The American influence on Thriller

Although Thriller was a British TV series one of the most striking aspects is the strong American influence upon the show. indeed this was something that British viewers often remarked upon - e.g. "why is there always an American in the cast?" - sometimes with curiosity, sometimes with irritation. It might have been possible to have made the show without these influences but this would probably have been at the literal cost of sales to the USA. Thriller was sold to the ABC network in the USA and even with as significant a writer and creator as Brian Clemens the show - if it had been made at all - would have taken longer to reach the screen and would probably have been a lower-budget and short-lived series without the American sale.

Roles and casting

This is where the American influence is most obvious. The vast majority of Thriller episodes featured at least one American character, usually played by an American actor who was commonly playing the central part. In Series 1 this tendency was much less pronounced and around half the episodes had no American character or actor. Series 2 though had only one episode with no American character and even in that case - Sign It Death - the central figure of Tracy Conway (played by Francesca Annis) had something of a transatlantic accent, presumably explained by the character having worked in the Bahamas and for US employers. The opener to Series 3 - A Coffin for the Bride - had no American character but it was the last episode to do so. It's important to note though that even those episodes without American characters either included British actors with a profile in the USA or made references to events familiar to US viewers. For example Possession started with a news report about the inauguration of President Eisenhower in January 1953. The increased tendency though to include American characters may have been encouraged to increase the interest of US viewers.

Barbara Feldon - the first American guest actor seen in Thriller in Britain - in the episode Lady Killer 

It is important to note though that some of the American characters - including central ones - were played by British or European actors. The most striking example of this was Won't Write Home Mom - I'm Dead which featured numerous American roles, none of them played by American actors although two of them (Pamela Franklin and Christopher Malcolm) had been resident in the USA or Canada. 

A number of Canadian actors also played Americans - Cec Linder (Nurse Will Make It Better); Robert MacLeod (Night Is the Time for Killing); Bruce Boa (Good Salary); and Robert Beatty (Sleepwalker) among the most prominent. British and other non-American viewers may not have spotted the difference but one suspects those in the USA (and Canada!) would have done so. Linda Thorson was able to play her own nationality in Lady Killer but she was well-known in the USA via The Avengers. Otherwise Canadian actors always played Americans.

Canadian Robert MacLeod & the British Judy Gesson playing Americans in Night Is the Time for Killing

One presumes these British (and Canadian) actors took on American roles to provide an American dimension to their stories, especially those with no American in the cast. The quality of the accents employed by the Brits though was certainly variable and even the best would probably be unmasked by US viewers. What they made of this is unknown but presumably it was not considered a great problem as otherwise they would not have been used.

There are also some interesting patterns in the casting of American actors and characters. It is maybe not surprising that the US actors or characters would be broadly centre-stage, usually occupying the hero, heroine or villain role. That would generally be true of the major British actors as well. However a substantial majority of the US guests occupied heroic roles, with few villains. Indeed what is particularly noticeable is that the American performer was usually the heroine, and often a young, blonde, pretty one as well. This seems to happen too often to be simply coincidence. One can only speculate - maybe it was felt the American audience or network would not appreciate seeing their stars or characters - representatives in a sense - playing villainous roles. American characters also had a remarkable survival rate and again maybe it was felt that this would play better with their audiences. Sometimes American actors played supporting roles but often these were actors such as Ed Bishop (Nurse Will Make It Better) resident in the UK. Actors brought over to the UK were in starring roles and commonly present throughout the episode.

Language

Although casting was the most important influence, language saw more concessions to the US market. Even the mildest of expletives were avoided. Jefferies in The Eyes Have It (Series 1) uses the word "bloody" once but that was the only instance. Even mild blasphemies were avoided. A striking example is the substitution of the word "darn" for "damn". In the UK the word "darn" is almost unheard of but was regularly used in Thriller by British characters.  

In other instances other "Americanisms" were used by British characters. A good example was the use of the word "nut" for someone disturbed, as opposed to the British versions of "nutter" or "nutcase". Differences in language were sometimes referred to by characters such as Helen Cook in One Deadly Owner at first using the word "trunk" before explaining to her British boyfriend Peter that she was referring to the "boot" of her car.

