http://www.bfi.org.uk/form/contact-research-viewing-services

Website

http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services

Access

The Research Viewing Service is available to non-commercial researchers and to students wishing to view research related material. It allows access to all films and videos designated as ‘viewing copies’ in the BFI National Archive. Viewings take place by appointment, between 10.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Charges apply: please see the website for further details.

Print sources

Title

Deadlock on the Other Wall (Review)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 25 November 1962, p. 37

Title

The Typewriter (A-R for ITV, 1962) (Blog article)

Author/creator

John Wyver (Author)

Reference

http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/the-typewriter-a-r-for-itv-1962, published 29 June 2011

Title

The Typewriter, 1962 (Archive file)

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.

Reference

Special Collections, Associated-Rediffusion Television papers

Notes

The file includes a leaflet; rehearsal script; contracts with practitioners and overseas contractors and broadcasters.