The Yellow Iris (radio play)
Encyclopedia
The Yellow Iris is the name of a radio play written by Agatha Christie and broadcast
on the BBC National Programme
on Tuesday 2 November 1937 at 8.00pm. The one-hour programme was broadcast again two days later, this time on the BBC Regional Programme
at 9.00pm.
The script was based on the short story, Yellow Iris, which had been published in issue 559 of the Strand Magazine
in July of the same year. The main part of the story takes place in a London restaurant and the play was unusual in that the producer, Douglas Moodie, interspersed the action with the performances of the cabaret artistes who were supposedly on the bill at the restaurant.
The cabaret artistes were compered by Cyril Fletcher
, later famous for his appearances on the television consumer programme That's Life!
. The artistes were Hugh French, the singer Janet Lind, "The Three Admirals" vocal group and Inga Anderson.
The lyrics to the songs featured were written by Christopher Hassall
while the music was composed by Michael Sayer and arranged by Jack Beaver and played by his orchestra (Beaver is better known as the soundtrack composer to several of Alfred Hitchcock
's 1930 films).
Poirot was played by Anthony Holles and The Yellow Iris marked the debut of the character on radio (he had already been portrayed on stage, film and television).
This unusual experiment was not deemed a success by some of the critics. Joyce Grenfell
reviewed the play in The Observer
s edition of 7 November 1937 when she said, "I had hoped to say such nice things about Agatha Christie's Yellow Iris" but found that Holles was, "the only happy thing in the broadcast". Overall she said that, "The play itself turned out to be a ten-minute sketch padded with cabaret and dance music, and made to spread over forty minutes. When the sketch was playing my interest was sustained. But the sequences were so brief and the intervening music – though good in its proper place – so prolonged that my attention wandered. Much better to have treated the piece as the short sketch it really was."
The Guardian
s unnamed radio critic reviewed the first performance of the play in the edition of 3 November 1937 when he said, "Since the play took place in a cabaret and the cabaret was given a full and overflowing part with lyrics and music, and more lyrics and more music, it must be confessed that there was not much of a detective thrill left. Poirot had a nice French accent; but the course of the plot was much entangled with music and so was most of the conversation; whenever things got going they were held up for a while, and altogether this musical version of The Yellow Iris lacked the clarity which distinguishes Agatha Christie's writing in her books. Let the drama department as a general rule keep crime and cabaret apart; the mixture is apt to curdle."
Cast:
Anthony Holles as Hercule Poirot
Sydney Keith as Barton Russell
Evelyn Neilson as Pauline Weatherby
Dino Galvani as Luigi, Maitre d'Hotel
Frank Drew as Anthony Chappell
Martita Hunt
as Senora Lola Valdez
Peter Scott as Stephen Carter
Audrey Cameron as The Cloak Room Attendant
Bernard Jukes as The Waiter
The script of the play remains unpublished. The short story on which it is based was first published in book form in the U.S. in The Regatta Mystery in 1939 and in the U.K. in Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
in 1991. The short story was later expanded by Christie into the 1945 full-length novel Sparkling Cyanide
.
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
on the BBC National Programme
BBC National Programme
The BBC National Programme was a BBC radio station from the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II.-Foundation:When the BBC first began transmissions on 14 November 1922, the technology for both national coverage and joint programming between transmitters did not exist – transmitter powers were...
on Tuesday 2 November 1937 at 8.00pm. The one-hour programme was broadcast again two days later, this time on the BBC Regional Programme
BBC Regional Programme
The BBC Regional Programme was a UK radio network which operated from the end of the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.-Foundation:...
at 9.00pm.
The script was based on the short story, Yellow Iris, which had been published in issue 559 of the Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
in July of the same year. The main part of the story takes place in a London restaurant and the play was unusual in that the producer, Douglas Moodie, interspersed the action with the performances of the cabaret artistes who were supposedly on the bill at the restaurant.
The cabaret artistes were compered by Cyril Fletcher
Cyril Fletcher
Cyril Fletcher was an English comedian; his catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was most famous for his Odd Odes, which was a section of the television show That's Life!. Fletcher had first begun performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television...
, later famous for his appearances on the television consumer programme That's Life!
That's Life!
That's Life! was a magazine-style television series on BBC1 between 26 May 1973 and 19 June 1994, presented by Esther Rantzen throughout the entire run, with various changes of co-presenters. The show was generally recorded about an hour prior to transmission, which was originally on Saturday...
. The artistes were Hugh French, the singer Janet Lind, "The Three Admirals" vocal group and Inga Anderson.
The lyrics to the songs featured were written by Christopher Hassall
Christopher Hassall
Christopher Vernon Hassall was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after working together in the same touring company...
while the music was composed by Michael Sayer and arranged by Jack Beaver and played by his orchestra (Beaver is better known as the soundtrack composer to several of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1930 films).
Poirot was played by Anthony Holles and The Yellow Iris marked the debut of the character on radio (he had already been portrayed on stage, film and television).
This unusual experiment was not deemed a success by some of the critics. Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
reviewed the play in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s edition of 7 November 1937 when she said, "I had hoped to say such nice things about Agatha Christie's Yellow Iris" but found that Holles was, "the only happy thing in the broadcast". Overall she said that, "The play itself turned out to be a ten-minute sketch padded with cabaret and dance music, and made to spread over forty minutes. When the sketch was playing my interest was sustained. But the sequences were so brief and the intervening music – though good in its proper place – so prolonged that my attention wandered. Much better to have treated the piece as the short sketch it really was."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s unnamed radio critic reviewed the first performance of the play in the edition of 3 November 1937 when he said, "Since the play took place in a cabaret and the cabaret was given a full and overflowing part with lyrics and music, and more lyrics and more music, it must be confessed that there was not much of a detective thrill left. Poirot had a nice French accent; but the course of the plot was much entangled with music and so was most of the conversation; whenever things got going they were held up for a while, and altogether this musical version of The Yellow Iris lacked the clarity which distinguishes Agatha Christie's writing in her books. Let the drama department as a general rule keep crime and cabaret apart; the mixture is apt to curdle."
Cast:
Anthony Holles as Hercule Poirot
Sydney Keith as Barton Russell
Evelyn Neilson as Pauline Weatherby
Dino Galvani as Luigi, Maitre d'Hotel
Frank Drew as Anthony Chappell
Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...
as Senora Lola Valdez
Peter Scott as Stephen Carter
Audrey Cameron as The Cloak Room Attendant
Bernard Jukes as The Waiter
The script of the play remains unpublished. The short story on which it is based was first published in book form in the U.S. in The Regatta Mystery in 1939 and in the U.K. in Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories is a short story collection by Agatha Christie published in the UK only in November 1991 by HarperCollins. It was not published in the US but all the stories contained within it had previously been published in American volumes. The UK edition retailed at...
in 1991. The short story was later expanded by Christie into the 1945 full-length novel Sparkling Cyanide
Sparkling Cyanide
Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the December of the same year under Christie's original title...
.