William Tell

Some of the series were filmed near where I lived in North Wales. The film company hired my pony for some of the scenes when he was rode by Hedda Tell (Jennifer Jane). I was fortunate enough to get a week off school to take my pony down to the 'set' each day and stay the day. It was quite an experience for a 10 year old! I still remember those days with fond memories especially when our local doctor was travelling past the set very early one morning. He did not know about the shoot and was very taken aback when he saw several men in medieval army dress appear from behind the rocks!

There was also an interesting scene on the lake when one boat (containing soldiers) were firing arrows at another. I was fascinated to see that the actors in the boat being fired at stuck the arrows in the side of the boat themselves!!

Conrad Phillips stars in the 1950s action adventure series - William Tell. Set in the fourteenth century during the hostile Austrian occupation of Switzerland, William Tell is a reluctant freedom fighter, battling heroically against the tyranny and oppression of the invading forces. William tell is the Swiss version of Robin Hood. Conrad Phillips plays the protagonist fantastically. It is possible that Pascal Bugnion would have had greater success in the role, but he was unavailable at the time of filming. The classic action show is made up of series of 39. The episodes are in black and white, but this does not detract from the entertainment in any way.

I remember this series from years ago when it was shown on UK TV. Watching the box-set episodes in quick succession, certain observations come to mind. Conrad Phillips as William Tell is well cast as the hero, and Willoughby Goddard makes a great Gessler, but after a while, the episodes with Tell and Gessler take on a similar pattern with Tell getting the better of Gessler. The other cast members are interesting for different reasons though.

Walter Tell (Richard Rogers) appears regularly to start with and then disappears for a long time; but Hedda Tell (Jennifer Jayne) is the most interesting. She is no shrinking violet and readily picks up crossbow and sword and pitches in when necessary; maybe she is TV's first Feminist before the word Feminist was invented: and she also starts off regularly but her appearances diminish with time. Could the viewing lads and lasses have found Hedda more appealing than William? An actor's ego can be a fragile thing.

Also of interest are the minor cast members who would go on to greater things - among them Christopher Lee, Patrick Troughton, Warren Mitchell and an early appearance of Michael Caine.

All things considered, the cast and crew did a fine job producing an adventure series which has stood the test of time and is worth watching today.

The Ralph Smart-produced episode of "William Tell", "The Gauntlet of St Gerhardt", tells the story of the Tell family stalking and tormenting a party of Austrian soldiers who have kidnapped a friar (a character not unlike Tuck from "The Adventures of Robin Hood").

This adventure was scripted, as several of them were, by Doreen Montgomery from Ralph Smart's original story. In several respects, it resembles Ralph's famous Australian film "Bush Christmas" (1947) where a group of children hunt down a band of horse thieves. Ralph obviously drew from scenes in his earlier film, particularly the scene where the Austrians wake up to find their boots have been stolen forcing them to wrap their feet in rags for protection in the bush.

While "The Gauntlet of Sir Gerhard" alluded to the past film, the "William Tell" episode "The Prisoner", also directed by Viennese-born Australian Peter Maxwell, pointed to the future. In this episode, a youthful Michael Caine as the title character is referred to as Prisoner No. 6.

Now I wonder if Patrick McGoohan, star of another Ralph Smart-produced series "Danger Man", had borrowed this title for his sublime follow-up to "Danger Man" also called "The Prisoner".

I would like to think this is more than a coincidence because it adds a certain mystique to these wonderful series. But perhaps I am, like William Tell or Robin Hood, drawing a long bow.

I remember seeing the TV series of William Tell in the late 50s when I was at school, and I thought it was great then, with Conrad Phllips as William, and Willoughby Goddard as the Fat Villain lol. and the real excitement for a 30 minute series was superb for the time and obviously aimed at a child audience. I then saw a re run of the series on sky in the 90s and it was still really good entertainment even for adults. I even saw a very early appearance of Michael Caine in a minor role (Just shows you eh) and quite a few other actors who become better known later in their careers. Well worth a look for anyone who likes a good simple adventure jaunt from a long while ago which I think has kept it's bite through the years.