Roger Slater – What Was Pebble Mill?

Gangsters Series, Episode 3, 1976

This photo is from episode 3 of Gangsters series 1. It features Maurice Colbourne as John Kline and Saeed Jaffrey as Rafiq. Gangsters series 1 was a 6 part crime serial set in the Midlands underworld. It was shown on BBC1 on Thursday Sept 23 1976.

Here is the entry from the Radio Times:

“A series of six programmes by PHILIP MARTIN with Ahmed Khalil , Elizabeth Cassidy, Paul Antrim, Paul Barber, Alibe Parsons, Saeed Jaffrey and Maurice Colbourne as John Kline. Incident 3 –
A missing consignment of heroin, an abandoned railway station. Surveying the scene are Rafiq, the sophisticated gangster, and Khan, the double agent. How will Kline escape the factions ranged against him at the Battle of Snow Hill?
Music composed and directed by DAVE GREENSLADE
Script editor PETER ANSORGE Designer IAN ASHURST Producer DAVID ROSE
Director ALASTAIR REID. BBC Birmingham”

Roger Slater was a boom operator on the series, with John Gilbert the recordist. Murray Laidla was part of the audio crew in Studio A when the barge was built in the studio.

Joyce Hawkins was the costume designer.

The Rum Runner nightclub was taken over by Gangsters and turned into a strip club.

Dalziel and Pascoe

Thanks to VT editor, Ian Collins, for making these screen grabs from the popular crime series, Dalziel and Pascoe available.

I think this episode is Sins of the Fathers, which was transmitted in October 2002, on BBC1. Here is the entry from the Radio Times, courtesy of the BBC Genome project.

Synopsis:

Sins of the Fathers. Investigating the murder of a young priest, the duo encounter a hostile village neighbourhood.
Written by Elizabeth-Anne Wheal; Producer Ann Tricklebank
Director Lawrence Gordon Clark www.bbc.co.uk/drama

Contributors:

Producer: Ann Tricklebank
Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
DS Andy Dalziel: Warren Clarke
Dl Peter Pascoe: Colin Buchanan
DS Edgar Wield: David Royle
DC Carrie Harris: Keeley Forsyth
Harriet Clifford: Anne Reid
Father Tibbings: James Bolam
Bishop Halliwell: Roger Lioyd Pack
Sue Blackstone: Lindsey Coulson
Jamie Blackstone: Rob Dixon
Terry Brakespeare: Bryan Marshall
Dr Stephen Weston: Michael Hodgson
PC John Shepherd: John Flitcroft
Dr George Appleton: Tom Charnock
Dr Paul Ashurst: James Puddephatt

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c66fa5b9f4eb42a1b1867bf7741148ed

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

James Holloway: ‘Robert Carter (camera operator) and I (grip) worked on the last 6 episodes.’

Roy Thompson: ‘Excellent TV drama. Still watch it on the Drama Channel.’

Tim Partridge: ‘I was the Boom Operator.’

Matt Poynter: ‘I did the first series!’

Roger Slater: ‘I was Production Sound Mixer’

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Fellow Traveller poster and script front page

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Thanks to Ann Chancellor-Davies for sharing this promotional film poster, and the front page of the rehearsal script, (Ann’s huband Gavin, was the production designer on the film). It never ceases to surprise and delight me, how many script front pages have been kept by people – they are such a mine of useful information!

Fellow Traveller was the only cinematic feature film to be made at Pebble Mill, it was transmitted on 10th February, 1991 on BBC2.

Below is the entry from the Radio Times, courtesy of the BBC Genome project:

“Starring Ron Silver, Imogen Stubbs, Daniel J Travanti, Hart Bochner
1950s Hollywood: the McCarthy senate committee is conducting a witch-hunt for supposed communists in the entertainment industry and betrayal is in the air. For three friends this proves to be a disaster – for the writer who must work incognito for the emerging ITV in England; for the musician now living in England, a painful renewal of old wounds; and for the star a final performance.
Producer Michael Wearing, Director Philip Saville”

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/982604f5c78f4f9ab5618684c165c64b

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Roger Slater: ‘I was Sound Mixer, ably assisted by the late great Tim Everett as Boom Operator and Benedict Peissel as Sound Assistant. Shot in Bray Studios and on location in the UK and Miami.’

Lesley Weaver: ‘I was the Hair & Make Up Designer, a privilege to work on this artistically challenging film as it covered historically wonderful periods for make & up and hair.

It took me to New York for photo shoots, Miami, The Keys glorious sea shore and numerous UK locations including Bray Film studios.

The fun recreation of 1950’s Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Sheriff of Nottingham and all the Merry (Stunt) Men.
Fighting scenes shot in Gavin Davies’s amazing huge forest built at Bray Film Studios.

Sue O’Neill was my lovely able Senior Assistant in the UK, amongst a team of talented make up girls and the late Peter Shepherd in the US.

We did 20’s 40’s & 50’s wigs, cut throats, pumping wounds and black blood for early 1950’s black & white TV make up… I remember Sue O’Neill baking her prosthetics around the country in various hotel ovens over night! Such dedication!
From Art Deco offices to post war austere London bedsits and disagreeable landladies. Then over to the warmth & glow of Hollywood party life with dazzling costumes glamorous film stars & cars, the McCarthy Committee cloud over Hollywood and suicide in coral swimming pools. It had it all for make up & costume!
Always a great laugh to work with Al Barnett Costume Designer extraordinaire and all the other talent technicians on the production ….. And let us not forget costume design assistant, Amin Hassan who we sadly lost a few week ago!

Writer Micheal Eaton was enthusiastically on set everyday and excited to be ‘wigged up’ for his Hitchcockesque cameo scenes! …

….. it was always a pleasure to find yourself working on one of Micheal Wearing’s productions as you knew all your hard work would contribute to something worthwhile.

How lucky was I?

Oh Happy Happy Days !!’

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Morning Story – Bob Monkhouse

The photo shows Radio Studio 5 in action recording a Morning Story for Radio 4, circa 1976. Bob Monkhouse performing in the studio, with writer, Punch cartoonist, Noel Ford, cam left. The SM is Peter Belham ? with David Shute cam right.

Thanks to David Shute, for sharing the photo, and to Roger Slater for adding information.

Nanny – track laying sheets

These kind of sheets were prepared by the person track-laying a piece of film, to inform the dubbing mixer about what was intended for the audio mix. In this case, film editor, Oliver White, was also the track-layer. The sheets are from episode 6 of the 1981 drama series, Nanny. Wendy Craig played the title role.

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Roger Slater: ‘The numbers are film footage from zero at first frame and were on a large display beneath the screen in the dubbing theatre. The yellow blocks represent where the sound is in the tracks and were hard cuts or mixes as decided in the mixing. The arrows are just an indication of where to go. This is a very simple chart with a few tracks, You could be mixing 8 -10 or up to 40 tracks on a big drama or film.’