A Phoenix Too Frequent

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 date
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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