We’re delighted to report that a healthy crowd of attendees, from across the country, gathered at The Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre in Leicester, for an afternoon of missing and rare 1950s and 1960s television.

The programme featured a series of black and white shows, offering crime and detective fiction, courtroom intrigue, hospital drama and, with the screening of the final item, the adaptation of a stage play for TV.

Tim Burrows was the host, and he was joined on stage by special guests Dick Fiddy of the BFI, the man behind ‘Missing Believed Wiped’, and Mark Stuckey from the BBC’s ‘Repair Shop’, who is also a film collector.

The full programme of episodes screened, were:

• Saber of London: Four Against Three (Broadcast: 11th November 1959)
• Emergency Ward 10: The Long Small Hours (Broadcast: 29th September 1966)
• The Third Man: Short Sequences (Broadcast: 1959 and 1965)
• Moonstrike: He Who Tells (Broadcast: 4th July 1963)
• Boyd Q.C.: Short Sequences (Broadcast: June and July 1961)
• ITV Playhouse: Each Wind That Blows (Broadcast: 15th April 1960)

During the panel discussion, Prof. Justin Smith announced that several missing episodes of The Vise and Saber of London, shows made by the Danziger brothers, had been found. These include:

• The Wrong Face (Broadcast: 27th November 1957)
• The Bargain (Broadcast: 2nd October 1959)
• The Broken Link (Broadcast: 1st January 1960)
• A Toast To Death (Broadcast: 12th July 1960)
• Arena For Fraud (Broadcast: 18th January 1961)
• The Yellow Robe (Broadcast: 18th May 1962)

Digital scans of these episodes have been, or are being, supplied to Talking Pictures TV (the rights holder) for future broadcast.

Sue Malden, the former head of the BBC Broadcast Archive, spoke about missing episodes of Doctor Who. She announced the recovery of two other items, which were presented during the short sequences:

• Boyd Q.C.: Messing About In Boats (Broadcast: 29th June 1961)
• The Third Man: Proxy Fight (Broadcast: 20th August 1965)

A digital copy of the Boyd Q.C. episode has been supplied to the BFI, while the 16mm film print of The Third Man has been returned to the BBC Archive.

John Franklin, of the Film is Fabulous! team, spoke about the 53 episodes of Emergency Ward 10 that were recovered recently. 28 episodes have been confirmed as missing from the ITV Archive, while 6 are yet to be identified. John also outlined several collections from former industry professionals that the team are currently dealing with. These include materials from:

• Max Robertson – The late BBC radio and television commentator, and presenter of ‘Going For A Song’.
• John Ryan – The late creator of several popular animated children’s shows, including Captain Pugwash.
• Michael Wilson – The late cameraman and freelance photographer who worked on many BBC shows.

The above collections are among more than twenty that Film is Fabulous! have been asked to manage, primarily by the estates of deceased film collectors, and former film and television professionals.

Film is Fabulous! Preserving film treasures for future generations.

14th May 2025