An old Theatre advertisement from Peterborough. It wasn’t so much the headline act of Tessie O Shea AND the Billy Cotton Band that took my eye, although I can imagine that this show would have been really good. No it was the bottom forthcoming attraction – Donald Wolfit in ‘Treasure Island’ that drew me in.

I had never thought of Donald Wolfit as Long John Silver and I can’t think why because he would seem a perfect fit

I delved further and came across this programme which is dated 27 February 1950 for the Kings Theatre in Southsea.

This production must have been aimed at capitalising on the success of the Walt Disney film released at that time – and Donald Wolfit would have been well able to give a very similar performance to Robert Newton – another Shakespearean actor, one would imagine.

Interesting to see John Charles worth as Jim Hawkins – he is well remembered for his role in the BBC TV Billy Bunter series, and later for a film I like very much ‘The Blue Peter’ which came out a little later than this.

I think that the poor lad came to a very tragic end.

Looking down the cast list I can’t see anyone else that we would have known.

The Blue Peter was filmed mainly in Snowdonia and centred around an outward bound school. The young men in the film all seem to have been in the TV Billy Bunter series as pupils at Greyriars

The film itself was made in Tecnicolor and Cinemascope.

Keiron Moore and Harry Fowler – The Blue Peter 1955

The climax of the film came when one boy slips down a cliff and has to be rescued by another of them who himself is having to overcome a fear of heights due to  events in his childhood. The way his sequence was filmed was impressive on the wide screen as we, the audience, were looking down at the boy clinging to the sheer cliff face. I remember hardly daring to watch at the time and this sequence has certainly stuck with me.  If I ever think of this film I think of that shot –  looking down at the long drop to the valley below with the lad, arms outstretched, clinging to the rocks

Keiron Moore played one of the instructors and the female lead was Greta Gynt who by now was at the end of her film career. They were both quite good in the roles.

JOHN CHARLESWORTH

A young actor called John Charlesworth played the young man with the fear of heights who eventually comes good.  He had a busy career. He was in Scrooge with Alistair Sims, the Bunter series and many other film and TV appearances. Sadly he died in 1960 aged 24. There is scant biographical information available on John.

He was born John William Charlesworth on November 15th 1935 in Hull, Yorkshire, England.
He appeared in a large number of films during his young life. The most famous of these being the 1951 Alastair Sim vehicle ‘Scrooge’. Charlesworth played the role of Peter Cratchit.

On April 2nd 1960, John took his own life.  A very sad event for someone who seemed to have achieved such a lot in a short life.