Let's turn to the Birmingham Post of Monday 16 March 1959:
Fifteen minutes before the curtain was rung down last night on a Wormwood Scrubs Prison production of the Agatha Christie thriller The Mousetrap, it was discovered that two prisoners were missing,
That was despite the governor receiving a warning from the police that an escape might be planned.
I like this observation:
Derek Blomfleld - he plays the part of a detective sergeant - thanking the prisoners for their reception. said: "Usually, at the end of each performance, I say ... 'do not tell your friends and relations who done it'." The prisoners applauded loudly.
It's possible this incident was an inspiration for the 'Desperate Hours' episode of Steptoe & Son in 1972 which involved two escaped convicts from the Scrubs, one played by Leonard Rossiter.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice thought. I've seen it: Harry H. and Rossiter responding to one other and producing something really special.
ReplyDeleteI try not to get too nostalgic about popular culture but it's possible to construct an argument that the repertory theatre circuit was particularly strong 1945 - 1979, and that TV budgets were favourable for making sit coms in the 1960s and 1970s. This meant there were a lot of sit coms and that the acting in them was PARTICULARLY good at the time.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. Similarly with my current obsession Softly Softly: Task Force...
ReplyDeleteStratford Johns was at the Royal Court in its glory years, Walter Gotell (the chief constable) became a regular Bond villain, Frank Windsor started out at the Oxford Playhouse alongside Maggie Smith and Ronnie Barker, and Terence Rigby (PC Snow) was one of Pinter's favourite actors.