Laurence Olivier Presents

Laurence Olivier Presents is a British television series made by Granada Television which ran from 1976 to 1978. The plays, with the exception of Hindle Wakes, all starred Laurence Olivier. Some of the plays were based on productions staged at the National Theatre during the period when Olivier was Artistic Director. In addition to distinguished English actors, the casts assembled for these productions included several Hollywood stars, such as Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Joanne Woodward and Maureen Stapleton.

Drama

Seasons

1. The Collection

Air Date: 1976-12-05

Alan Pinter's masterly play of suspense, set in the fashionable world of Chelsea boutique owners and West End dress designers, takes a moment in which four elegant lives are suddenly shaken by the tremors of sexual jealousy. The sinister telephone call which disturbs Harry Kane at four o'clock in the morning and sets in motion the drama's events, also foreshadows the ominous deepening mystery in which the characters find themselves.

2. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Air Date: 1976-12-12

Set on the plantation of a rich Mississippi cotton grower, Tennessee Williams' play deals with the smouldering conflicts that suddenly erupt during Big Daddy's birthday celebrations when the family learns that he is close to death. In a shattering night of revelation, each member of the family, imprisoned by avarice, envy and self-delusion, is forced to face reality. Brick, escaping life in drink, Maggie, desperate with frustration in her loveless marriage, and Big Daddy and Big Mama, hopelessly denying the fact of death , find themselves at last speaking the terrifying truth.

3. Hindle Wakes

Air Date: 1976-12-19

Millworker Chris Hawthorn and his wife are shocked to discover that their daughter Fanny did not, after all, spend her holiday weekend in Blackpool with her friend Mary. Instead, she spent it in Wales with Alan Jeffcote, son of the owner of the mill where she and her father are both employed. And in 1912, when the play is set, there was only one solution for young men and women who spent weekends together without troubling to get married first. But the conventional morals and manners of a North of England mill town are rudely upset by the behaviour of a single young lady with ideas about women and about life far ahead of their time.

1. Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Air Date: 1978-01-01

The story of a Neapolitan family, with all their temperamental clashes, hidden resentments and strong loyalties, who meet every Sunday for a gigantic Sunday lunch, cooked by Donna Rosa, who is famed for the excellence of her ragout. On one particular Sunday, a family row flares up and is conducted, in vociferous Italian style, throughout the weekend. By the time the ritual lunch comes to an end, Donna Rosa is shouting at her husband Peppino "I never want to hear your voice or look at your face again! Get away from me!"

2. Come Back Little Sheba

Air Date: 1978-01-08

The play takes a stark look at a pair of misfits. Doc is a filed doctor fighting to stay sober in the shadow of alcoholism. Lola is a loving but inadequate wife mourning for both her lost youth and her lost dog, Sheba.

3. Daphne Laureola

Air Date: 1978-01-15

Lady Pitts is a middle-aged, Newnham-educated lady who was once director of a biscuit factory by day while running a shelter for prostitutes by night. Ernest is a young Polish student who meets Lady Pitts one evening when she is alone and very drunk in a Soho restaurant. Ernest decides to worship this mysterious lady as Dante worshipped Beatrice. But Lady Pitts is a wayward, though determined, woman.

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Rating

7.0/10

Release Date

1976-12-05

Episodes

6 (2 seasons)

Status

Ended