MovieChat Forums > King and Country (1965) Discussion > Theatrical and TV origins

Theatrical and TV origins

posted 10 years ago by andeven
3 replies | jump to latest

Although the above information includes the fact that 'King and Country' was originally a stage play it goes no further than that. I cannot add a great deal but I do remember seeing the play on BBC television, almost certainly in 1960, when it was called 'The Case of Private Hamp'. It starred Terry Scully as Hamp and Noel Johnson as the defending officer, presumably Hargreaves. 1960 being such a comparatively short time after WW1, it depicted Hargreaves as still being alive and attending a Remembrance Day service, when the events of nearly fifty years earlier came back to him with great emotional force and no little guilt. These events were shown to the viewer in flashback.

Strangely the TV production seems to have escaped the notice of IMDb. It appears neither in its own right nor as a mention in the Scully and Johnson CVs. This is a pity as the play must have had something going for it for me to remember it after well over half a century. Perhaps someone with access to fuller information about it could get this corrected.

[–] allenrogerj 10 years ago

There's an interesting account of the passage from novel to film here: http://greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/from-return-to-the-woo d-to-king-and-country/

[–] andeven 10 years ago

Many thanks, Allen. That's a very interesting account and just what I was seeking.

[–] wpglory 8 years ago

I also remember seeing this on television in late 1959. It was on an Armed Forces Television Station in Canada, which showed a lot of CBC content, much of which in turn was obtained from the BBC.