BFI London Report – Special Screening of City of Death

Doctor Who The Collection – Season 17 Limited Edition of classic Who is released just in time for Christmas on Blu-ray on the 20^th December 2021. The BFI (British Film Institute) on the London Southbank loves to celebrate these remastered releases and ran a special event showing the Tom Baker story City of Death on the 5^th December. The story came in at number five in the Doctor Who Magazine – the first 50 years poll in 2014, behind another Tom Baker story Genesis of the Daleks.

I’m not surprised with its extensive location filming in Paris which adds a stylish ambience to a sharp and humorous script. Rewatching it the one thing that struck me is how smiley and happy both Tom Baker and Lalla Ward seem to be in it relaxing in Paris. It feels a rare thing for their Who acting partnership but would have been around the time they become engaged.

Fast forward 42 years and BFI hosts Dick Fiddy (BFI Archive Television Programmer) and Justin Johnson (Lead Programmer for BFI) were welcoming to a packed cinema crowd with their usual good humour. The BFI fun started with a bit of a quiz so let’s test your knowledge dear reader with some of those questions but there are no prizes on offer just the seasonal joy of being right! The answers are revealed at the bottom of the page.

Question 1: In which season 17 story do we meet a former Doctor Who director who plays a character called Tollund?

Question 2: Who directed The Horns of Nimon?

Question 3: Who was the elderly timelord professor in Shada?

Question 4: In which role did we first meet Lalla Ward?

How did you do with your knowledge?

Guest Patrick Hayes

There’s always an exciting buzz within a BFI Doctor Who audience which I put down to anticipating the showing of a Doctor Who story on the big screen and also seeing guests who wouldn’t necessarily go to a convention event. Before episode 1 Justin Johnson introduced a special guest who was there at the production of City of Death, the son of director Micheal Hayes. As a youth of fifteen, Patrick was a fan of the show and had met Jon Pertwee in the BBC restaurant in 1973. Under strict instructions “not to mess about” he felt very fortunate to be able to go on a recce to Paris as he helped his dad set up for the first shot of the Eiffel Tower. Dick Fiddy asked Patrick what his father had thought of Doctor Who. Patrick recalled despite probably not considering Doctor Who as highbrow television, Michael Hayes became good friends with Graham Williams and brought a lot of his energy to the production.

Justin Johnson touched on the impression that as a director Michael Hayes wasn’t dictatorial. Patrick confirmed this was due to his father’s training as a Shakespearian actor which meant he was sympathetic to actors just allowing them to do their work. Patrick Hayes was happy to be a guest at BFI and to be able to relive those early memories again. His father, who passed away seven years ago peacefully, always spoke fondly about his Doctor Who works in later years.

In between viewing the episodes, there were some unexpected guests and also an exclusive message from the fourth Doctor:

Oh my goodness. Some of you have changed… what’s been happening. Hello everybody! Oh, you mustn’t be frightened… it happens to us all, no exceptions and that’s a great comfort to me as I look at you! Let’s get started…

Tom Baker exclusive BFI clip introduction to City of Death

Guest Rosemary Crowson

Interviewed by Dick Fiddy, Rosemary Crowson was a BBC staff production assistant on City of Death and her young son also joined Patrick Hayes on the “great fun” that was a recce trip to Paris. Having first worked on Destiny of the Daleks she had been asked back. The job she explained involved “everything” so finding locations with Michael Hayes, who was a fluent French speaker but also being in the studio. She revealed how her fondest memories were that the production went abroad at all which was a first for Doctor Who. Rosemary recalled how all the locations they had found on the recce needed to be changed once filming started as due to a French bank holiday they were closed and couldn’t film.

Rosemary and Michael were part of a minimum production crew and cast in Paris who filmed extensively in four days because they were a small team. Lalla and Tom were also able to go unnoticed by the paparazzi in Paris. Rosemary remarked how working with both Julian Glover and Tom Baker was hard work and too much laughter, Julian who is a friend and was also in the audience at BFI quipped to Rosemary “thanks very much!”.

Doreen James contribution

Doreen James who was responsible for the costume design for City of Death was unable to attend the BFI event but she sent some drawings with notes, about her work, which were read by Dick Fiddy. Doreen revealed that the location work for City of Death was unlike any other project she had worked on. Due to the minimum crew conditions and that they were there without the necessary film permissions from the authorities there was little of the usual support of trucks for lighting, camera, costume in Paris. This meant for tracking shots the cameraman became a passenger in a wheelchair or they were in a small French Citroen car with the sunroof pulled back.

This was described as much easier than laying track with wedges under the rail for a dolly to run with a cameraman. There were some challenges due to the language differences in explaining what the right costumes for the extras should be. Doreen, as a former art student, was given time by the director to visit the Louvre art museum for inspiration as it was made important to Doreen that the first Doctor Who stories shot abroad had to showcase the Paris location.