Modesty

It is very striking to contemporary viewers that Thriller was extremely modest in its depiction of physical relationships and largely followed a restrictive version of morality. It is hard to be certain whether this was a totally independent decision by the British producers or reflected influence or even pressure from the USA. US programme makers have often faced greater restrictions in terms of the types of physical relationships they can show on mainstream TV. It does seem that US audiences are more conservative, or - perhaps more likely - the restrictive influence of conservative pressure groups is rather stronger than in the UK.

Whatever the reasons, even newly married couples were rarely shown sharing a bed in Thriller. The Drews in Murder in Mind are seen in bed together but there is no intimacy between them. Curiously one instance of younger characters sharing a bed concerns two women in In the Steps of a Dead Man, but they have a strictly platonic friendship.  In all instances married couples seen in their bedrooms are discreetly dressed in pyjamas or nightdresses. There are physically affectionate couples like the Nelsons in A Place to Die but their smooching is restricted to downstairs. No physical intimacy occurs in the bedroom - maybe that was deemed to be too suggestive.

Newly-weds but separate beds and modest nightwear for the Tanners in Lady Killer

There are a small number of unmarried couples who are physically intimate but this is not depicted or even strongly suggested on-screen except in one instance. There are some adulterers but many of these are villains. Indeed some villains are noted for their sexual aura or magnetism, perhaps embodying a common assumption that deviance and sexuality go hand-in-hand. Overall, marriage appears to be marked as the legitimate route for intimacy, and even then in a limited form. The one exception to these patterns occurs in Death in Deep Water from the final series in which Gilly is shown in bed and it is made clear that she and Gary have just been sleeping together. It is made obvious that they are a sexually intimate couple in ways that would not have occurred in earlier episodes but by this stage the show was coming to a close and so pushing the boundaries probably seemed risk-free.

Religion

Once again it can only be conjectured whether US influence affected Thriller's depiction of religion but it seems quite possible. Religious pressure groups are rather more powerful in the US than in Britain and this can encourage a determination not to offend them. This has already been considered in terms of language, with blasphemies avoided, but there may have been other effects.

It is striking how rarely religion crops up in Thriller. Only one story really explores religious themes to any extent (Once the Killing Starts). Clergymen are notable for their absence - indeed the one credited in Lady Killer appears only in long shot and has no lines. However there is a major role for a priest in Nurse Will Make It Better but he is an alcoholic and it is unclear whether he is still officially part of the priesthood. Death to Sister Mary might appear to be an exception but the convent it might appear to feature in the opening scene is only a set as part of a soap opera. The actors such as Penny Stacy might be playing religious figures but are not religious themselves.

Some of the supernatural episodes do have religious elements, especially those dealing with witches and Satanism. However in these it is very clear that Christianity is on the side of good and in Nurse Will Make It Better offers hope against evil forces.

Father Lyle may be dissolute but he offers the only hope of defeating the witch Bessie in Nurse Will Make It Better

It is possible that religion and religious references were largely eschewed to avoid possible conflicts with religious groups. Religion still holds the potential for controversy, with both pro- and anti-religious viewpoints at risk of causing unrest, or the attention given to some religions antagonising those who follow other faiths. Thriller probably chose the safest route in largely avoiding religious subject matter and characters, while expressing a mildly Christian viewpoint on the few occasions that they did emerge.

Other influences

In addition to the referencing of President Eisenhower in Possession mentioned earlier there were other references to the USA. For example Kiss Me and Die is centred around a villain who is fascinated with the American writer Edgar Allan Poe while the hero of the story Robert Stone wears a Davy Crockett outfit to the fancy dress party. Across the series there are frequent passing references by British characters to Americans, generally of a complimentary nature. For example in Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin Inspector Bruff refers to "our American friends" and in terms of security stresses their reliability.

Conclusions

While the emphasis has been on catering to the US market - particularly in terms of modesty - it would be wrong to think that such considerations only applied to the USA. Modesty and a broadly "safety-first" approach in terms of content in that era were wise strategies in any territory. If Thriller had shown more revealing bedroom and intimate scenes or included more graphic violence and "stronger" language it could have run into difficulties in terms of sales to broadcasters, scheduling or even cuts and censorship. Some broadcasters may not have wanted to take it at all or would have pushed it into later time slots or cut scenes. Sometimes it is much more straightforward for producers to avoid content that can raise concerns by broadcasters and viewers. Largely avoiding religious themes also made the show more marketable across countries with very different religious traditions or strengths of religious beliefs, It was of primary importance to satisfy the American market but doing so generally suited many other places as well.

