Love On The Dole (ITV 1967, Martin Shaw, Anne Stallybrass)

Sally: I wonder how much longer us women’ll take to learn that living and loving’s all a damn swindle? Love’s all right on the pictures, but love on the dole ain’t quite the same thing.

Period drama. Hard times in Salford for the Hardcastles during the depressed 1930’s. Harry Hardcastle finds himself out of a job and on the dole not only that his girlfriend Helen is pregnant. Location filming took place during December 1966 in Manchester. The Guardian said “The acting in Granada’s production last night, particularly that of Anne Stallybrass as Sally and Ronald Cunliffe as Harry, her brother, had the same freshness and unselfconsciousness which distinguished Granada’s DH Lawrence series.”

This was Anne Stallybrass’s breakthrough TV appearance, having mostly appeared in theatre roles prior to this. Some regions showed the drama on the 19 Jan rather than the 17th.

cast
GEORGE A. COOPER as Sam Grundy
BETTY DRIVER as Mrs Bull
MARTIN SHAW as O’Leary
ANNE STALLYBRASS as Sally Hardcastle
MALCOLM TIERNEY as Larry Meath
JACK WOOLGAR as Mr Hardcastle
EVE PEARCE as Mrs Hardcastle
RONALD CUNLIFFE as Harry Hardcastle
JOHN COMER as Policeman

crew details
Writer: John Finch
Novel: Walter Greenwood
Play: Walter Greenwood, Ronald Gow
Producer and Director: Derek Bennett

production details
Country: UK
Network and Production Companies: ITV – Granada
Duration: 1×70 minute episode
Aired From: 17 January 1967