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A Phoenix Too Frequent

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A Phoenix Too Frequent is a 1946 stage play by Christopher Fry, originally produced at the Mercury Theatre in London, with Paul Scofield.[1] It has been adapted for television at least ten times. A possible 11th version may have aired as part of British series ITV Television Playhouse in 1959, but this is not confirmed.

Plot

A young widow's resolve to die is tested when she meets a handsome soldier.

1946 version

A version aired in 1946 is a comedy-drama television film, broadcast on BBC TV, based on the Mercury Theatre stage production.[2] Its cast includes Hermione Hannen, Eleanor Summerfield and Alan Wheatley. The film is believed to be lost.[3]

1951 version

A version aired in 1951 as part of British television series BBC Sunday-Night Theatre. Cast included Jessie Evans, Diana Graves and John Justin.[4] This version aired live, and the live transmission was not recorded.[5]

1955 version (UK)

A version aired in 1955, again on the BBC. Cast included George Cole, Jessie Evans and Noelle Middleton.[6] This version aired live, and a telerecording still exists of the program.[7]

1955 version (West Germany)

A version aired 1955 on West German television. Cast included Sigrid Marquardt, Käte Jaenicke and Günther König.[8]

1956 version

A version aired in 1956 on Danish television.[9]

1957 Australian TV version

A Phoenix Too Frequent
Directed byPaul O'Loughlin
Production
company
ABC
Release dates
24 July 1957 (Sydney, live)
11 September 1957 (Melbourne, tape)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

A version aired in 1957 on Australian television, on the ABC at a time when Australian drama production was rare.[10]

Produced by Paul O'Loughlin, it aired live in Sydney on 24 July 1957.[11] A telerecording (kinescope) was made of the broadcast and later shown in Melbourne on 11 September 1957.[12] Thelma Afford did the design.[13]

Cast

Production

The production involved 40 hours of rehearsal by the cast. It was O'Loughlin's fourth TV production although he had worked for the ABC in radio for 22 years.[14]

Archival status of this version is not known.

1959 version

A version aired in 1959 on Swiss television. Cast included Ingeborg Luescher, Beatrice Schweizer and Wolfgang Schwarz.[15]

1960 version

Per IMDb, a version aired 1960 on Finnish television.[16]

1963 version

A version aired in 1963 on West German television. Cast included Dinah Hinz, Charles Brauer and Angelika Hurwicz.[17]

1966 versions

A version aired in 1966 on Austrian television. Cast included Christiane Hörbiger, Carla Hagen and Walter Reyer.[18]

1966 Australian TV Version

The ABC produced a version in Melbourne in the same year, airing in Melbourne on 6 July 1966 and Sydney on 13 July 1966 as part of the Wednesday Play series.[19]

The play was produced by Oscar Whitbread.[20] It was the second of three plays to celebrat the 2,500th anniversary of Greek theatre.[21]

It went for 50 minutes.[22]

Cast

References

  1. ^ "Christopher Fry, playwright: papers - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk.
  2. ^ "A Phoenix Too Frequent · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
  3. ^ "A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  4. ^ "A Phoenix Too Frequent (1951)". BFI.
  5. ^ "Lost UK TV Shows Search Engine". Lostshows.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  6. ^ "A Phoenix Too Frequent (1955) | BFI". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Lost UK TV Shows Search Engine". Lostshows.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Ein Phoenix zuviel" – via www.imdb.com.
  9. ^ "Virilius" – via www.imdb.com.
  10. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  11. ^ "Television News". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 July 1957. p. 7.
  12. ^ "Wednesday Television". The Age. 5 September 1957. p. 16.
  13. ^ "RED IS DANGEROUS...EVEN ON TV". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia, Australia. 4 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 16 January 2020 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "The PRIVATE EYE of TV". ABC Weekly. 20 July 1957. pp. 4–5.
  15. ^ "Ein Phönix zuviel" – via www.imdb.com.
  16. ^ "Malja Viriliukselle" – via www.imdb.com.
  17. ^ "Ein Phönix zuviel" – via www.imdb.com.
  18. ^ "Ein Phönix zuviel" – via www.imdb.com.
  19. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 1966. p. 12.
  20. ^ "Featured Fun". The Age. 30 June 1966. p. 9.
  21. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 30 June 1966. p. 18.
  22. ^ "Television". The Age. 6 July 1966. p. 14.

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