The Heiress

Summary

1958 BBC Television production of The Heiress by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz.

Theatre play

The Heiress by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz [more information]

Play synopsis

Stage adaptation by Ruth and Augustus Goetz of Henry James’ novel Washington Square, set in New York in 1850. The TV Times of 3 May 1957, p. 13, describes the story of the play thus: ‘Catherine Sloper, an heiress, falls deeply in love with penniless Morris Townsend. Does he return her love, or is he marrying her for her fortune?'

Production history

The play opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on September 29, 1947 and closed on September 18, 1948 after 410 performances. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heiress_%281947_play%29. It was first performed in the West End in 1949.

Date of transmission

Sunday 7 September 1958

Time

8.00-9.30pm

Series

Sunday-Night Theatre

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Terence Cook

Playwright

Augustus Goetz

Playwright

Ruth Goetz

Writer

Henry James

Designer

Clifford Hatts

Cast

Jill Bennett	Catherine Sloper
Alec Clunes	Dr Sloper
Bryan Forbes	Morris Townsend
Robert Hartley	Coachman
Noël Hood	Elizabeth Almond
Margaretta Scott	Lavinia Penniman
Pamela Strong	Marian Almond
Richard Thorp	Arthur Townsend
Sheelah Wilcocks	Maria
Ann Wilton	Mrs Montgomery

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; adaptation of novel; American drama

Print sources

Title

A Chilly Popular Favourite: Excess of Warmth Brings Distortion (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 8 September 1958, p. 5

Title

Radio Times, 5 September 1958 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article and listing on p. 11