In this live television play, a respected physician takes up a criminal career for intellectual stimulation.
Dr. Clitterhouse (Harold Warrender) is a successful London medical practitioner with a dangerous academic curiosity: he wishes to study the psychological effects of crime from the perspective of the criminal. To conduct his research, he infiltrates the city’s underworld and establishes himself as the leader of a gang of thieves, which includes the seasoned criminal Benny Kellerman (Richard Caldicot). While his loyal Nurse Ann (Marjorie Mars) remains unaware, Clitterhouse plans heists from his own consulting room. His increasingly bold activities soon attract the attention of the determined Detective-Inspector Charles (Alec Mango), who begins to close in on the doctor’s illicit enterprise.
This single play represents a typical dramatic production from the BBC’s fledgling post-war television service. Adapted by producer John Glyn-Jones from a popular stage thriller by Barre Lyndon, the programme was broadcast live from the studio, a standard and necessary practice for the period. The production retains its theatrical roots, with the action confined to a handful of distinct sets meant to represent locations across London. Its appeal relied on the novelty of bringing a West End-style crime story, blending suspense with light comedy, directly into the homes of the few thousand viewers who owned a television set in 1947.
Broadcast: BBC Television, 2 Live Performances, Sunday 3 August 1947 and Tuesday 5 August 1947
Written by: Barre Lyndon
Adapted by: John Glyn-Jones
Producer: John Glyn-Jones
Main Cast: Harold Warrender (Dr. Clitterhouse), Marjorie Mars (Nurse Ann), Alec Mango (Detective-Inspector Charles), Richard Caldicot (Benny Kellerman), Charles Farrell (‘Pal’ Green), Eleanor Summerfield (Daisy), John Martin (Sergeant Bates), John Bryning (‘Oakie’), John Mann (‘Badger’), Henry Oscar (Sir William Grant, K.C.)
