´óÏó´«Ã½

'pologies, missed all but the tail-end of this.

I understand the play was adapted for television by ITV as a Play of the Week in 1961. Unfortunately, it no longer exists. Directed by John Moxey who is still alive, and posts at a certain film forum - I wonder if I can extract a few memories from him.

Dear Mybad

I wasn't in touch with John Moxey for the special programme we did yesterday on "artsextra" bbc radio ulster. (you can listen to it again for the next 6 days on the bbc iplayer).
The panel I spoke to were James Ellis, who produced and acted in the original 1960 stage version at the Empire Theatre, Martin Lynch, local playwright who has adapted Thompson's original for a new production in March here in Belfast, Maura Megahey, Thompson's biographer and Brian Garrett Thompson's literary executor.
We also played extracts from a Lyric Theatre production in 1985 recorded for a ´óÏó´«Ã½ tv arts programme.
James Ellis may know about this production but he didn't mention it to me when he was here. It might be worth posting a message to John Moxey on the film forum? Or you could contact ITV film archives for info on this? If you want I can always ask James Ellis about it.

Hi Marie-Louise,

This is as much information as I've been able to find about the ITV production:

Programme title: PLAY OF THE WEEK
Production title: OVER THE BRIDGE

Synopsis: Over the Bridge, set in Belfast, concerns the violence that can be stirred up by intolerance in a big working community. It tells the story of Davey Mitchell, a man who has risked his livelihood and his health to build a union in the shipyard, only to find that old religious differences among the men are stronger than their loyalty to the new union. Davey is finally called upon to make his biggest sacrifice in order to defend his ideals.

Series title: PLAY OF THE WEEK SERIES 1
Series ID: 1/0023-01

Credits text:
ELIZABETH BEGLEY - Nellie Mitchell
JOHN COWLEY - George Mitchell
FINLAY CURRIE - Davy Mitchell
SHELA WARD - Martha White
J G DEVLIN - Rabbie White
PATRICK McALINNEY - Mr Fox
FRASER HINES - Ephraim
RIO FANNING - Warren Baxter
MAUREEN TOAL - Marian
JAMES ELLIS - Archie Kerr
DONAL DONNELLY - Peter O'Boyle
DERMOT McDOWELL - Billy Morgan
KEITH PYOTT -Clergyman
ALLAN McLELLAND - Mob Leader
JAMES FITZGERALD - Workman I
GERALD McCALLISTER - Workman II

Director: JOHN MOXEY
Author: SAM THOMPSON
Adapted by: HUGH LEONARD
Paris company: GRANADA TELEVISION
Genre: DRAMA
ITC class ID:
Running time - minutes: 75
Running time - seconds: 28
First TX date: 1961-08-29
Production area: DRAMA

This info was culled from a backdoor at itnsource. As you can see James Ellis is listed on the credits. As is Donal Donnelly, who sadly died recently. And, very interestingly, adapted by Hugh Leonard.

John Llewellyn Moxey, to give him his full name, is a rather highly regarded director of pulps that had a tendency to assume cult status over the years (my own personal favourite being 1974's 'Where Have All The People Gone?'). At this time of this 1961 broadcast he was directing ITV plays back to back, twice a week (their drama output at that time was prolific). It's unlikely that he would remember, as he is now well into his 80's, but I will contact him, just in case.

According to lostshowsdotcom the production no longer exists - I am not sure whether it was recorded then wiped, or simply not recorded upon broadcast. So much has been lost from that time - these productions were treated as ephemeral but, as time goes on, it appears they were often a unique combination of time, place, talent and venue.

One very interesting question would be: did UTV carry the broadcast relay?

PS - Pls give my regards to Mr Ellis; I fondly remember his roles in Nightingales and the Billy plays.