It is perhaps tempting to see these American influences as borne out of expediency and to the (slight) detriment of the series as a whole, at least for British and non-American viewers. Certainly there were occasions when the inclusion of American characters or references was rather artificial or where imported guest actors didn't enhance the results on-screen. However even for British viewers this is an overstatement. The inclusion of American guests gave the show a different character to other series and viewers were able to see actors they either hadn't seen before or hadn't seen playing alongside British actors. It created a different dynamic on the show and fascinating results on-screen. For cast and crew it was also a rare opportunity for many of them to work with actors from the USA. The transatlantic aspects may not always have worked but on the whole they helped to make Thriller a very distinctive series.

Extras: Blind Terror (a.k.a. See No Evil) - 1971 film written by Brian Clemens & predecessor of Thriller

The story

Sarah has just returned from weeks in hospital following a riding accident that has left her blind. She is coming to terms with her new condition, helped by her relatives the Rexton family - her Uncle George, Aunt Betty and cousin Sandy with whom she is staying in their large country house. Her boyfriend Steve is also still there for her. 

Life generally for the Rextons is good although there is an unpleasant incident when George's car is deliberately scratched. This might possibly be related to an altercation with a man wearing cowboy-style boots who was annoyed when he was splashed by George's car when it drove past him and who made clear - silently but firmly - that he wasn't happy. Sandy is also excited about the prospect of meeting up with a potential new boyfriend. Sarah is continuing to ride despite her accident with the support of Steve who also buys her a new horse. Soon she will be leaving for a physiotherapy course in London and Steve hopes it won't jeopardise their relationship. 

While Sarah is out with Steve, the family receive a visitor - the same young man who was splashed by George. When Sarah returns Steve almost goes in with her but she says she feels fine to go in by herself. She finds the house quiet but thinks little of it - not realising that she is walking past the bodies of the family who have all been murdered. Later to her horror she does discover their bodies and tries to get help. She does find the gardener Mr Barker but he has been seriously wounded and dies before he can tell her exactly what happened. All this is dreadful enough but unfortunately for Sarah the killer has realised he has left behind vital evidence that could incriminate him at the scene of the crime and he is coming back to the house...

Sarah (Mia Farrow) finds herself stalked in the house

Review

Alongside And Soon the Darkness this is one of the films written by Brian Clemens that is seen as a foundation for Thriller. In some respects it is a step closer to the TV show given its focus on an upper middle class family living in a large English country house - a set-up often followed in the show. There is even an American star as per so many Thriller episodes although - intriguingly - in this film she is playing an English rather than an American character which does make her a more natural fit with the family. Suspense is very much to the fore and the killings take place off-screen as occurred predominantly in Thriller (and And Soon the Darkness), as per Brian Clemens's preferences that violence should largely be left in the viewer's imagination. Suspense is also maintained by only depicting the killer by his boots until the very end. This makes the film a whodunit and the focus on the killer's distinctive footwear is echoed years later in The Next Voice You See - the Thriller episode most resembling this overall, not least in its focus on blindness.

An early sighting of the killer, his face not revealed until the final scenes

However in other key respects this moves further away from what would be the Thriller style. Perhaps key to this are the American director and American composer - Richard Fleischer and Elmer Bernstein. Unlike Robert Fuest and Laurie Johnson who worked on the earlier film these were not figures who had worked with Brian Clemens before and while both do good work here they are not as in tune with his approach and the film has a more mainstream, almost Hollywood feel. Elmer Bernstein's music is generally suitably unnerving but in its more strident sections (most notably the theme music) it almost feels more fitting to an adventure or Western movie, possibly influenced by the killer's cowboy boots and the rural and horse-riding scenes. The most dramatic difference though is the very graphic blood-letting - while the killings are not depicted the gruesome aftermath is all too evident. In some respects this is more realistic than the sanitised images of death generally seen in Thriller but it is all rather stark and to my mind detracts from the film although without doubt some viewers (especially more recent ones) may prefer the graphic approach.

