Young Stephen Kemp was taken to live with his grandfather, Nathaniel, after the death of his mother.
Nat Kemp (Joseph O’Conor) – the publican of the ‘Hole in the Wall’ public house on the edge of the River Thames at Wapping – was determined to keep his grandson apart from the seamier side of the Docklands but Stephen had a natural inquisitiveness that would not be quelled.
The cast did their best but gave the impression that they weren’t sure it was really all worthwhile. Neil McCarthy did his Bill Sykes bit, Peter Bayliss overacted like mad as Blind George (though at least he did try to inject some life into the corpse), Joseph O’Conor looked distinctly uneasy as Nathaniel Kemp, and Mary Healey played the delightfully named Musky Mag (what a disappointment that character turned out to be) in best Hammer horror style. Queenie Watts played Mrs Grimes.
Blind George
Peter Bayliss Nathaniel Kemp
Joseph O’Conor Stephen Kemp
Nigel Rathbone Swan
Edwin Finn Musky Mag
Mary Healey Joe
Richard Ireson Cripps
Dudley Jones Dan Ogle
Neil McCarthy Mrs Grimes
Queenie Watts Viney
Tony Melody Bill Stagg
Glenn Williams Marr
Alan Collins Kidd
Anthony Langdon Sgt. Beale
Richard Grant
