form y separately published work icon Who Killed Rikhjovic? single work   radio play   mystery   crime   - 90min.
Issue Details: First known date: 1954... 1954 Who Killed Rikhjovic?
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The play opens on the centre court at Wimbledon where Dmitri Rikhjovic, of Hungary, and Anthony Hargraves, of Australia, are fighting out the semi-final of the men’s singles. Rikhovic has a comfortable lead of two games and is just about to deliver what will probably be his decisive service in the third.

'The first ball is a fault. A murmur of surprise goes up from the crowd. Before Rikhjovic can serve a second ball, he collapses. A doctor is quickly on the scene, but it is too late—the tennis star is dead. The doctor, obviously disturbed, suggests that the police should be called, for it seems probable that Dmitri Rikhjovic has died of cyanide poisoning.

'This is the problem confronting the police: how could a man be poisoned while on a tennis court, with thousands of eyes focused on him?'

Source: ABC Weekly, 29 October 1955, p.20.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Who Killed Kovali? Rex Rienits , ( dir. Cyril Coke ) England : ITV , 1957 6104805 1957 single work film/TV crime thriller

Production Details

  • Aired on BBC radio at 9:15pm on 10 July 1954.

    Producer: Ayton Whitaker.

    Cast: Brian Haines, Richard Waring, and Rolf Lefebvre.


    Broadcast on ABC Radio (2FC) from Melbourne, 2 April 1955.

    Producer: Henry Cuthbertson.

    Cast: Williams Lloyd (Major Morrison), Robert Peach (Tony Hargraves), Keith Eden (Detective-Inspector Carson), John Morgan (Sergeant Stott), Betine Kauffmann (Maria Rikhjovic), Douglas Kelly (Igor Kovali), Sydney Conabere (Jeff Willis), John Bluthal (Pedro Moreno), Beverley Dunn (Jill Masters), Denzil Howson (Radio Voice), Noel Ferrier (Max Robertson), David Reed (Dr Noble), Merle Dalmaine (Maid), Eric Conway (Constable Wilson), and Cyril Gardiner (Colonel Braid).


    Broadcast on ABC Radio (2FC) from Sydney, 30 October 1955.

    Producer: Raymond Menmuir.

    Cast: Peter Owen (Major Morrison), Charles Tingwell (Tony Hargraves), Brian James (Detective-Inspector Carson), Ron Whelan (Sergeant Stott), Georgie Sterling (Maria Rikhjovic), Richard Davies (Igor Kovali), Leonard Bullen (Jeff Willis), Guy Leclaire (Pedro Moreno), Ann Bullen (Jill Masters), Ric Hutton (Max Robertson), Rupert Chance (Dr Noble), Marilyn Thomas (Maid), Leonard Bullen (Constable Wilson), Charles McCallum (Mackenzie), and Reginald Collins (Colonel Braid).

    Note: this version has a role, 'Mackenzie', that is not listed in the Melbourne production.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) ,
      1954 .
      Extent: 90min.p.
      Series: form y separately published work icon Saturday Night Theatre United Kingdom (UK) : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) , 1943-1998 6430225 1943 series - publisher radio play

      A BBC radio anthology series broadcasting (usually) ninety-minute radio plays on Saturday nights: the plays were usually genre focused (crime, mysteries, or comedies) and included original works and adaptations of stage plays and novels.

Notes:
According to contemporary radio guides, the Australian versions, although broadcast with the same title, were 30 minutes shorter than the British version.
Last amended 17 Jan 2022 11:16:32
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