The Human Jungle (TV series)
The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company, Independent Artists, for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom and Sally Smith, it ran for two series, which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.
| The Human Jungle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Ronald J. Kahn |
| Starring | Herbert Lom Sally Smith |
| Theme music composer | Bernard Ebbinghouse; played by John Barry and his Orchestra |
| Composer | Bernard Ebbinghouse |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Julian Wintle Leslie Parkyn |
| Cinematography | Bert Mason |
| Running time | 49–51 minutes |
| Production company | Independent Artists for ABC Television |
| Distributor | United Artists Television MGM Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | Film 35mm 4:3 Black and white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | 30 March 1963 – 13 May 1965[1] |
Outline
The majority of the episodes (26 x 50mins) each focused on one patient, whose psychological ailment Dr Corder would treat using a humane yet idiosyncratic approach that mixed Freudian psychoanalysis with the contemporary methods associated with the then-fashionable theories of R. D. Laing.[1] Several psychiatric techniques, such as word association, group work, role-play and hypnotherapy, were featured in the series. Because of the demands of the 50-minute television episode, it was often suggested that Corder would continue to see his patient after the denouement. Frequently, Corder's initial patient in a story would turn out not to be the character with the pressing mental health issue.
Cast and characters
- Herbert Lom as Dr Roger Corder M.D., D.P.M, who sees patients in his consulting room at 162 Harley Street and at the local (fictional) St Damian's Hospital
- Michael Johnson as Dr Jimmy Davis, junior colleague
- Sally Smith as Corder's headstrong teenage daughter Jennifer, whose mother, we are told, was killed in a car accident
- Mary Yeomans as his secretary, Nancy Hamilton
- Mary Steele as his personal assistant, Jane Harris
Production notes
The series was created by Ronald J. Kahn, credited on screen as "assistant to the producers", and produced by Julian Wintle and Leslie Parkyn.[2]
The theme music was composed by Bernard Ebbinghouse, and arranged and recorded by John Barry and his Orchestra.[3]
Many high-profile guest stars appeared in his surgery or as hospital patients, including Joan Collins, Margaret Lockwood, Flora Robson, Roger Livesey, Rita Tushingham and André Morell.
The first series was filmed at Beaconsfield Studios, which closed down shortly after production ended; the second series was shot at the Shenley Road studios in Elstree owned by ABC Television's parent company Associated British Picture Corporation.
The script editor was John Kruse. The advisor on psychiatric content was Dr Hugh L. Freeman, on behalf of the National Association for Mental Health (now Mind).
Episode list
Series one
Airdate is for ABC Weekend Television.[4] ITV regions varied date and order. Episode order is given as per the Network DVD release.
| Episode No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | "The Vacant Chair" | James Hill | Bill MacIlwraith | 30 March 1963 | |
| Stars Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Lloyd Lamble, Keith Pyott, Geoffrey Palmer, Edward Evans, Hamilton Dyce and Jonathan Burn | ||||||
| 2 | TBA | "The Flip Side Man" | Sydney A. Hayers | Robert Stewart | 6 April 1963 | |
| Stars Jess Conrad and Michael Ripper | ||||||
| 3 | TBA | "Run with the Devil" | Vernon Sewell | David T Chantler, John Kruse (story) | 13 April 1963 | |
| Stars Derek Farr, Jenny Laird, Andree Melly, Walter Hudd and Harry Fowler | ||||||
| 4 | TBA | "Thin Ice" | John Ainsworth | Bill MacIlwraith, Robert Stewart (story) | 20 April 1963 | |
| Guest stars Janina Faye, George A. Cooper and Cyril Chamberlain | ||||||
| 5 | TBA | "The Lost Hours" | John Ainsworth | John Kruse | 27 April 1963 | |
| Stars Leonard Sachs, Ursula Howells, Frank Jarvis, Larry Martyn, Robin Hawdon, Stacy Davies and June Murphy | ||||||
| 6 | TBA | "A Friend of the Sergeant Major" | Don Sharp | Lewis Davidson | 4 May 1963 | |
| Stars Alfred Burke, Richard Leech, Cavan Kendall, John Harvey and Steven Scott | ||||||
| 7 | TBA | "14 Ghosts" | Sydney A. Hayers | Leo Leiberman | 11 May 1963 | |
| Stars Avice Landon, André Morell, Justine Lord, William Marlowe, Peter Bathurst and Bernard Davies | ||||||
| 8 | TBA | "Fine Feathers" | Vernon Sewell | Robert Stewart | 18 May 1963 | |
| Stars Jane Merrow and Philip Gilbert | ||||||
| 9 | TBA | "The Wall" | James Hill | John Kruse | 25 May 1963 | |
| Stars Jeremy Spenser, Catherine Feller, Blake Butler, Arnold Diamond, Rosamund Greenwood and Hana Maria Pravda | ||||||
| 10 | TBA | "A Woman with Scars" | James Hill | Robert Stewart | 1 June 1963 | |
| Stars Jeanne Moody, Frank Lawton, John Glyn-Jones, Rosalie Crutchley and Robin Hughes | ||||||
| 11 | TBA | "Time-Check" | Alan Cooke | Lewis Davidson | 8 June 1963 | |
| Stars Melvyn Hayes, Gerald James, Fabia Drake, Warren Mitchell, John Arnatt, Douglas Blackwell and Mitzi Rogers | ||||||
| 12 | TBA | "The Two Edged Sword" | Vernon Sewell | Bill MacIlwraith | 15 June 1963 | |
| Stars Susan Burnet, Pauline Yates, Frederick Piper, Beatrice Varley, William Kendall, Roger Delgado and Glynn Edwards | ||||||
| 13 | TBA | "Over and Out" | Vernon Sewell | John Kruse, Lewis Davidson (story) | 22 June 1963 | |
| Stars Ian Bannen, Eddie Byrne, Zena Marshall, June Barry, John Boxer, Simon Lack and Gerald Andersen | ||||||
Series two
Airdate is for Associated-Rediffusion.[5] ITV regions varied date and order. ABC Weekend Television was broadcast two days later. Order as the for the Network DVD release.
