The Next Scream You Hear - Series 3 Episode 6, Saturday 6th July 1974 (ITC movie title "Not Guilty")

The story...

Bernard Peel (Christopher George) is an American businessman living in England, married to an exceptional corporate lawyer. He returns home from a party one evening, has a drink and falls asleep. He is woken by the doorbell and is alarmed to find the police. They tell him they have been tipped-off about an incident involving him and his wife. He is utterly incredulous. An inspection of the house shows evidence of a violent incident and of a female visitor but Bernard denies all knowledge. Matters get far worse when the boot of his car is opened and his wife's body is found.

Bernard Peel is shocked to find the scene of an apparent crime - and himself under suspicion by the police

Bernard is arrested by the police for the murder of his wife. He strenuously denies responsibility and calls in the services of the foppish but remarkably skilled private investigator Matthew Earp (Dinsdale Landen). Earp approaches the case with typical incisiveness and is true to his word that he will prove who killed Jennifer Peel.

Review

The third series opened with five quite exceptional stories so maybe it was too much to expect its closing member to match that standard and so it proved. Even allowing for that it is one of the least impressive episodes of Thriller, although it does have its virtues.

The story premise is quite a novel one for the show. The onus is on trying to clear a suspect who the police feel certain has killed his wife, whereas usually stories were either whodunits or made clear the identity of the killer from the start. Of course if Bernard Peel is not the killer the quest is to find the real culprit. Unfortunately the action never really catches fire, maybe because so many of the characters are quite unremarkable. There is no problem with the performances but very few make a real impression. The outstanding exception of course is the fabulous Matthew Earp. Earp was the only character to reappear in Thriller and he is excellent, just as witty and incisive as in An Echo Of Theresa. It has to be said that neither episode was particularly distinguished and both rather need this character's presence although a contrary view might be that it may have encouraged an over-reliance on him which could have been devoted to developing the story or other characters more. There is always the risk that the quality of a star character or actor can be a distraction from the whole  but maybe it was sensed there wasn't enough depth or quality elsewhere so it was best to give Earp such priority.

Dinsdale Landen was made for this role and it would have been useful to see him in further adventures, either within Thriller or elsewhere. Once again he shows not just mental acumen but physical prowess and bravery. There are also some neat exchanges with Gifford (Edward Hardwicke) the detective who quietly resents Earp's involvement as well as his enormous fees.

Matthew Earp (right) with Tulliver, Bernard Peel and Maycroft in happier times at the party before the dramatic events

Of the remainder of the cast Christopher George does a fair job as Bernard Peel. Hans Meyer has a nice part as a director of Peel's business who is clearly suspicious of him and unhappy about being down the pecking order. There is a note-worthy appearance by veteran actor Richard Todd as Tulliver, one of Bernard's colleagues. Suzanne Neve returned in another key role in Won't Write Home Mom - I'm Dead in Series 5 while Belinda Mayne does a nice turn as a rather unhelpful and unenthusiastic shop assistant whom Earp encounters..

The twist at the end is one of the most inventive. In a better episode this would have been a hugely satisfying conclusion but here it's really just the television equivalent of a consolation goal. Judged away from the Thriller context this would be quite good value and the show - even when a little off-form as here - is still well worth watching.

Notes

Gifford applies the handcuffs to Bernard Peel in a fraction of a second, displaying amazing skill and speed.

Christopher George's wife Lynda had been the star of the preceding story Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are.

ITC Movie title-watch 

1974 was a big year for the martial arts and they make an appearance here, with karate being employed by one assassin. Unfortunately they also make for a very silly piece of art-work on the movie end-titles in which a fist above what is supposed to be Bernard Peel's head (though looking more like Lieutenant Colombo) appears to be pulling his hair! 

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are - Series 3, Episode 5 (Saturday 29th June 1974)

The story...

Cathy and Jane are American cousins and tourists holidaying in the UK. One day they are visiting a tower when Jane stumbles while taking pictures and is at risk of falling off. Cathy is next seen at night in a hotel. Fellow residents Paul Eastman and Miss Pendy are awoken by a scream but they assume it is an animal or someone having a nightmare. The next morning Cathy asks the hotel owner Mr Lewis about her cousin Jane who she says is staying in another room but is shocked to be told she never checked in. Cathy cannot believe this, insists Jane came in with her and feels Mr Lewis is lying. She becomes increasingly worried and upset and in conflict with Mr and Mrs Lewis who continue to say she is mistaken. The police are brought in to investigate. However the detective - Inspector Dexter - seems to treat Cathy with contempt, assuming she is either lying or a fantasist. However he is also suspicious of Mr Lewis who is a heavy-drinker prone to drunken rages and with a dark secret waiting to be discovered. Can Cathy be found? Does she even exist - or existed?

