Pyre for Private James

Pyre for Private James is a 1966 episode of The Wednesday Play for British television.

"Pyre for Private James"
The Wednesday Play episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 24
Directed by	Gilchrist Calder
Teleplay by	Simon Raven
Production code	BBC
Original air date	November 30, 1966 (1966-11-30)
Running time	43 mins

Premise

Major Andrew Carlyle faces a court martial for murder after shooting to death Private Trevor James during a jungle patrol.

It is revealed Carlyle was an obsessed man who killed his injured driver.

Cast

• Basil Henson as Major Andrew Carlyle
• Percy Herbert as Colour Sergeant David Mackison
• Dudley Sutton as Corporal Tom Oates
• David Conville as Captain Jeremy Dilston
• Grant Taylor as Colonel Lloyd Beacher, Prosecuting Officer
• John Bailey as Humphrey Wiles, Counsel for Defence
• William Fox as Judge Advocate
• Basil Dignam as President of Court Martial
• Nick Tate as Private Trevor James

Production

It was one of Nick Tate's first appearances after arriving in Britain.^[1]

Reception

The Guardian said "all the episodes introduced in the telling of the story were handled with a strong sense of the dramatic."^[2]

The Leicester Mercury critic thought "the dramatic climax never came" although he enjoyed the acting and handling.^[3]

The Daily Mirror called it "slow moving but often dramatically sure".^[4]

The Observer thought "nearly everybody was hamming it up in the jungle scenes."^[5]