The Cellar and the Almond Tree

Set inside a grand but fading East European palace, the Countess remains insulated from the tumult outside as a new regime edges into power. After the war, a Marxist writer named Volubin is dispatched with a curious assignment: to obtain the keys to her wine cellar, a private archive that can be used to stage a ceremonial feast for the ruling faction. In a series of tense, discreet encounters, the drama probes what possession and secrecy reveal about those who cling to old privilege and those who claim to be rebuilding the future. In a focused, dialogue driven style the story unfolds without grand battles, turning on conversations, silences, and choices that signal how a dictatorial transition can reshape lives in the 20th century.

Directed by Alan Bridges, the 1970 production is a television drama adapted from a stage play. The cast features Celia Johnson, Peter Vaughan, Sydney Tafler, Bernard Kay, and Patsy Byrne, delivering restrained performances that fit the intimate, dialogue driven style.

As a television film, it did not post a theatrical box office and there is no widely reported worldwide gross. The production is best understood within the context of 1970s TV theatre rather than cinema markets.

While not a blockbuster, the work reflects a trend in British television to stage political drama through intimate settings and character dialogue rather than action. The East European palace motif, the wine cellar intrigue, and the tension between old world privilege and new political authority echo concerns of the era, influencing later TV plays that examine power without spectacle.

Critics at the time noted the play's focus on power dynamics, secrecy, and moral compromise rather than sensational plot turns. The drama foregrounds how individuals respond to upheaval and how lapses in loyalty reverberate through families and institutions, asking what people are willing to surrender when dictatorial power takes root in a changing society.