''The Orchard Walls'' is a play by the British writer

R.F. Delderfield Ronald Frederick Delderfield (12 February 1912 – 24 June 1972) was an English novelist and dramatist, some of whose works have been adapted for television and film. Biography Childhood in London and Surrey Ronald Frederick Delderfield ...

. A drama, it examines the relationship between the daughter of wealthy parents and the car mechanic with whom she falls in love and attempts to

elope Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

with. It was first staged at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in October 1953 and later moved to the

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of ''The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, in t ...

in London.

Original cast

*Philip O'Hea -

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and tele ...

*Michael Pritchard - John Charlesworth *Nicholas Stubbs - Colin Douglas *Geoffrey Pritchard - Edward Evans *Rachel Ames - Maureen O'Reilly *Beatrice Maynard -

Gillian Lind Gillian Lind (25 August 1904 - 25 October 1983) was a British stage, film and television actress. In 1930 she starred in Edgar Wallace's play '' On the Spot'' in the West End.Kabatchnik p.172 She went on to enjoy a long career in film and telev ...

*Christine Muir - Valerie White *Mrs. Grant - Helen Horsey *Shirley Grant - Dorothy Gordon

Adaptations

In 1955, the play was adapted for radio and broadcast on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, with Dorothy Gordon and John Charlesworth repeating their stage roles. In 1956, the play was adapted into a film '' Now and Forever'' directed by

Mario Zampi Mario Zampi (1 November 19032 December 1963) was an Italian film producer and director. A co-founder of Two Cities Films, a British production company, he is most closely associated with British comedies of the 1950s. Biography Zampi began his ca ...

, and starring

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is an English retired actress. Life and career Scott was born on 14 December 1938 in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird and began her acting car ...

and Vernon Gray.Harper & Porter p.354

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference''. Oxford University Press, 2007. * Watson, George. ''The New Cambridge bibliography of English literature, Volume 5''. Cambridge University Press, 1972. 1953 plays British plays adapted into films West End plays {{1950s-play-stub