In this televised Eugene O’Neill play, an interracial marriage crumbles under the weight of societal prejudice and personal demons.
The story follows the lifelong relationship between Jim Harris (Robert Adams), a Black man with aspirations of becoming a lawyer, and Ella Downey (Joyce Heron), a white woman. After marrying against the wishes of their respective communities, the couple’s hopes for a happy life are systematically destroyed. Jim repeatedly fails his bar exams, while Ella, tormented by external bigotry and her own internalised racism, descends into a violent madness that threatens to consume them both. The play is framed by the commentary of a Narrator (James Dyrenforth), with contributions from Jim’s mother Mrs Harris (Connie Smith) and sister Hattie (Pauline Henriques), and local figures Shorty (Sydney Keith) and Joe (Edric Connor).
This live television production was a remarkably confrontational choice for the recently restarted post-war BBC service. Eugene O’Neill’s 1924 stage play, with its unsparing account of a marriage collapsing under social pressure and psychological trauma, was not softened for a 1946 broadcast audience. The production, mounted by Eric Fawcett, presented the material with theatrical directness; its power resided entirely in the raw, claustrophobic tragedy of the central relationship. By placing this story on its schedule, the BBC asserted television’s potential as a medium for serious, adult drama at a time when its cultural identity was still being formed.
Broadcast: BBC, 2 Live Performances, 16 September 1946 – 22 September 1946
Written by: Eugene O’Neill
Producer: Eric Fawcett
Main Cast: Robert Adams (Jim Harris), Joyce Heron (Ella Downey), Connie Smith (Mrs Harris), Pauline Henriques (Hattie), Sydney Keith (Shorty), Edric Connor (Joe), Tommy Duggan (Michey), James Dyrenforth (Narrator)
