One (1956)
One is a British television science fiction play, broadcast on April 16, 1956, and featured Donald Pleasance. It was based on the 1953 novel of the same name by David Karp. The play was broadcast at 8.00pm on ITV (Associated Rediffusion, ATV Midlands).
The novel is set in the future in an unspecified Americanized country, and depicts a society on its way to a self-proclaimed perfection which consists in dissension having been rooted out and every citizen identifying his or her own interests with those of the "benevolent State". In order to achieve this aim, a sophisticated system of surveillance, subtle forms of re-education and, if necessary, brainwashing has been set up. A man who believes himself to be an active supporter of the system is found guilty of "heresy" by the authorities and accordingly is held captive and receives the State's routine treatment for his allegedly deviant behaviour.
| Production company/ies | Written by | Directed by | Producer(s) | Designer | Other notable credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associated-Rediffusion | David Karp John Letts | Peter Graham Scott |
Cast
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In the news...
The Sunday Pictorial of April 8, 1956 briefly mentions that "AR/TV (Associated-Rediffusion) comes up with its own 1984-style shocker called 'One' on April 16, starring DONALD PLEASANCE as an intellectual caught in a thought-control state."
The April 12, 1956 issue of The Stage previewed the play, saying that "BRAINWASHING and all the facets of a Brave New World appear in a powerful new television play entitled 'One'..." "...the theme of the play is the struggle of one man, James Burden, Professor of English (played by Donald Pleasance), who wants to rescue his individuality from a benevolent state that has evolved a society protected from personal ambitions; where, in fact, all individuality has been eradicated."
Robert Cannell in the April 17, 1956 edition of the Daily Express remarked that, compared to the hundreds of frightened viewers that complained about the BBC's adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four, "only a handful objected to One, and there was nothing in the dialogue to stir the public pulse." He concluded saying "Not a thrill in 90 minutes - just a long-winded bore which must have added many thousands to the BBC's audience."