The film essentially comprises two parts with a kind of resolution after around sixty minutes but which then leads off into a new set of predicaments for Sarah. In the final twenty-five minutes or so she endures various miseries which strike me as gratuitous and spoiling the impact of the stronger first hour. Whether the events in those final stages - or indeed the blood-letting earlier one - were fully scripted by Brian Clemens or owed more to the director is unknown but they were very different from the more subtle approach adopted in the earlier film and Thriller. Maybe there was a determination to do things differently and produce something more "shocking"; in general an attempt to vary approach is commendable but here it seems not to be for the best.

Sexual themes are suggested early on as we see the killer around pubs and cinemas, shots well-directed from his perspective. He reads a soft porn magazine, seems to be focusing on the bodies of women and may have been to the cinema where some sexually violent films have been broadcast. Some of the interchanges he has in these scenes show he has a short fuse which could explode into more serious violence. The suggestion may be of him being influenced by these images - and perhaps that other violent offenders are influenced in similar ways - or maybe as a violent, sexually-charged man he is attracted to such images rather than being influenced by them. Unlike And Soon the Darkness, none of the violence perpetrated later in the film has a sexual aspect. Indeed no substantial motive for the killings is covered on-screen and the only explicit cause would seem to be his annoyance at George Rexton splashing him although there may have been other reasons not depicted on-screen. Such a threadbare motive for such appalling violence seems extraordinary and while not impossible it does seem inadequate to explain such events. Maybe this was part of a deliberate attempt to create more mystery about the killer and amazement that someone could do such things based on such little provocation but perhaps the effect is more bewildering than shocking. 

The performance of Mia Farrow as the tragic Sarah is exceptional and definitely the highlight of the film. She handles the English accent with great aplomb and with utter conviction. However even more remarkable is her performance as someone who has only recently lost their sight, a different kind of depiction to playing blind characters who have long lost their sight and are more confident in dealing with sightlessness (e.g. the blind students in The Eyes Have It or Stan Kay in The Next Voice You See.) More generally her role is very demanding with her appearing in almost every scene and having to handle strong emotions and plenty of physical scenes but she does so outstandingly well.

Sarah finds that being outside the house is no refuge from terror

The depiction of the gypsy community is best described as ambivalent. It does take some account of the ways in which they face stereotyping, hasty accusations and ostracism but nor does it entirely challenge stereotypes of them as offenders. It's probable such a film today would have steered clear of this ambivalence, either by not including gypsy characters altogether or by portraying them in a more clearly positive light.

The performances are generally good and it is particularly notable to see Norman Eshley in a heroic role as Steve, so different from his superb depiction of psychopath and serial killer Arthur Page in The Colour of Blood. That was the very first Thriller episode into production and his performance here may have put him "front of the queue" for a leading role in the new TV show. Lila Kaye as a gypsy woman also has a small but notable role and returned in another rural guise in the Series 1 episode A Place To Die.  

The climax in many ways sums up the film's unfulfilled promise. It is certainly a dramatic and memorable one but not necessarily for the right reasons as it is a harrowing watch after all the ordeals Sarah has already had to face. In general the gratuitousness throughout the film stops it reaching the heights it could have done and what potentially could have been an excellent offering close to the standard of And Soon the Darkness ends up as being "merely" good. Perhaps with a director more in tune with Brian Clemens's more subtle preferences this would have been more successful.

As mentioned there may have been issues with the structure, including the script. My feeling is that the film had reached a satisfactory conclusion after sixty minutes but that was too short for a feature film so another twenty minutes or so were then added to make it the required length. That first hour or so would have been around the length of a Thriller episode and maybe this would have functioned better in such a contracted and more understated form within the TV show. Alternatively the events of the first hour could have been supplemented with more background, perhaps more development of the supporting characters to give them more backstory and make them more convincing figures within a whodunit formula. As it transpired the killer turned out to be someone who had scarcely featured beforehand and the whodunit formula generally works best when there is an array of well-developed suspects. Despite all these issues Blind Terror is still a fascinating and thought-provoking film and a key document in the origin of Thriller.

