Whenever I turn on Talking Pictures TV I think of Harry Crabtree. He was a co-sixth former and an avid watcher of Westerns on TV. In the 1950s, following the broadcasting expansion triggered by the licensing of a commercial channel, TV was greedy for material, either re-runs of commercial movies or made-for-TV series. The latter were havens for character actors who did not hit the big time via the big screen. Harry was an avid spotter of actors, often uncredited, turning up in unexpected minor roles and would discuss his findings in school the next day.
On this side of the Atlantic, enterprising outfits like Merton Park Studios would turn out crime series to fill slots on ITV. Prolific writers like John Creasey (the "Gideon" series) and Edgar Wallace were mined for material. Now these series have been acquired by Talking Pictures TV and are having a further airing. I now have the pleasure of actor-spotting and testing my memory for names.
"Strangler's Web" turned up a few days ago. It was not the greatest contribution to the Edgar Wallace series. Production and direction were at least as good as the series standard, but it could not be said to be precisely plotted. However, it did feature a starring performance by Pauline Boty, playing a character as sexually assertive as she was in real life. She was better known as a pioneering artist but also as a radio presenter. I did not realise how few editions of The Public Ear there had been, so big an impression had it made on me in 1963 and 1964. Judging by her performance in the TV film, she could have made it as a screen actress, too. [Apologies for the lack of links; there appears to be some congestion on the Web.]
Her life was cruelly cut short by an aggressive disease fifty-two years ago today at the age of 28.
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