Review

The most renowned instalments from the third series are A Coffin for the Bride, I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill and In the Steps of a Dead Man. This episode has attracted less fame but is just as good if not better and is possibly the best of all from that superb run.

Some details here resemble Brian Clemens's excellent 1970 film And Soon the Darkness which in many ways provides the template for Thriller. In both two young women - blonde-haired Cathy and dark-haired Jane - are on holiday in a foreign land when one of them goes missing leaving the other frantically searching for her companion. Both even feature a young man called Paul who gets drawn into events. However there are key differences. Here it is Jane who goes missing - or at least Cathy believes so. The vast majority of Thriller episodes so far had either focused on the activities of a transparent villain or were whodunits. This story though goes in a radically different direction - not just questioning has a crime even occurred but does Jane even exist - or existed? Perhaps the only other previous episode close to this theme was Murder in Mind from Series 1 in which Betty Drew confessed to a murder for which no evidence could be found at all. While that is a good (and in my mind underrated) episode this outing is clearly superior in all regards,

The tone of this story is also very different from its predecessors in Series 3. It is very much a dark and brooding affair. Aside from the teaser and the final minutes almost all the action takes place in the gloomy, rather old-fashioned hotel. The pace may seem a little slow to some viewers and this may have put it a little in the shadow of the most esteemed episodes but if so that is undeserved. Confining so much of the story to the hotel and the slower pace does help to build atmosphere and a sense of foreboding. Even the apparently minor and unspeaking character of Parminter (Kevin Brennan) - one of the hotel staff - is portrayed in an unnerving manner, showing that characters do not have to speak for them to be deeply disconcerting (this had been powerfully illustrated with the character of "the man" in I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill), The excellent direction of John Sichel and set design of Bryan Holgate are both integral to creating a mood of unease, even trepidation. The fear is that there will be no happy ending whatever happens - either Jane never existed and Cathy's mind is seriously disturbed or she did and has been the victim of some dreadful crime or other traumatic event. 

Real mystery is at play. The events at the beginning with Jane on the brink of fatally falling from the tower do suggest that Cathy is right - Jane is missing, despite the disbelief of those around her. Or was that all a hallucination or maybe Jane did fall off the tower to her death and the flashback is to just before that terrible event? Or maybe there was an earlier tragedy with Jane long gone which has scrambled her mind? Or perhaps Jane was never with her at all? What cannot be denied is that Cathy is clearly very upset but what exactly has happened? Is Jane dead? Has she been murdered by the dissolute and unstable hotel owner Arthur Lewis? Is there some other explanation? It is hard not to feel immense sympathy for Cathy in this very perplexing case. The arrival of the bullying, misogynistic Inspector Dexter seems to make her predicament even worse but it appears only a matter of time before the pieces are put together and a devastating picture emerges

Cathy is a compelling character. Whatever has happened to Jane, she has had a difficult life with family breakdown and now it seems she has lost her cousin and only friend. There is excellent use of flashbacks (played over a smeary lens) from Cathy's viewpoint of events from their trip - especially the visit to the tower - and these clearly deeply trouble her. 

On top of all this Dexter is possibly the most memorable detective seen in Thriller. This is certainly not in terms of his skills but his extraordinary behaviour. He is profoundly sexist and a man who seems to believe that an aggressive, contemptuous approach is the way to get the truth out of those he deals with There is a nice contrast between his bluntness and bullying and his rather meek junior colleague Reeves. The Lewis character is another great one. John Carson had given a memorable performance as the confident and ebullient Ray Burns in Possession but here he is just as good in another very different but ultimately suspicious role. Lewis is an unhappy and troubled man whose marriage seems to be crumbling (his wife probably having an affair with guest Paul Eastman) and is struggling to cope with a drink problem. Evidence seems to put him firmly in the frame for Jane's disappearance - assuming she was ever there. If Jane had never checked-in one can imagine his exasperation with Cathy's assertions and later his fear as he falls under suspicion. One cannot help feeling some sympathy for him. 

