In this single drama, a chance encounter leads to a disturbing story of premonition and a tragic railway disaster.
The play centres on a conversation with the enigmatic A. V. Laider (Keith Pyott), who recounts a harrowing tale from his past to a fellow traveller. He explains how his apparent gift for palmistry revealed a terrible secret when, staying at a hotel, he read the hands of his fellow guests. He foresaw that every one of them was destined to die in an imminent railway disaster. Tormented by this knowledge, Laider faced an impossible choice: to warn them and risk being dismissed as a lunatic, or to stay silent and live with the consequences.
This adaptation of Max Beerbohm’s short story is a significant artefact from the early years of British television. At a time when the vast majority of drama was transmitted live, A. V. Laider was one of the very first plays to be recorded onto 35mm film for a later broadcast. This technical innovation freed the production from the frantic pressures and potential mishaps of a live performance. The method was particularly suited to Beerbohm’s tale of psychological suspense, allowing for a more controlled and nuanced presentation than the high-wire act of live broadcast could typically afford. The play stands as an important early example of television drama moving from a theatrical, ephemeral medium towards the cinematic permanence that would later define it.
Broadcast: BBC, 3 December 1955
Adapted by: George F. Kerr
Based on a story by: Max Beerbohm
Director: Victor Menzies
Main Cast: Richard Hurndall (Max Beerbohm), Frank Atkinson (Waiter), Keith Pyott (A. V. Laider, Esq), Norman Claridge (Colonel Elbourn), Pauline Loring (Mrs Elbourn), Maureen O’Reilly (Dorothy Elbourn), Richard Bebb (Blake), Mary Neelands (Mrs Blake)