Hi there
Thanks for all this info. And yes seeing as James is down as Archie Kerr I will certainly give him a call re. this. Will get back to you as soon as I hear anything.
All the best
ml

Hello, Marie-Louise,
I listened with great interest to the programme on "Over the Bridge" and your interview with Jimmy Ellis. I am JG Devlin's daughter and the programme encouraged me to do something that I keep meaning to do, i.e. search through some ancient materials (my father kept scrapbooks) and indeed regarding "Over the Bridge" he kept several reviews, photographs and snippets not only from newspapers, but also from magazines like "The Stage". Some of the photographs show Sam Thompson himself in the play, (in the part of Archie Kerr) in the Empire Theatre and in Scotland. I certainly look forward to Martin Lynch's forthcoming production of the play - I was a schoolgirl at the time of the the original production - keep asking myself where those fifty years have gone!
Good wishes, Fiona Coyle

Hello Fiona, great to see you on here, and good to hear the Devlin clan survives.

I first saw your father in that immortal episode of Steptoe & Son, The Desperate Hours, guest-starring with Leonard Rossiter as an escaped convict; probably one of the best remembered episodes, and certainly one of the most-watched.

I have many old playscripts, published in Belfast, of locally written plays which ran at the Arts and Group theatres, and your father is mentioned frequently in the credits. I've read most of them, and his name always helps me to imagine the production and the role - even the performance, which is rather supernatural in its way.

Please hang onto your father's archive and keep it safe - someday there will be a long over-due retrospective of his life and work.

:-)

I remember directing this play very well. It was a remarkable experience. A superb script, and a wonderful cast.

John

For many years now my cassette recording of Sam Thompson's "The Evangelist" has accompanied me throughout the world. I have recently transferred it to CD.

Surely "Over The Bridge" must have been recorded by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio. Why haven't it and Thompson's other plays been made available commercially? It was a sad fact of ´óÏó´«Ã½ life that its Belfast ´óÏó´«Ã½ shop (now, of course defunct)did not make available such items of local culture as Sam Thompson's plays, the "Billy" plays etc. Perhaps the shop would have met with greater commercial success if it had.

It was in a Belfast of another era, 1965 to be precise, that I stayed on at Queen's to watch Sam Thompson's "Cemented With Love" on the ´óÏó´«Ã½. I then walked home to Clonard via Sandy Row (another era indeed!) Sam Thompson would have been delighted to know that small groups of people were gathered at Sandy Row corners discussing his play. Did they know, I wonder, that one of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ production's conceits was to have deliberately cast Catholic actors in Protestant roles? JG Devlin, for instance, played the Orange Grand Master if my memory serves me correctly. A terrific idea which might be emulated by those who might be involved in producing a Belfast soap opera. (Anyone who doubts the idea's "terrific' status should listen to that devout Catholic actress, the late Catherine Gibson, give her testimony at the Protestant prayer meeting in "The Evangelist". It would bring tears to your eyes!)

Unfortunately I won't be in Belfast to see "Over The Bridge" this time around. Any chance of a DVD?

Chouchoulane
Cemented With Love is one of the missing Wednesday Plays, so, alas, it no longer exists - nice to read your anecdote about street corner dicussions of it; almost a commentary on a non-existent DVD.
Your recording of The Evangelist may well be the only copy in existence - it might be worth checking that with the ´óÏó´«Ã½NI archive; if so, perhaps you could provide them with a copy. Recently I discovered, quite by chance, a recording of a ´óÏó´«Ã½ production of Joe Tomelty's All Soul's Night; a very gratifying listen which, I'm sure, would have a ready local audience.
I'm afraid the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Shop stock was really subject to copyright and licencing and ´óÏó´«Ã½NI may not have felt the investment worthwhile. Having said that, it's worth noting that ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland go to great lengths to make Scottish plays available from the archive, the most notable being Peter McDougall's work for the Play For Today strand.

Saw Over the Bridge at the Waterfront last night - absolutely blown away - (Belfast) funny; well acted - great (local)talent; loved the interaction with the audience before the show;frightening - would love to think we'd moved on (then listened to the news this am); totally powerful; enthralling. (ps - I used to work with a 'Rabbie')