Cathy struggles to cope with the insensitivity of Inspector Dexter whose colleague Reeves looks on

This would be a very fine episode based simply on the first fifty minutes or so. However it is the final ten minutes that it moves into another league and really excels. There is an extraordinary twist that turns events on their head and causes us to see not one but two characters in a completely different light. The dramatic final scene is one of the very best in Thriller topped by a fantastic pun. Lynda Day George's performance is superb and would certainly be up there with the best by an American guest actor but John Carson and Peter Jeffrey as inspector Dexter are also in exceptional form. The brilliant climax rounds-off a run of five top class episodes at the start of Series 3 and highlights the show at its peak.

Notes

This was the joint-first episode repeated in the UK 1980's when it appeared on Grampian on Thursday September 11th 1980 (ATV showed If It's a Man - Hang-Up! on the same date.).

TV movie title-watch

That first repeat also gave some UK viewers their first chance to see the new movie titles produced for the show. Probably no episode best exemplifies the good, the bad and the ugly of the new movie titles. These ones can be quite suspenseful and are given a very effective purple wash with some good music including an excellent eerie electronic piece by Simon Park. However they are most remembered for a quite ludicrous figure in a skeleton tracksuit who gives chase to Jane Howard and rather over-literally is meant to symbolise death. The figure representing Jane correctly wears a headband yet is wearing a skirt even though Jane was wearing trousers in the scene on which this was based. One suspects this was done so that shots of "Jane" with her legs sprawling on the ground after being caught would be more revealing. This is entirely gratuitous, although not as obviously so as the new  scenes in Screamer and I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill. Clips are used as in other episodes but these give a lot away, again a tendency of the new titles. Altogether these new titles would have given viewers a very misleading guide to the episode that followed, perhaps imagining they were going to see some bizarre graphic horror movie rather than an introspective and sophisticated mystery. They were so strange though that they might have drawn in more viewers than more conventional ones.

These titles are unusual in other ways. The original teaser for the only time is retained at the start of the movie. As the new titles begin a snatch of the original Thriller theme tune is heard for the only time in the ITC versions (possibly an error in the editing process). 

In the Steps of a Dead Man - Series 3 Episode 4 (Saturday 22nd June 1974)

The story...

George and Betty Cornfield are devastated when they discover that their son Tommy has been killed on army service. Their mood is lifted a little though when a soldier called Marty Fuller arrives at their home. He says he was an army friend of Tommy who helped him in his final moments. The Cornfields and Marty build a close bond and Marty also develops a close friendship with Tommy's fiancee Sheila, helping her to cope with her loss. 

The only person who doesn't seem won over by Marty is Sheila's American student friend Grace Worth. She finds it strange that Tommy never mentioned his supposed close friend Marty. She checks Tommy's diary and notices some alarming entries about his relationship with "M" who she presumes is Marty. Soon after further tragedy strikes and these terrible events drive the Cornfields even closer to Marty but maybe that is something they will regret...

Review

While opinions are mixed on the quality of the previous week's Death To Sister Mary there is no difference of opinion on this episode which is widely considered one of the Thriller greats, certainly up there with both A Coffin for the Bride and I'm the Girl He Wants to kill at the start of Series 3 which are also considered among the best in the show's history.. 

The story is a captivating one. Tommy's parents and Sheila suffer a terrible tragedy which turns their happy lives upside down. They all struggle to cope - most of all George, his father. However along comes Marty to seemingly give them hope. He talks so warmly about Tommy and brings happiness and purpose back into their lives. In fact he seems to be a new Tommy who can take his place as the son and partner they have lost.

However the viewers are all too clear that Marty is not what he seems although the exact nature of his relationship to Tommy and his motivations take time to be revealed. Marty shows a reluctance to be reminded of Tommy that should have got some alarm bells ringing. Grace - maybe with the benefit of being an outsider - astutely sees that there is something amiss with Marty and his supposed friendship with Tommy but the family are oblivious. She tries to warn Sheila but the ultimate consequences are dreadful and culminate in one of the most terrifying scenes in Thriller with Denise Buckley's acting especially impressive.

Sheila (right) finds Grace's allegations about Marty hard to take

The battle of wits between Grace and Marty is great viewing. There are echoes of the relationship between Mark Walker and Stella in A Coffin for the Bride as an attractive, charming man aims to embark on a relationship with an attractive young woman while he goes about his "business". Grace proves hard to get but with the Cornfields still on his side Marty is able to move closer to his ultimate goal - unless Grace and other forces can stop him.

Matters take a remarkable twist late on. This ending is one of the most memorable in Thriller and certainly one of the most morally provocative. "Natural" or poetic justice may seem to be very much at work but the moral quandary remains. 

