Monday, 18 August 2025

Doctor Who Vs. The Yangtse Incident

Shown on Legend today, this British Lion feature
(subtitled The Story of HMS Amethyststarred
William Hartnell (1908-1975) and Richard Todd
(1919-2009), and is also notable for the film
debut of Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022).
Entered into the Cannes Film Festival of 1957,
Yangste Incident (known as both Battle Hell and
Escape of the Amethyst in America) was based
on Lawrence Earl's book, which told the true story
of HMS Amethyst. The Royal Navy frigate was
trapped on the Yangtze river for three months
during the Chinese civil war of 1949.
Hartnell (pictured as Seaman Frank) was cast as
the Doctor just six years later - he co-starred here
with eight other future classic series guest actors:
  • Todd (Kerans) was Sanders in Kinda
  • Richard [Leeper] Leech [born McClelland] (Strain) was Gatherer Hade in The Sun Makers
  • [Peter] Ewen Solon (Williams) was Chal in The Savages, and Vishinsky in Planet of Evil
  • Kenneth [Charles] Cope (McNamara) was Packard in Warriors' Gate
  • Tom [Horne] Bowman (Consort) was a Sentry in (episode 2 of) The Highlanders
  • [Ernest] Edward Dentith (Officer) was Major General Billy Rutlidge in The Invasion
  • Cyril [Alexander Garland] Luckham (Commander) played the White Guardian from The Ribos Operation to Enlightenment
  • [Joan] Anne Ridler (Secretary) was Dr. Gemma Corwyn in The Wheel in Space

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