Someone at the Top of the Stairs - Series 1, Episode 3, Saturday 28 April 1973

The story...

Chrissie and Gillian are students on a budget looking for somewhere to rent. They are surprised and delighted to discover a very affordable room in an old house. Although a few odd things happen Gillian in particular settles in well but Chrissie becomes increasingly anxious. When a man called Thurston calls looking for his missing daughter and it becomes clear that landlady Mrs Oxhey is lying about what happened to her the worries become increasingly intense. Chrissie senses danger but Gillian seems oblivious to the threats around her...

Review

In 1994 this was the first episode I ever saw in its entire form when it was released on ITC video and retains a special place for that reason. This story got me hooked on Thriller, it is widely popular and must be one of the most seen of all. It was the first venture in production to focus on the supernatural (although Possession aired a week earlier) - something that happened quite often in the first series - and is one of the most frightening and powerful tales, albeit with certain limitations.

As with The Colour of Blood, the teaser is brief, simple but very powerful as Sally Thurston meets the man at the top of the stairs. The boarding house is appropriately unsettling and exceptionally well-designed by Tony Waller. The other residents of the house are "marvellously" creepy - ostensibly very friendly but with evil lurking just below the surface. The character of the child Jonathan is probably the most disturbing, alongside that of Mrs. Oxhey. Alethea Charlton as Mrs. Oxhey, and Peter Cellier, in a typically refined and upright part as Colonel Wright, are in great form. There are sexual and voyeuristic angles to the Satanic events in the house that certainly crank up the tension. The "party" the residents throw for Gillian is especially well done (below). 

Gillian (Suzy Carne) finds the party with the other residents not what she was expecting

Chrissie and Gillian are well-developed characters, skilfully portrayed. Both serve as templates for later stories. Chrissie is the archetypal blonde American heroine. She is unnerved from the start and becomes increasingly scared. Her anxiety though does protect her from the dangers around her. On the other hand the likeable, upbeat but blasé Gillian is clearly heading for trouble.  

There are some reservations which hold this back a little. Acting at times is unconvincing. The off-screen killing of a cat that Chrissie had adopted certainly does trouble me but was no doubt included to further emphasise the depravity lurking within the house. The scenes near the end as the truth about the house and its residents tend to attract a lot of criticism, even among fans of the episode, but I feel they work well and the truth about what has been going on is undoubtedly shocking. There are some flaky elements in the very last moments but overall the conclusion is good. Overall supernatural episodes - and productions in general - seem to have a greater tendency to divide viewers and can run the risk of "going over the top" or even seeming parodic. This can be particularly so when they explore devil-worship but I feel here the episode stays on the right side of the line whereas A Place To Die later in Series 1 tends to attack more of that type of criticism..

This is a bold episode in its treatment of Satanism and sexuality and no future story covered quite this territory. Its rather shabby setting and focus on characters of fairly modest means is another refreshing element. Anyone who has lived in a bedsit will recognise the old-fashioned furniture and tatty decor of Gillian and Chrissie's room. Very few of us have ever enjoyed the wealth and opulent lifestyles of many central Thriller characters but many will have been students, had to live on a tight budget and resided in run-down properties and so these conditions can have extra resonance, 

Mr Thurston explains that his daughter Sally was pregnant and hints that Mrs Oxhey offered some kind of "service" in this regard, maybe even facilitating an abortion; even the suggestion of this issue is bold for a production of the time. Despite its supernatural theme the socially realistic nature of the house perhaps makes this connect very strongly with viewers and amplifies the horror. The design of Cartney's Victorian room is another excellent touch. Altogether, it is no accident that this is one of the show's best-remembered outings - a very fine effort. 

Notes

Laura Collins appears only in the teaser which is one of the shortest - and best. She is credited for her brief role in which she screams but has no dialogue.

David de Keyser as Cartney makes the latest arrivals of any starring actor, appearing only in the final ten minutes.

Peter Cellier and Alethea Charlton had appeared two years earlier in an episode of Thames's suspense series Shadows of Fear - Repent at Leisure.

ITC Movie title-watch

The painting on the closing credits shows Chrissie and Gillian running away from the house, even though this did not happen in the story. While Chrissie would no doubt have happily done so, Gillian was very contented and more than happy to stay. Both sets of titles are accompanied by a suitably, chilling piece of music by Nick Ingman & Tony Kinsey - "Cause for Concern" - and the opening titles by Film-Rite which recreate someone climbing the stairs and scenes of a despairing partly-seen resident are I feel excellently done and among the very best which were produced.