This is a close to flawless episode with so much in its favour. The characters are top class. The Cornfields are a loving, devoted couple and Sheila cut from a similar cloth. However it is Marty and Grace who make the greatest impressions. He is another highly complex villain. His actions seem appallingly vindictive, not only towards Tommy but maybe even more so to the trusting, vulnerable family. He is a master of deception and manipulation. It is clear though that he has a very troubled mind, maybe destabilised by warfare, possibly by a rather more unpleasant side to Tommy than is imagined. Maybe his own lack of family lies behind such destructive behaviour - he cannot cope with the happiness of others. Grace wins admiration for her perceptiveness, persistence and ultimately bravery in pursuing such a dangerous man. It is possible, as he suggests, that she is attracted to him. It certainly appears so by her reaction on first seeing him but she resists temptation and soon gets suspicious. Of the ancillary characters the steely Sergeant O'Hara is clearly not a man to be messed with. Throughout the episode he is thwarted in his attempts to find Marty but a chance meeting may well lead to the outcome he desires.

There are many great performances. Richard Vernon, Faith Brook, John Nolan, Skye Aubrey and Derek Anders (O'Hara) are all excellent. Denise Buckley particularly comes into her own as the doubts about Marty kick in and her anguish and mixed emotions are expertly handled. Fine direction assists and even some military-themed incidental music by Laurie Johnson heightens the atmosphere but the exceptional script is the key. Remarkably the brilliant third series still had another exceptional episode to follow.

Notes

Some listings for this episode referred to Tommy Cornfield having been killed in action in Northern Ireland. No reference is made to this on-screen although it may have been referenced in script background or publicity material.

TV Movie title-watch

Perhaps it seems fitting that one of Thriller's finest episodes should also have new movie titles and music that are also well above the norm. The TVM version was the the only one available for many years and the titles start with an excellent, chilling scene of an apparently stricken soldier rising up from the dead accompanied by suitably military-styled music and battle sounds, then leading to a more eerie score as "Marty" makes his plans.

Death To Sister Mary - Series 3 Episode 3, Saturday 15th June 1974 (ITC movie title "Murder Is a One Act Play")

The story...

Penny Stacy is an actress playing "Sister Mary" in a soap opera set in a convent. She has a devoted fan called Charles Rook. Too devoted because at the start of the episode rook assaults one of Penny's co-actors - Mark Fields - telling him to "stay away from Sister Mary". Rook escapes detection for this offence and later sneaks into the studio to visit Penny, telling her he wants to set up a fan club. She is surprised but also quite flattered by his attentions and agrees. She is also surprised that he insists on calling her "Sister Mary" rather than her real name but thinks little of it.

Over time a number of other assaults and "accidents" occur involving others close to Penny, one of them fatal. Penny's on-screen father who had treated "Sister Mary" harshly is slashed badly and ends up in a coma. Meanwhile Rook's fan club plans are coming to fruition. He invites Penny to open the club which even includes a mock-up of the convent set. However he has chilling plans in store for her.. 

Review

For me and some other fans this maintains the excellent start to Series 3. I was therefore surprised to discover that it is one of the five lowest-rated episodes on the Internet Movie Database which draws upon a very wide sample of viewers. We all come to our own conclusions about every episode and I could certainly not say that those more sceptical viewers are "wrong" or that my views on it are "right". However I can outline why this is around the top ten of my favourite Thriller instalments.

Like A Coffin for the Bride there is absolutely no mystery about the identity of the villain. From the teaser onwards it is clear that Charles Rook is trouble but it does not diminish the viewing experience at all. Robert Powell returned in his second villainous role after his appearance in Lady Killer, just as Michael Jayston had made a villainous return in Coffin. Interestingly in all four episodes their roles as villains are evident from the start but the satisfaction is in seeing what they do and how they will be caught. The part of Rook is dramatically different from that of Paul Tanner in Lady Killer however. While Tanner was an attractive, outgoing and charming man Rook is quiet, obsessive but deceptively unthreatening. Both men are killers but Rook may be even more dangerous as he is prepared to eliminate anyone who in his eyes fails to treat "Sister Mary" properly. At the end of this episode Rook has caused death and injury on a scale that makes Paul Tanner seem small fry.