| Episode No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | "Struggle for a Mind" | Sydney A. Hayers | John Kruse | 18 February 1965 | |
| Stars Joan Collins, Clifford Evans, Derek Godfrey and Margaret Whiting | ||||||
| 2 | TBA | "Success Machine" | Sydney A. Hayers | John Kruse | 25 February 1965 | |
| Stars Edward Judd, Sylvia Syms, Harold Goldblatt, Jack Smethurst, Philip Latham, Ruth Trouncer and Wanda Ventham | ||||||
| 3 | TBA | "The 24-Hour Man" | Robert Day | Robert Stewart | 4 March 1965 | |
| Stars Johnny Sekka, Dolores Mantez, Inigo Jackson, Donald Morley, Frank Coda and Mark Lester | ||||||
| 4 | TBA | "Solo Performance" | Roy Baker | Bill MacIlwraith | 11 March 1965 | |
| Stars Margaret Lockwood, James Villiers, Rona Anderson, Terence Brook and Malcolm Tierney | ||||||
| 5 | TBA | "Ring of Hate" | Charles Crichton | John Kruse, Leo Lieberman (story) | 18 March 1965 | |
| Stars Dudley Sutton Bernard Lee, Francis Matthews, Walter Gotell, Jimmy Gardner, Peter Diamond | ||||||
| 6 | TBA | "Conscience on a Rack" | Roy Baker | Bill MacIlwraith | 25 March 1965 | |
| Stars Flora Robson, Megs Jenkins, Ronald Hines and Adrienne Posta | ||||||
| 7 | TBA | "The Quick and the Dead" | Roy Baker | John Kruse | 1 April 1965 | |
| Stars Richard Johnson, Robert Beatty, Andrew Keir, David McAlister and Moray Watson | ||||||
| 8 | TBA | "The Man Who Fell Apart" | Roy Baker | John Kruse | 8 April 1965 | |
| Stars Rita Tushingham, Barbara Shelley, Alan Dobie, Patrick O'Connell, Griffith Davies | ||||||
| 9 | TBA | "Dual Control" | Roy Baker | Anne Francis | 15 April 1965 | |
| Stars Peggy Cummins, Dennis Price, Annette Andre, Rona Anderson and Yvonne Antrobus | ||||||
| 10 | TBA | "Skeleton in the Cupboard" | Roy Baker | Bill MacIlwraith | 22 April 1965 | |
| Stars Roger Livesey, Ann Firbank, Allan Cuthbertson, Russell Waters and Donald Pickering | ||||||
| 11 | TBA | "Wild Goose Chase" | Vernon Sewell | Marc Brandel | 29 April 1965 | |
| Stars Francesca Annis, Vladek Sheybal, Faith Brook, Gary Watson, Aimée Delamain and Tony Steedman | ||||||
| 12 | TBA | "Enemy Outside" | Roy Baker | Bill MacIlwraith | 6 May 1965 | |
| Guest star Avis Bunnage, Barbara Ferris and Rona Anderson | ||||||
| 13 | TBA | "Heartbeats in a Tin Box" | Roy Baker | Robert Stewart | 13 May 1965 | |
| Stars Susan George, Gerald Harper, Ray McAnally, John Junkin, Donald Eccles, Tenniel Evans and Arnold Ridley | ||||||
DVD
The complete series was released during November 2012 as a 7 DVD (Region 2) boxset with accompanying series guide by Andrew Pixley.
References
- Mark Duguid "Human Jungle, The (1963–65", BFI screenonline, retrieved 21 November 2012
- series guide by Andrew Pixley in the DVD set, p.4
- Pixley, p.9
- Before 1968, ABC was broadcast weekends in the Midlands and in the North. See History of ITV
- Before 1968 Associated-Rediffusion was broadcast Monday to Friday in the London region. See History of ITV
External links
- The Human Jungle at the BFI's Screenonline
- The Human Jungle at IMDb