Doreen had designed for Mary Tamm, in “Androids of Tara” an emerald green design based on a 1940s tailored look which was very elegant and sophisticated. For Lalla who had a different personality Doreen’s ideas had to evolve to more of youth and innocent exploring life. Tom Baker suggested a school uniform which Doreen was able to adapt away from an obvious St Trinians look with a subtle tunic. Doreen also added sweet brooches to Lalla’s look and art objects to Tom’s coat.

Lalla’s look was a contrast to the earlier Romana look and also the elegance of the Countess in City of Death but Doreen felt the look was something that could be easily replicated by fans. Doreen also expressed her thanks to Julian Glover for wearing his own white suit which had saved money on the “meagre budget” she had been given. She added to his white suit with a black and green scheme.

Interview with Mark Ayres (Sound Restoration)

Mark Ayres, composer for the boxset and BFI regular at these events found the sound production relatively straightforward for this Blu-ray set only doing some sound reduction and edit repairs. Mark discussed how the soundtrack has been previously heard in mono but the audience were given preview clips of the two stories Destiny of the Daleks and Shada offered with immersive 5.1 surround sound.

There were also extended clips from some of the documentaries including the Tom Baker, Lalla Ward interviews, the behind the Sofa with actors Colin Baker, Katy Manning, Matthew Waterhouse, Nicola Bryant, June Hudson, Graeme Harper & Mat Irvine.

Guest Julian Glover

The most anticipated guest of the day was Julian Glover who was received with huge cheers and rapturous applause from the audience. He is a classically trained actor whose career has spanned 60 years. It was a real coup to see Julian Glover at all at the BFI at all because he is currently working on a film in Wales that was recently hit by COVID-19 with a day’s filming left to complete. Julian Glover was due to leave the BFI to go back to Wales by 7 pm to work all night to finish the film. The producers had been desperate to finish however Julian had committed to the BFI event and joked he goes “where the money is.” Asked about working under COVID he revealed some of the conditions and meticulous measures of testing everyone on the film every two days.

Julian Glover has appeared twice in Doctor Who as Richard the Lionheart in The Crusade (1965) and as the villain Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, in City of Death (1979). Julian explained how he started in The Crusade through knowing William Russell (played Ian) because Russell was a great friend of Michael Croft, master of the Youth Theatre, which became later the National Youth Theatre where he attended.

Whilst Glover got on well with the rest of the cast unfortunately he revealed William Hartnell seemed to take a dislike to both himself and Jean Marsh who played his sister Joanna calling both of them “posh” or “privileged” people. He expressed in his private view how Hartnell was seen muttering in corners as to how horrible they were. Julian Glover seemed slightly perplexed at the contradiction of how Hartnell was extraordinary casting as the Doctor, which he praised that Hartnell went on to make it his part.

Moving onto City of Death Glover noted how despite the reputation of Doctor Who as a children’s programme that working on it was hard work and taken incredibly seriously. He knew Tom Chadbon who played Duggan as their boys went to school together and emphasised strongly how the director Michael Hayes was a wonderful “gentleman” who he had known from a previous series. Douglas Adams he only met a couple of times but described him as a “very nice fellow”. Julian Glover also related a story about the director Morris Barry who directed The Moonbase, The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Dominators for Doctor Who but had sacked him from another series to replace him with another actor. It had obviously rankled him as he described it as “unfair”.

At some modesty, to himself, he described City of Death as “an absolutely fine piece of work” where Tom Baker was on top form. He admired the cutting of the story, thought the dialogue sparkled and although the special effects were of their time he noted the death of Dr Kerensky, where he was aged with the equipment, reminded him of his character Walter Donovan’s death in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Julian revealed Indiana Jones was one of his favourite parts in the cinema and talked about how he tries to find good in his villainous characters.

He has had a long career but considered his proudest part was for the stage, which Julian Glover primarily trained for, playing Henry IV in a season of Shakespeare plays at Stratford upon Avon. In 1993 his performance in the title role of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s staging of “Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2”, at the Barbican Centre in London, earned him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.

After the interview, Julian Glover stayed for a photo signing where a long queue formed to meet him. The signings are a fantastic opportunity for fans to get a memento of the day and meet a well-regarded actor. It took around thirty minutes to get to the front of the queue to meet him and he was utterly charming as he signed my photo. I really hope he made it back to Wales in time!

Doctor Who The Collection – Season 17 Limited Edition Blu-ray is available from Monday 20th December from £42.99 from all good retailers

Davros Rises! | The Collection: Season 17 Announcement Trailer | Doctor Who

Answers to quiz questions above

1. Creature from the Pit and Morris Barry

2. Kenny McBain

3. Professor Chronotis

4. Princess Astra