Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro; 6
- Episode Number
- 6
- Producing Organization
- Granada Television
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-kh0dv1dm3k
- NOLA Code
- SAKI
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- Description
- Episode Description
- The first segment of this episode is Louise. It hardly seems possible that one could lose a niece. But Louise is so losable - and Veronique is so absent-minded. The search takes in most of London, until Louise is discovered upstairs reading to the ailing cook. The second segment is The Elk. In this segment, Dora Yonelet is the latest in a long series of girls Bertie has saved from Lady Bastables elk. Mrs. Yonelet thinks its an omen - obviously Dora and Bertie belong together. Lady Bastable has other ideas, mostly involving Bertie and the Bicklebys German governess. But when the elk tramples the governess in a fit of moodiness, Lady B. is so upset that Mrs. Yonelet is the winner - Dora and Bertie are married after all. The third segment is The Romancers, in which Clovis outdoes a con-man at his own game - he convinces the panhandler that his strange Afghan religion forbids him to give away even a farthing. The fourth segment is The Interlopers. In this segment, Georg Znaeym and Ulrich von Gradwitz are lifelong enemies. Stalking each other in the Balkan forests, they are both pinned down by falling trees. Gradually, as they talk, their hatred gives way to understanding, and they resolve to end their feud. But it is too later - the wolves are coming. The final segment of this episode is Tobermory. In this segment, Cornelius Appin has only one talent - he can teach animals to speak. His success with Tobermory, Lady Bastables cat, leads to consternation verging on panic among her guests. What if Tobermory should tell all hes heard and seen during his midnight prowls on windowsills? Obviously the cat must go. A neighboring tom does the job during a nocturnal fight - and a few weeks later Cornelius Appin is killed by an elephant in the Dresden Zoological Garden. If he was trying German irregular verbs on the poor beast, says Clovis, he deserved all he got. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Connoisseurs of the short story have long considered Sakis (Hector Hugh Munro) minute masterpieces among the ultimate examples of the form. The idea of dramatizing them for television probably would have struck most Saki fanciers as insupportable heresy. Yet Granada Television of England has managed, with the help of some exceptionally able actors, to bring some of the stories to life. Each of the eight hour-long episodes contains several stories covering the range of Sakis imagination from driest wit to urbane horror to unbridled hilarity. A basic group of six characters are the nucleus around which the stories develop. These six either are involved in the action of the stories or introduce them as incidents that have happened to people they know. In order to tighten the series dramatically, these six have been substituted for the original characters in some of the stories. For instance, in the first episode Sir Hector (one of the six regulars) is substituted for Treddleford, the Club Liar in A Defensive Diamond. This has only been done in cases where the characters are so similar as to be interchangeable, and it in no way damages the plot or effect of the story. The six starring performers who appear throughout the series are: Martita Hunt as Lady Bastable; William Mervyn as Sir Hector; Mark Burns as Clovis Sangrail; Fenella Fielding as Mary Drakmanton; Richard Vernon as The Major; and Rosamund Greenwood as Veronique Brimley-Bomefield. Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro was originally recorded on film and produced in England by Granada Television. Producer: Philip Mackie. Stories adapted by Gerald Savory, Hugh Leonard, Edward Boyd. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1963-00-00
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Drama
- Topics
- Humor
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Actor: Vernon, Richard
Actor: Hunt, Martita
Actor: Greenwood, Rosamund
Actor: Mervyn, William
Actor: Burns, Mark
Actor: Fielding, Fenella
Actor: Gosney, Barry
Actor: Cazabor, John
Actor: Shawsin, Barry
Actor: Hickson, Joan
Actor: Cairns, Jessica
Actor: Breck, Kathleen
Actor: Daneman, Diana
Actor: Withers, Margery
Actor: Drummond, David
Actor: Craig, Ivan
Designer: Stonehouse, Roy
Director: Narizzano, Silvio
Producer: Mackie, Philip
Producing Organization: Granada Television
Writer: Savory, Gerald
Writer: Leonard, Hugh
Writer: Boyd, Edward
Writer: Saki, 1870-1916
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2412757-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2412757-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2412757-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2412757-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro; 6,” 1963-00-00, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed July 16, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-kh0dv1dm3k.
- MLA: “Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro; 6.” 1963-00-00. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. July 16, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-kh0dv1dm3k>.
- APA: Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro; 6. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-kh0dv1dm3k