The River (TV play)


The River is a 1951 British television play starring Kay Kendall. The role, along with that in another play, Sweethearts and Wives, helped Kendall revive her career after the failure of London Town.
It was the first TV play by L. Du Garde Peach, who had written over a hundred radio plays.

Premise

Farmers rebel against flood control.

Cast

  • Beckett Bould as John Saxton
  • Kay Kendall as Mary
  • Frank Atkinson as Walt Fennel
  • Peter Bennett as George Grewel
  • Graveley Edwards as Colonel Hope-Welling
  • Andrew Osborn as Ned Crossland
  • Bill Shine as Sam Thirsk
  • Lewis Stringer as Frome
  • Sam Wilkinson as Amos Grime

Reception

The Evening Standard called it "sluggish" and "never came within an inch of being a play." The Guardian felt it "had some interesting work" but "never became quite real." "Well conceived and realistically interpreted", wrote the Birmingham Post. The Manchester Evening News felt it had "great scope for good characterisation".