Notes

Two Thriller episodes revisited the theme of blindness – The Eyes Have It and The Next Voice You See. Although the former had a blonde heroine as in the film the closer resemblance in style is to The Next Voice. In both stories the blind character is pursued by a killer who knows he needs to eliminate someone who can incriminate him. The Next Voice is also a whodunit and once again only the feet of the killer are seen, this time wearing a very distinctive pair of shoes (something also emphasised via the sneakers of the killer in I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill although in that story he is clearly identified). However there is one more small similarity with The Eyes Have It – Sarah is training in physiotherapy just like the blind students in the TV episode.

There are also parallels with Nurse Will Make It Better. In the film Sarah is blinded in a riding accident while Charley is paralysed after falling from a horse in Nurse. Despite this trauma the hero of the film Steve maintains his relationship with Sarah just as the hero of Nurse Simon Burns sticks by Charley. Sarah's efforts to escape the killer pursuing her in the house also bear some similarity with similar events in I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill and The Next Voice You See. 

George and Betty were also the names of another ill-fated middle-aged couple in In the Steps of a Dead Man.

Extras: And Soon the Darkness - 1970 film written by Brian Clemens and forerunner to Thriller

The story...

Cathy and Jane are young English nurses on a cycling holiday in France. The holiday is going well but they start to disagree when Cathy finds a place she likes and wants to stay there for a while but Jane wants to continue cycling. Cathy may have been influenced by spotting a young Frenchman there that she liked but she reluctantly goes along with Jane's wishes.

As they carry on cycling the disagreements build-up. Cathy feels bored by what she sees as miles of featureless countryside but Jane is happy to soak up the scenery. They stop again for a rest and argue. Matters come to a head when Cathy refuses to start cycling again and Jane rides off in annoyance. Later she decides she wants to find Cathy. She meets the young Frenchman (known as Paul) again and he agrees to help her but after returning to the spot there is no sign. Worse still they find some of Cathy's belongings and her abandoned bicycle - which has been vandalised. Jane hopes that Cathy may have gone in a different direction and maybe is playing a trick on her as payback for their arguments but even after involving some local residents and a gendarme they cannot find her.  Jane becomes increasingly worried - even more so when she learns that a Dutch tourist of similar appearance to Cathy was murdered in the area two years earlier, a crime of which Paul knows a lot about... 

Jane and Cathy cycling but who is in the distance - and why?

Review

This exceptional film is tremendous viewing in its own right but it is only hugely important as a key influence upon Thriller. It was written by Brian Clemens and Terry Nation but the contribution of composer Laurie Johnson on the musical front provides another vital link. For me the combination of Brian Clemens and Laurie Johnson was central to the success of Thriller and it is also central to the quality and special feel of this film. The excellent direction of Robert Fuest meant that the three key elements of writer, director and composer were all in harmony.

There are certainly some key production differences from Thriller. Most obviously this is shot on film rather than videotape but the predominant use of location work in the French countryside gives it a very different feel from other films in a similar genre which were largely studio-bound. The use of countryside rather than an urban setting also provides a special ambience and character to the suspense and thrills. Urban suspense and thrillers - and those set inside buildings - will often focus on feelings of claustrophobia or being trapped while this one set in a largely deserted countryside emphasises much more the fear that comes from isolation, loneliness and feeling exposed to danger. The countryside provides much more space in which to run and more spaces to hide - but that also applies to the killer. Those under threat such as Cathy and Jane have fewer people they can run to and in the open there are few if any places to lock oneself away or of total safety. These feelings of fear and of suspense were integral to And Soon the Darkness and later to Thriller despite the very different production aspects. The same themes of women in peril, a killer on the loose and doubts about whom to trust were present. In both this film and Thriller the emphasis was very much on suspense, fear, shocks and surprises with the avoidance of overt violence and sexual content which were left as per Brian Clemens's preferences very much in the viewer's imagination,  

A small cast for a feature film contributes to the intensity of the piece. Cathy and Jane could be almost any young women and many viewers (especially young women) could empathise with their feelings of initial excitement and later trepidation when travelling abroad in a foreign land. The fact that they know very little French and the people they meet mostly have little or no English creates a language barrier that intensifies their predicament, especially Jane when she tries to get help after Cathy's disappearance. Again these fears of feeling adrift in a place where one does not know the language are ones that many viewers will have had - or worried could happen, Jane can sense from the awkward conversations in broken English or French that something bad has happened here before but she struggles to work out what that is and there is the frustration for both her and the locals in struggling to be understood. The language barrier was a fascinating theme to explore and it greatly amplifies Jane's feelings of isolation and fear.

