The Human Jungle (TV series)

The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company, Independent Artists, for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom and Sally Smith, it ran for two series, which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.

The Human Jungle
GenreDrama
Created byRonald J. Kahn
StarringHerbert Lom
Sally Smith
Theme music composerBernard Ebbinghouse;
played by John Barry and his Orchestra
ComposerBernard Ebbinghouse
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersJulian Wintle
Leslie Parkyn
CinematographyBert Mason
Running time49–51 minutes
Production companyIndependent Artists for ABC Television
DistributorUnited Artists Television
MGM Television
Release
Original networkITV
Picture formatFilm 35mm 4:3 Black and white
Audio formatMonaural
Original release30 March 1963 (1963-03-30) 
13 May 1965 (1965-05-13)[1]

Outline

The majority of the episodes (26 x 50mins) each focused on one patient, whose psychological ailment Dr Corder would treat using a humane yet idiosyncratic approach that mixed Freudian psychoanalysis with the contemporary methods associated with the then-fashionable theories of R. D. Laing.[1] Several psychiatric techniques, such as word association, group work, role-play and hypnotherapy, were featured in the series. Because of the demands of the 50-minute television episode, it was often suggested that Corder would continue to see his patient after the denouement. Frequently, Corder's initial patient in a story would turn out not to be the character with the pressing mental health issue.

Cast and characters

  • Herbert Lom as Dr Roger Corder M.D., D.P.M, who sees patients in his consulting room at 162 Harley Street and at the local (fictional) St Damian's Hospital
  • Michael Johnson as Dr Jimmy Davis, junior colleague
  • Sally Smith as Corder's headstrong teenage daughter Jennifer, whose mother, we are told, was killed in a car accident
  • Mary Yeomans as his secretary, Nancy Hamilton
  • Mary Steele as his personal assistant, Jane Harris

Production notes

The series was created by Ronald J. Kahn, credited on screen as "assistant to the producers", and produced by Julian Wintle and Leslie Parkyn.[2]

The theme music was composed by Bernard Ebbinghouse, and arranged and recorded by John Barry and his Orchestra.[3]

Many high-profile guest stars appeared in his surgery or as hospital patients, including Joan Collins, Margaret Lockwood, Flora Robson, Roger Livesey, Rita Tushingham and André Morell.

The first series was filmed at Beaconsfield Studios, which closed down shortly after production ended; the second series was shot at the Shenley Road studios in Elstree owned by ABC Television's parent company Associated British Picture Corporation.

The script editor was John Kruse. The advisor on psychiatric content was Dr Hugh L. Freeman, on behalf of the National Association for Mental Health (now Mind).

Episode list

Series one

Airdate is for ABC Weekend Television.[4] ITV regions varied date and order. Episode order is given as per the Network DVD release.

Episode No. Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1TBA"The Vacant Chair"James HillBill MacIlwraith30 March 1963 (1963-03-30)
Stars Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Lloyd Lamble, Keith Pyott, Geoffrey Palmer, Edward Evans, Hamilton Dyce and Jonathan Burn
2TBA"The Flip Side Man"Sydney A. HayersRobert Stewart6 April 1963 (1963-04-06)
Stars Jess Conrad and Michael Ripper
3TBA"Run with the Devil"Vernon SewellDavid T Chantler,
John Kruse (story)
13 April 1963 (1963-04-13)
Stars Derek Farr, Jenny Laird, Andree Melly, Walter Hudd and Harry Fowler
4TBA"Thin Ice"John AinsworthBill MacIlwraith,
Robert Stewart (story)
20 April 1963 (1963-04-20)
Guest stars Janina Faye, George A. Cooper and Cyril Chamberlain
5TBA"The Lost Hours"John AinsworthJohn Kruse27 April 1963 (1963-04-27)
Stars Leonard Sachs, Ursula Howells, Frank Jarvis, Larry Martyn, Robin Hawdon, Stacy Davies and June Murphy
6TBA"A Friend of the Sergeant Major"Don SharpLewis Davidson4 May 1963 (1963-05-04)
Stars Alfred Burke, Richard Leech, Cavan Kendall, John Harvey and Steven Scott
7TBA"14 Ghosts"Sydney A. HayersLeo Leiberman11 May 1963 (1963-05-11)
Stars Avice Landon, André Morell, Justine Lord, William Marlowe, Peter Bathurst and Bernard Davies
8TBA"Fine Feathers"Vernon SewellRobert Stewart18 May 1963 (1963-05-18)
Stars Jane Merrow and Philip Gilbert
9TBA"The Wall"James HillJohn Kruse25 May 1963 (1963-05-25)
Stars Jeremy Spenser, Catherine Feller, Blake Butler, Arnold Diamond, Rosamund Greenwood and Hana Maria Pravda
10TBA"A Woman with Scars"James HillRobert Stewart1 June 1963 (1963-06-01)
Stars Jeanne Moody, Frank Lawton, John Glyn-Jones, Rosalie Crutchley and Robin Hughes
11TBA"Time-Check"Alan CookeLewis Davidson8 June 1963 (1963-06-08)
Stars Melvyn Hayes, Gerald James, Fabia Drake, Warren Mitchell, John Arnatt, Douglas Blackwell and Mitzi Rogers
12TBA"The Two Edged Sword"Vernon SewellBill MacIlwraith15 June 1963 (1963-06-15)
Stars Susan Burnet, Pauline Yates, Frederick Piper, Beatrice Varley, William Kendall, Roger Delgado and Glynn Edwards
13TBA"Over and Out"Vernon SewellJohn Kruse,
Lewis Davidson (story)
22 June 1963 (1963-06-22)
Stars Ian Bannen, Eddie Byrne, Zena Marshall, June Barry, John Boxer, Simon Lack and Gerald Andersen

