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The White Rabbit (TV series)

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The White Rabbit
GenreWorld War Two
Based onbook The White Rabbit by Bruce Marshall
Written byMichael Voysey
Directed byPeter Hammond
StarringKenneth More
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
ProducerDavid Conroy
Running time50 mins
Production companyBBC
Budget£50,000[1]
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release16 September (1967-09-16) –
11 October 1967 (1967-10-11)

The White Rabbit is a 1967 British four-part TV series starring Kenneth More. It is based on the book by Bruce Marshall. It is the last of three mini series More starred in for BBC2 in succession.[2]

Premise

The series is based on the story of Wing Commander F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas who fought for the French Resistance in World War Two. He is captured and tortured by the Gestapo.

Cast

  • Kenneth More as Wing Cmdr. Forest Frederick Edward “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas
  • Denise Buckley as Barbara, his girlfriend
  • Frank Duncan as Commentator
  • Christopher Benjamin as Cadillac
  • Stephen Bradley as Ernst
  • Robert Bruce as Col. Robinson
  • David Collings as Horace
  • Annette Crosbie as José Dupuis, Yeo-Thomas' resistance contact
  • George Hagan as Pierre Brossolette
  • Alan MacNaughtan as Rudi (Gestapo interrogator)
  • Roy Purcell as Col. Brierley

Episodes

  1. .Absalom (16 Sept 1967, repeated 20 Sept 1967)
  2. .The Raising Up (23 Sept 1967, repeated 27 Sept 1967)
  3. .The Faith (30 Sept 1967, repeated 4 Oct 1967)
  4. .The Beginning (7 Oct 1967, repeated 11 Oct 1967)

Production

Michael Deeley got hold of a feature film script based on the book and managed to get Kenneth More interested. Deeley spoke to John Boulting about it and Boulting got the rights before Deeley could secure them.[3] More loved the script and claimed he spent a year trying to make the film - at one stage they were set to start filming in July 1961[4] and in December 1961 Variety announced the film would be made by 20th Century Fox.[5] However they could not clear up the rights. "Shouldn't think it would ever be made now," he said in 1962 [6]

This detail is omitted in More's memoirs. According to those, he read a copy of the book while in Jamaica making Dark of the Sun. He took it to David Attenborough, head of features at the BBC, and suggested it would make an ideal four-part series. Film rights were held by American producer Hal Chester, but the BBC were able to make it provided they never repeated the programme or sold it elsewhere. The BBC was willing to do this because More had been in the very successful series The Forsyte Saga.[7]

According to newspaper reports, the BBC announced it was going to film the book with More in September 1966. More called it "a realisation of a dream... I thought the chance had gone forever."[8]

Filming started 27 July 1967.[9]

The series was never sold and had to be destroyed within 28 days of broadcast.[1]

Reception

The Evening Post called it "the best thing ever done by BBC-2."[1]

The Guardian felt it was "too sadistic."[10] The Daily Telegraph thought the character of Yeo Thomas "does not come clearly into focus."[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Reynolds, Chris (18 September 1967). "BBC Have Excelled Themselves with White Rabbit". Evening Post. p. 2.
  2. ^ Vagg, Stephen (16 April 2023). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Kenneth More". Filmink.
  3. ^ Deeley, Michael (2009). Blade runners, deer hunters and blowing the bloody doors off : my life in cult movies. Pegasus Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9781605980386.
  4. ^ "Operation for Kenneth More". Evening Standard. 24 May 1961. p. 15.
  5. ^ "International Soundtrack". Variety. 6 December 1961. p. 12.
  6. ^ "Kenneth More loses his dream film". Evening Standard. 19 January 1962. p. 10.
  7. ^ More, Kenneth (1978). More or less. pp. 211–213. ISBN 9780340226032.
  8. ^ "Resistance Hero's Story for TV". Liverpool Daily Post. 19 September 1966. p. 4.
  9. ^ "The cordial Kenneth More". Shepherds Bush Gazette, Hammersmith Post. 20 July 1967. p. 6.
  10. ^ Reynolds, Stanley (18 September 1967). "Review". The Guardian. p. 5.
  11. ^ Clayton, Sylvia (18 September 1967). "Serial blurs character of resistance hero". The Daily Telegraph. p. 15.


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