Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
‘Boogie Outlaws’ was a 3 part drama about a recording company owner, Manfred Holt, who forms a band from a group of musicians who are on the run from the police. It was produced by Carol Parks at Pebble Mill, directed by Keith Godman and written by Leslie Stewart. It was transmitted in 1987.
The drama starred Ian Hogg, David Schofield, Isla Blair, John Judd, Francesca Brill, Sara Crowe, Claire Parker and Chris Tummings.
Photos by Lynda Kettle, no reproduction without permission. Lynda Kettle was a Production Designer at BBC Pebble Mill, working on factual, entertainment and drama shows in studio and on location. The photos were taken as records of the Sets.
Inside Out was a 6 x 50 mins drama series recorded at BBC Pebble Mill, in Studio A, in 1985. It was the story of two female ex-offenders who are trying to set up an employment agency together. It was directed by Tony Smith and Pedr James, produced by Sally Head and written by Simon Moore. Lynda Kettle was the production designer.
The series starred Lou Wakefield and Gwyneth Strong, alongside Michael Thomas, Philip Sayer and Caroline Guthrie.
Production Designer, Lynda Kettle also worked as a theatre designer and an artist, and now runs courses from her art studio http://www.lynda-kettle.com. She is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham Water Colour Society. Midland Pastel Society and Birmingham Art Circle . She exhibits her paintings several times a year at selected galleries.
Studio set of ‘Inside Out’
Photos by Lynda Kettle, no reproduction without permission. Lynda Kettle was a Production Designer at BBC Pebble Mill, working on factual, entertainment and drama shows in studio and on location. The photos were taken as records of the Sets.
Tuesday’s Child was a play directed and produced by Robin Midgley at Pebble Mill in 1985. It was written by Terry Johnson and Kate Lock, and told the story of a young girl who confesses to her priest that she saw a miracle when in the Holy Land. Kate Lock also acted the part of the girl, with Donal McCann playing Father Doyle and also featuring J.G. Devlin. Dave Bushell was the lighting director. The play was recorded in Studio A.
Production Designer, Lynda Kettle also worked as a theatre designer and an artist, and now runs courses from her art studio http://www.lynda-kettle.com. She is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham Water Colour Society. Midland Pastel Society and Birmingham Art Circle . She exhibits her paintings several times a year at selected galleries.
Tuesday’s Child
Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
The Chain was a four part thriller which went out in 1990, written by Desmond Lowden. It told a tale of murder and corruption in the world of business takeovers. The series was produced at Pebble Mill by Carol Parks. Don Leaver directed the series, John Kenway was the cameraman. Brian Wright was the script editor and Nigel Jones the designer.
The series starred Peter Capaldi, Susan Kyd, Robert Pugh, Julia Hills, and Michael Troughton amongst others.
The photos show the lowering of a ‘body’ into the concrete foundations of a building. The model used as the body looks fairly convincing.
Had an interesting day today at the Archive Screening Event at the School of Art in Margaret Street. We showed several Pebble Mill dramas: A Touch of Eastern Promise by Tara Prem, A Box of Swan by Alan David Price and Fellow Traveller by Michael Eaton. Tara Prem and Michael Eaton were able to join us and it was fascinating to hear from them about how the dramas came about.
Fellow Traveller is set in the McCarthy era in the US, when many Hollywood film makers were blacklisted for their Communist sympathies. Some screen writers who couldn’t write in the States resorted to working for British television, particularly ITV’s highly successful Robin Hood series. Fellow Traveller is the story of a Jewish writer: Asa Kaufman, who flees to Britain and writes several Robin Hood episodes.
Michael Eaton wrote Fellow Traveller as a speculative script which he sent to HBO. The BBC had apparently already turned it down. Two weeks later HBO asked him to come across to the States. He said that going there was like having a masterclass in script writing. He was told that what he’d submitted was a two Act drama, and what it needed to be was a three Act drama – he hadn’t come across the three Act structure before. The original version finished with Asa Kaufman finding out how he had been betrayed and by whom, but unable to do anything about it. He then had to write a third Act where Kaufman confronted Leavey, which gave a much more satisfying conclusion.
Fellow Taveller was a three way co-production between HBO, BBC Pebble Mill and the BFI. It was shot on 35mm film, and had some theatrical release before being transmitted on BBC 2. It was the only TV film made at Pebble Mill. HBO apparently needed two different versions – one shorter and without any of the scenes containing nudity or sex, and one longer than the BBC version with some additional scenes in. Greg Miller, who edited the film in Soho, told us about how HBO had become quite demanding about their different versions quite late in the day. Michael Wearing produced the film and Philip Saville, who had worked with Michael Wearing on Boys from the Blackstuff, was the director.
Vanessa
