Albert TV play

Albert

1951 - United Kingdom

Based on a true story about an ingenious and daring escape from a German POW camp for Allied naval officers during WW2, Albert tells how a life-sized dummy, constructed out of wire and papier-mâché by artist John Worsley, fooled the German guards into thinking they had a full complement of prisoners while a British escaper made his getaway. After the war Guy Morgan, a former fellow PoW, immortalised Albert RN in a play, which first came to our screens on 12 August 1951 in this BBC adaptation. 

Adapted by Edward Sammis and Guy Morgan, the 100-minute play starred Warren Stanhope, Gerald Metcalfe, Bill Travers, Michael Gough, Harold Ayer and Douglas Hurn (pictured). Ferdy Mayne also appeared. Two years later, the story was filmed for the big screen as Albert, RN, directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Jack Warner with Anthony Steel as Worsley. After the war Worsley went to work for the Eagle comic illustrating the Adventures Of PC 49 (1951 - 57). The artist himself recreated Albert for the movie, and the dummy is now kept at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth. Many of Worsley's paintings and portraits can be seen at the Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum. He also worked as a police sketch artist. 

Published on November 28th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

After the Funeral

When Alun Owen's play 'After the Funeral' was read by Sydney Newman, head of drama for ABC Television, and William Kotcheff, the television director, they were so taken by his conception of Wales and the Welsh, they decided to see for themselves.

Also tagged Single Play

Cathy Come Home

Harrowing drama of one family's downward spiral into poverty that sparked a national debate in the Houses of Parliament on the plight of the homeless.

Also tagged Single Play

Eric Barker

"He was a pioneer", wrote Nicholas Parsons, "the first person to do 'topical satire' on television, but as the phrase had not yet been coined, and as the sketches were part of conventional variety shows, he never received the credit he deserved for originality."

Also released in 1951

A Builder by Trade

Pamela Gems' first play for ITV is about two sisters, May Vine (Vanda Godsell), Louie Robbins and the man who becomes their lodger.

Also tagged Single Drama

About the Home

Long-running 1950s afternoon programme designed to help women improve their domestic skills with tips on everything they could wish to know about from cookery to soft furnishings and needlework to bringing up baby and doing their own DIY.

Also released in 1951

Robert Fabian

Landmark TV series in which real-life cases were dramatized

Also released in 1951

The Brahmin Widow

A soldier returns to India to find the girl he loved but had to leave.

Also tagged Single Play

Another Saturday Night and Sweet FA

Every weekend, long-suffering referee Mr. Armistead wades into the melee to try to teach two sets of testosterone-fuelled maniacs the value of restraint, justice and fair play.

Also tagged Single Drama