The series was produced by
Ralph Smart, who wrote a number of stories for the series and also created and produced
Danger Man. The show was made at the
National Studios in Elstree. The outdoor scenes were filmed around the mountains and lakes of
Snowdonia in
Wales. The film base and make-up were at a small farm in
Cwm-y-glo in Snowdonia. This is beside
Llyn Padarn, a lake which can be seen in many shots (as can cars on the A4086 road on the opposite side of the lake!). The crew used to walk up the mountain from their base, as there was no vehicle access, and brought work for at least three yearly shoots to a tiny corner of North Wales before tourism took off. An accident early occurred to the star, Conrad Phillips, during filming in Snowdonia. He was asked to keep stepping back until he stepped off a twelve-foot drop, injuring his knee – which eventually led to his retirement from acting. Phillips had to wear support bandages during filming but sometimes forgot, causing him to struggle with some action scenes. Daily rushes were viewed at the only cinema in the area, at
Llanberis, which was taken over from 8.00 until noon every morning. The film was taken to Soho in London for developing and the rushes returned to Llanberis by 8.30 next morning. Although all three series had location scenes. Thethird was more studio-based and location scenes were mostly taken from unused and reused stock shots from the first and second series. A smaller crew went to Wales for this series and more money was saved by shooting without synchronised sound. In the days of enforced demarcation, this saved several technicians' wages. Though in some ways similar to
The Adventures of Robin Hood, a brave bowman fighting against a tyrant,
William Tell was an even harder show, with crossbow bolts killing people and Tell fighting hand-to-hand, which often resulted in the death of the bad guy. Unlike the courtly
Sheriff of Nottingham, Gessler was a pig of a man, unshaven, often eating or drinking without manners and throwing his metaphorical as well as literal weight around. Nevertheless, the interaction between the hero and the Sheriff and Landburgher respectively, was a strong point in both series, bringing out the high quality diction and crispness of both Alan Wheatley's and Willoughby Goddard's acting. In contrast, the absence of a regular enemy in the TV series
Sir Francis Drake weakened that series.
The Adventures of William Tell series was repeated well into the 1960s. In June 2020, the series began a rerun on the British
Talking Pictures TV channel. The series was repeated again on TPTV in 2025-26. ==Music==