Box for One
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Box for One is a live television play which has been presented three times, twice on British broadcaster BBC and once on Australian broadcaster ABC. It is a drama about 'spiv', and the entire 30-minute drama takes place in a London telephone box. It was written by Peter Brook.
Premise
A London 'spiv' enters an outdoor telephone booth. He dials a number and asks if there is a message for him. As then goes to leave and the phone rings – it is a girl who is trying to find her boyfriend and has the wrong number. The spiv is on the run and is looking for help. He tries various people, but they reject him.
1949 version
The 1949 version aired on BBC, and starring Marius Goring, Ivan Craig and Josée Richard.[1] Broadcast live, it was likely never telerecorded, and is lost.[2]
1953 version
The 1953 version also aired on the BBC, and was an episode of Wednesday Theatre. It featured Robert Helpmann and Harold Lang.[3] This version is likely lost, as the BBC rarely telerecorded shows during 1953.
1954 version
The play appears to have been filmed again in 1954 with Richard Attenborough and Sid James.[4]
1958 Australian TV version
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|---|---|
| Written by | Peter Brook |
| Directed by | William Sterling |
| Starring | Robert Helpmann |
| Template:Pluralize from text of origin | Australia |
| Original languageTemplate:Pluralize from text | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Production Template:Pluralize from text | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABV-2 |
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The play had reportedly been written specifically for Robert Helpmann, who was an Australian living in London. Helpmann returned to Australia in 1958 to star in and direct a stage production of Noël Coward's Nude with Violin. In May 1958 Helpmann expressed an interest in appearing in the play on Australian television. "I'm mad about TV", he said.[6]
While performing in Nude with Violin in Melbourne, Helpmann appeared in a production of Box for One on Australian broadcaster ABC.[7] It aired live on ABC's Melbourne station ABV-2. A telerecording (also known as a kinescope) was made and shown in Sydney on station ABN-2.[8] It is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.
The ABC had just presented a one-woman play, a version of Sorry, Wrong Number (1958).
It was one of several thrillers filmed in the early days of Australian television.[9]
Reception
The Australian Women's Weekly TV critic called it "Sorry, Wrong Number written for men. I thought it wasn't as good a play, nor as well done as Sorry, Wrong Number done by Channel 2 several months ago."[10]
Helpmann reprised a section from the play in Half an Hour with Robert Helpmann (1964).[11]
See also
- Ending It - 1939 BBC TV play which also saw an Australian version.
- Miss Mabel - Stage play which saw both versions in both the UK and Australia
- Black Limelight - Stage play which saw versions in both the UK and Australia
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)
References
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Box for One (TV Movie 1949) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lost UK TV Shows Search Engine". Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""Wednesday Theatre" Box for One (TV Episode 1953) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ 1953 Version at BFI
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""Live" Drama Calls for Conference". The Age. 15 August 1958. p. 13.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Helpman looks for new world". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 May 1958. p. 95.
- ^ 1958 Australian TV version at IMDb
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Helpmann in Play". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 September 1958. p. 8.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Vagg, Stephen (20 March 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Reflections in Dark Glasses". FilmInk. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Maid Marian wants real romance with Robin". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 15 October 1958. p. 82. Retrieved 26 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Vagg, Stephen (2023). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays – Half an Hour with Robert Helpmann". FilmInk. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