Jane finds that being inside presents its own challenges for someone trying to escape danger

There are two people that Jane can more readily communicate with but they don't offer her much reassurance. The schoolmistress - a middle-aged Englishwoman - offers some practical support but her talk about the murder two years earlier only heightens Jane's anxiety. especially given that she emphasises the sexual aspect of the killing and seems to blame the victim by saying she was "asking for trouble" by being a female tourist alone in the area. However it is Paul who most provokes Jane's fears. Paul speaks English very well and does seem to be helping her in the search but his demeanour and conduct fill her with deep unease. He claims to be a detective with the Surete who worked on the previous investigation but later admits he had no such role although he still claims he can crack the case. He finds Cathy's camera but when asked to hand it over - which could include vital evidence - he pulls out the film and ruins it. He leaves her in doubt about whether he is a genuine good Samaritan, a crank getting some twisted pleasure from pretending to help her - or a murderer who is leading her on before eventually going for the kill. Jane has a profound dilemma - is she safe with Paul? She may feel she is not and want to escape but that could leave her alone and exposed to danger from elsewhere.

Paul is certainly not the only suspect. An obvious candidate is Lassal whose wife runs a cafe. Lassal was interviewed about the murder two years earlier but never charged - did he get away with it and still poses danger or is he an innocent man? Other characters raise Jane's concerns, including whether they know the killer and are not revealing the fact. There doesn't seem anyone Jane can really trust.

Sexual themes are certainly much to the fore than in any episode of Thriller. It is clear that the murder in 1968 also involved a sexual assault and the fear is the same has occurred again. Remarks by the schoolmistress suggest that she may have a lesbian interest in Jane, at odds with her otherwise puritanical comments on that crime. Certainly her victim-blaming remarks make uncomfortable listening but it must be remembered that in that era such attitudes were far from uncommon and have certainly not disappeared today. Cathy and Jane share a light-hearted discussion about "bottom-pinching" and on being told it was more common in Italy Cathy jokes that they should have gone there. These days many women would regard such behaviour as unacceptable but back then it was often treated lightly in this way.

Performances are excellent in the film with particular commendation to Pamela Franklin. She may still have been in her late teens when filming took place and she appears in almost every scene but handles such an arduous and high-profile role with immense skill. Michele Dotrice as Cathy wasn't much older and also gives a fine display. It would have been tempting for the producers to hire British actors to play all the roles but astutely they used French or European actors for most of them and this aided the authenticity of the film. Hungarian actor Sandor Eles is excellent as the deeply-unsettling Paul while Czech actress Hana-Maria Pravda provides a fine account as the intense cafe owner Madame Lassal. Clare Kelly and John Nettleton give suitably enigmatic portrayals as the schoolmistress and gendarme in a film where it's not really clear whom Jane and Cathy can trust. There is also a striking role for John Franklyn as an elderly former soldier who is either a disconcerting but ultimately harmless man or one who hasn't put the violence of the war behind him. The old man also has a hearing impairment and coupled with the language issue it creates a double barrier between him and Jane. 

Climaxes are hugely important in thrillers and this one is certainly a powerful one with a particularly horrifying image and ordeal and some remarkable revelations. The film ends perhaps appropriately with rain and gloom dispelling the sunshine that had dominated the weather throughout the rest of the film, adding to the poignancy of events. A huge triumph of a film for those involved and Brian Clemens (coupled with Laurie Johnson) proved he had much more to offer in the realm of the thriller and suspense.

Notes

Aspects of this film in storyline and characters reappeared in various episodes of Thriller such as Someone at the Top of the Stairs, Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are, If It's a Man - Hang Up! and The Next Victim with looser references / similarities in Screamer, The Next Voice You See and A Midsummer Nightmare.

Very unusually there is also a vocal version of the theme music sung by James Royal and arranged by Keith Mansfield.

A year earlier John Nettleton had also appeared as a policeman in a very different production - an episode of the ITV sitcom Please Sir.