The Adventures of William Tell

1 9 5 8 (UK)
39 x 30 minute episodes

The Adventures of William Tell was another of ITV's all-action productions which, although aimed primarily at young audiences, built up an adult following too. It starred Conrad Phillips in the title role with Jennifer Jayne as Mrs Tell and Willoughby Goddard as the evil Landburgher Gessler. Surely named after an alpine restaurant, the Landburgher spent all 39 episodes eating. He only came up for breath when interrupted by his adversary, whereupon he would splutter through his drumstick at his brainless guards: "Get Tell".

One episode featured Michael Caine as a prisoner, complete with ball and chain. Any hopes the future film star had of an exotic location were dashed when he found that his scenes were to be shot at a quarry near Watford. Not that the locations were that grand anyway - all the mountain scenes were filmed in Snowdonia.

With these limitations, it is not entirely surprising to discover that the famous splitting of the apple on the head of William Tell's son Walter was achieved by trick photography. Conrad Phillips - who once played Tell from a wheelchair after breaking his ankle in a fall - revealed: "We used a very fine taut wire through the apple and lined it up with the shot of the bolt speeding towards him. If we had tried it for real, I think we would have got through a lot of boys . . . "

EPISODES

The Emperor's Hat The Hostages The Secret Death The Gauntlet of Sir Gerhardt The Prisoner Voice in the Night The Assassins The Baroness The Elixir The Suspect The Cuckoo The Bear The Magic Powder The Golden Wheel The Bride Boy Slaves The Young Widow Landslide The Trap The Shrew

Manhunt The Killer The Surgeon The Ensign The Unwelcome Stranger The Avenger The Bandit Gessler's Daughter The General's Daughter The Raid Castle of Fear The Black Brothers The Lost Letter The Secret Weapon The Master Spy The Traitor The Spider The Mountain People Undercover