Series two

Airdate is for Associated-Rediffusion.[5] ITV regions varied date and order. ABC Weekend Television was broadcast two days later. Order as the for the Network DVD release.

Episode No. Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1TBA"Struggle for a Mind"Sydney A. HayersJohn Kruse18 February 1965 (1965-02-18)
Stars Joan Collins, Clifford Evans, Derek Godfrey and Margaret Whiting
2TBA"Success Machine"Sydney A. HayersJohn Kruse25 February 1965 (1965-02-25)
Stars Edward Judd, Sylvia Syms, Harold Goldblatt, Jack Smethurst, Philip Latham, Ruth Trouncer and Wanda Ventham
3TBA"The 24-Hour Man"Robert DayRobert Stewart4 March 1965 (1965-03-04)
Stars Johnny Sekka, Dolores Mantez, Inigo Jackson, Donald Morley, Frank Coda and Mark Lester
4TBA"Solo Performance"Roy BakerBill MacIlwraith11 March 1965 (1965-03-11)
Stars Margaret Lockwood, James Villiers, Rona Anderson, Terence Brook and Malcolm Tierney
5TBA"Ring of Hate"Charles CrichtonJohn Kruse,
Leo Lieberman (story)
18 March 1965 (1965-03-18)
Stars Dudley Sutton Bernard Lee, Francis Matthews, Walter Gotell, Jimmy Gardner, Peter Diamond
6TBA"Conscience on a Rack"Roy BakerBill MacIlwraith25 March 1965 (1965-03-25)
Stars Flora Robson, Megs Jenkins, Ronald Hines and Adrienne Posta
7TBA"The Quick and the Dead"Roy BakerJohn Kruse1 April 1965 (1965-04-01)
Stars Richard Johnson, Robert Beatty, Andrew Keir, David McAlister and Moray Watson
8TBA"The Man Who Fell Apart"Roy BakerJohn Kruse8 April 1965 (1965-04-08)
Stars Rita Tushingham, Barbara Shelley, Alan Dobie, Patrick O'Connell, Griffith Davies
9TBA"Dual Control"Roy BakerAnne Francis15 April 1965 (1965-04-15)
Stars Peggy Cummins, Dennis Price, Annette Andre, Rona Anderson and Yvonne Antrobus
10TBA"Skeleton in the Cupboard"Roy BakerBill MacIlwraith22 April 1965 (1965-04-22)
Stars Roger Livesey, Ann Firbank, Allan Cuthbertson, Russell Waters and Donald Pickering
11TBA"Wild Goose Chase"Vernon SewellMarc Brandel29 April 1965 (1965-04-29)
Stars Francesca Annis, Vladek Sheybal, Faith Brook, Gary Watson, Aimée Delamain and Tony Steedman
12TBA"Enemy Outside"Roy BakerBill MacIlwraith6 May 1965 (1965-05-06)
Guest star Avis Bunnage, Barbara Ferris and Rona Anderson
13TBA"Heartbeats in a Tin Box"Roy BakerRobert Stewart13 May 1965 (1965-05-13)
Stars Susan George, Gerald Harper, Ray McAnally, John Junkin, Donald Eccles, Tenniel Evans and Arnold Ridley

DVD

The complete series was released during November 2012 as a 7 DVD (Region 2) boxset with accompanying series guide by Andrew Pixley.

References

  1. Mark Duguid "Human Jungle, The (1963–65", BFI screenonline, retrieved 21 November 2012
  2. series guide by Andrew Pixley in the DVD set, p.4
  3. Pixley, p.9
  4. Before 1968, ABC was broadcast weekends in the Midlands and in the North. See History of ITV
  5. Before 1968 Associated-Rediffusion was broadcast Monday to Friday in the London region. See History of ITV
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