The Broken Horseshoe (TV series)

Last updated

The Broken Horseshoe
GenreThriller serial
Written by Francis Durbridge
Starring John Robinson
John Byron
Andrew Crawford
Robert Adair
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (all missing)
Production
ProducerMartyn C. Webster
Running time30 min.
Release
Original releaseMarch 15 (1952-03-15) 
April 19, 1952 (1952-04-19)
Related
The Broken Horseshoe (film)

The Broken Horseshoe was a British television series first aired by the BBC in 1952 featuring John Robinson, John Byron, Andrew Crawford and Robert Adair. A crime thriller series, the plot concerns a public-spirited doctor's involvement with a horse-doping gang after he protects a young woman who is a witness to a murder carried out by the syndicate. [1] [2] It was written by Francis Durbridge and aired in six half-hour parts on Saturday nights. It was the first thriller serial aired by the BBC. [3]

Contents

Episodes

Cast

Archive status

The Broken Horseshoe was broadcast live from the historic studios at Alexandra Palace and never actually recorded. As with all the 1950s Francis Durbridge-based serials, no episodes survive. [3]

Adaptation

In 1953 a film The Broken Horseshoe was made based on the series starring Robert Beatty. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Beatty</span> Canadian actor (1909–1992)

Robert Rutherford Beatty was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.

<i>Edge of Darkness</i> British television drama serial

Edge of Darkness is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 50 to 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and political thriller, it revolves around the efforts of widowed policeman Ronald Craven to unravel the truth behind the murder of his daughter Emma. Craven's investigations soon lead him into a murky world of government and corporate cover-ups and nuclear espionage, pitting him against dark forces that threaten the future of life on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Robinson (English actor)</span> English actor

John Robinson was an English actor, who was particularly active in the theatre. Mostly cast in minor and supporting roles in film and television, he is best remembered for being the second actor to play the famous television science-fiction role of Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1955 BBC Television serial Quatermass II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Durbridge</span> English dramatist and author

Francis Henry Durbridge was an English dramatist and author, best known for the creation of the character Paul Temple, the gentlemanly detective who appeared in 16 BBC multi-part radio serials from 1938 onward.

Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her journalistic pen name 'Steve Trent', he solves whodunnit crimes through subtle, humorously articulated deduction. Always the gentleman, the strongest expletive he employs is "by Timothy!".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlay Currie</span> Scottish actor (1878–1968)

William Finlay Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television. He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946) and as Balthazar in the American film Ben-Hur (1959).

<i>Emergency Ward 10</i> British television series

Emergency Ward 10 is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like The Grove Family, a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, Emergency Ward 10 is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Marion-Crawford</span> English actor

Howard Marion-Crawford, the grandson of writer F. Marion Crawford, was an English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. In 1948, Marion-Crawford had played Holmes in a radio adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", making him one of the few actors to portray both Holmes and Watson. He is also known for his portrayal of Dr. Petrie in a series of five low budget Dr. Fu Manchu films in the 1960s, and playing Paul Temple in the BBC Radio serialisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Matthews (actor)</span> English actor (1927–2014)

Francis Matthews was an English actor, best known for playing Paul Temple in the BBC television series of the same name and for voicing Captain Scarlet in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toke Townley</span> British actor (1912–1984)

John Antony Townley, known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English actor.

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1998 TV serial) TV series or program

Vanity Fair is a BBC television drama serial adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name broadcast in 1998. The screenplay was written by Andrew Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kynaston Reeves</span> English actor

Philip Arthur Reeves, known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series.

Peter Stephens was an English stage, film and television supporting actor, notable for his appearances in various BBC television shows throughout the 60s, most famously for his portrayal of the Bunteresque character Cyril in the Doctor Who serial The Celestial Toymaker. He was also the director of one film during his career.

<i>The Vicious Circle</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

The Vicious Circle is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring John Mills, Noelle Middleton, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries. The screenplay concerns a leading Harley Street specialist who is forced to work with the police to nail a gang of international criminals, after being falsely accused of murder. It was based on My Friend Charles (1956), a TV serial written by Francis Durbridge.

<i>The Broken Horseshoe</i> (film) 1953 film

The Broken Horseshoe is a 1953 British crime film directed by Martyn C. Webster and starring Robert Beatty, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter Coke, and Hugh Kelly. A surgeon is drawn into a murder case when he offers shelter to a woman who has witnessed a killing linked to a horse-doping syndicate. It was based on a six-part television series of the same title that had been shown the previous year.

Portrait of Alison was a 1955 British television series featuring Patrick Barr, Lockwood West, Anthony Nicholls and Brian Wilde. A crime-based thriller written by Francis Durbridge, it aired in six half-hour episodes between February and March 1955.

<i>Paul Temples Triumph</i> 1950 British film

Paul Temple's Triumph is a 1950 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Jack Livesey. It was the third in the series of four Paul Temple films made at Nettlefold Studios, and was an adaptation of the Francis Durbridge radio serial News of Paul Temple (1939). Temple is on the trail of a gang of international criminals trying to steal atomic secrets.

<i>Bat Out of Hell</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Bat Out of Hell is a British Thriller television serial created by Francis Durbridge and originally aired on BBC Two from 26 November to 24 December 1966. The series followed two lovers, Diana Stewart and Mark Paxton, who are haunted by the voice of Diana's husband over the telephone after he is murdered by the couple. Inspector Clay was the detective inspector who headed the police investigation.

<i>Whirligig</i> (TV series) British TV programme for children

Whirligig was a BBC television programme for children broadcast from November 1950 until 1956. It was the first children's programme to be broadcast live from the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, at 5:00 pm on alternate Saturdays.

Melissa is a 1964 British thriller television series which originally aired in six parts on BBC 2 in 1964. It was shown under the umbrella title Francis Durbridge Presents, and was one of a number of serials written by Francis Durbridge during the period.

References

  1. "Broken Horseshoe". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009.
  2. "The Broken Horseshoe (TV Series 1952– )". IMDb.
  3. 1 2 Laurence Marcus. "TV SHOWS Bo to Bu - TVH". Television Heaven.
  4. "The Broken Horseshoe". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.