What the Doctor Ordered

Summary

This 1957 BBC production of the farce What the Doctor Ordered was televised from the Whitehall Theatre, London.

Theatre play

What the Doctor Ordered by Vernon Sylvaine and Lawrence Huntington [more information]

Play synopsis

A farce, the topic of which is tranquilisers and other pills. A millionaire is looking forward to receiving a bottle of ‘rejuvenation pills’ from Africa. On arrival, they appear to have lost their labels so he and his nephew set about experimenting with them.

Production history

First produced at the Whitehall Theatre in London in 1957.

Date of transmission

Sunday 6 October 1957

Time

8.00pm (90 mins)

Series

Sunday-Night Theatre; Brian Rix Presents

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Jack Williams

Television Presentation by

Mary Evans

Playwright

Lawrence Huntington

Playwright

Vernon Sylvaine

Sets / Settings

Rhoda Gray

Cast

Garth Adams	Police Sergeant Dryott
Charles Cameron	Mr Oxendon
Elizabeth Chambers	Betty
Hazel Douglas	Dora Day
Leo Franklyn	J. G. Van VElt
Eunice Gayson	Madame Caprice
Barbara Hicks	Phoebe Sanders
Basil Lord	Basil Brum
Peter Mercier	Harry Lash
Larry Noble	Henderson
Brian Rix (1924-)	Chesney Van Velt

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

farce; medical drama

Print sources

Title

BBC Television: What the Doctor Ordered (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 7 October 1957, p. 3

Title

Radio Times, 4 October 1957 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing and article on p. 13