December 12, 1954 –
BBC Television aired the landmark adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four on this date. It was the most expensive drama produced to date. Prince Philip commented that he and Queen Elizabeth II had thoroughly enjoyed the broadcast; the BBC repeated a live broadcast four days later, attracting the largest television audience since the Coronation.
Unusually for a British TV production of that era, this story survives as a telerecording. At the time, the majority of television was transmitted live, and most shows were not recorded. However, the original transmission had been so successful that this restaged version was kept in the hope it could be sold to foreign networks.
The Haus of Dcaligari 