The character of Rook is fascinating. TV fans do have their share of obsessives, especially soap operas like Saints And Sinners. One hears of fans unable to distinguish between character and actor and yet this is a rare example of a drama focusing on this phenomenon. Most of the time such confused viewers are ultimately harmless and well-meaning but there are instances of actors being attacked by irate viewers mixing them up with their characters and Rook simply takes that sort of mindset to a disturbing conclusion. Rook seems incapable of seeing Penny as anything other than "Sister Mary". He prefers her in her "real clothes" (i.e. nun's habit), cannot see how a nun can have a fiancé and is amazed when she is reluctant to accept a Bible as a gift. All these things are harmless enough but his attacks on those he thinks treat her badly or block his route to her are anything but. Throughout all this Rook sees himself sincerely as a protector of Sister Mary - a dangerous protector. 

Robert Powell gives an excellent performance as this most distinctive villain. It is hard not to feel some sympathy for Rook who clearly has serious psychological problems but these are buried beneath the surface of an odd, maybe irritating but ostensibly innocuous persona. It can be argued that all the same Rook's intrusive behaviour, visiting Penny not only at the studio but at her home, may have aroused some concern. Penny herself admits though that actors can find such appreciation, even if it is a little over-enthusiastic, too flattering to reject. 

Maybe more surprising is that the cast and the police don't dig deeper into the series of accidents which seem to have coincided with his arrival on the scene and this apparent lack of realism seems to lie at the heart of negative reviews from other viewers. Very probably in real life the pieces would have been put together much earlier and Rook prevented from his worst offences. However Thriller and indeed most TV drama - especially murder-mysteries - is not intended to be so realistic. Sometimes realism makes for dull drama and often even the best productions play fast and loose with realism for the sake of a great story and great drama. Indeed some of the most popular episodes in Thriller have elements that are unrealistic or at least highly unlikely. Often it's not the lack of realism that lies at the root of the negative reviews but a more general lack of engagement with a particular production. If the viewer doesn't like the episode in general lack of realism tends to be less tolerated but where an episode has won the viewer over they are much more forgiving. In this case I see the rather unlikely overlooking of Rook's involvement as a small price to pay for such a great story. I would also say that we are judging these oversights by contemporary standards in which there is far more awareness of stalking and the potential dangers posed by obsessive fans (or indeed trolls). Almost fifty years these phenomena were much less prominent or understood. There are also the elements of how actors and other subjects of admiration can let down their guard in the face of flattery, especially when it comes from someone so polite and apparently benign as Charles Rook. There is also the genuine difficulty they can face in seeming to reject an admirer, both the disappointment - even distress - that they may cause to often vulnerable obsessive fans, but also maybe a fear that rejection might lead that admirer to retaliate. For all these reasons the scenario is not as outlandish as it might seem. . .

The setting of the story within a TV show is an unusual but very successful one. It allows for the blurring of identities which acts as a trap for the likes of Rook. Actors love playing at being actors and writers and producers enjoy exposing the televisual process and this is very evident here. The scenes of bickering between the pompous Tony Barton - who very much sees himself as "the star" - and the Mother Superior are very funny. The camp director is also splendid fun. Anthony Newlands, Joan Haythorne and Gerry Cowan are fine in these parts. Penny Stacy is a much more conventional character who goes through great trauma as well as having to manage the infatuation of Rook and Jennie Linden gives a good account in the central role.

"Sister Mary" aka Penny Stacy (Jennie Linden)

George Maharis gives one of the best displays of American guest stars as Mark Fields. Mark is a character of great dignity, supportiveness and insight. In another realistic showbusiness touch the character has had a battle with alcoholism and is struggling to shake off that reputation among his peers but he is not angry or bitter. 

Moore, played by Windsor Davies just prior to him hitting small screen comedy fame, is one of the more interesting Thriller policeman - not generally one of the show's stronger points. In typical Thriller tradition he certainly has his limitations, notably ineptitude at crosswords, but is an engaging presence on screen. Quite a number of police in the show had a comic edge of this sort but Moore gets his act together when it matters.

The final minutes are very strong. Rook's plan and motivations are quite bizarre and macabre but make sense to his twisted mind and the scenario is is very well delivered on screen by Robert Powell and Jennie Linden. The climax is dramatic and also a somewhat poignant one and it is testimony to the strength of the third series that it had many more delights in store.        

Notes

For the second successive week an episode features a switchboard operator, in this case at "CJS Television", the makers of "Saints and Sinners".

The rock music instrumental heard at the party is also playing at Max Burns' flat in The Double Kill in Series 5.

I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill - Series 3 Episode 2 (Saturday 8th June 1974)

The story....

A young woman returning home from a party is surprised to discover a silent, anxious-looking man by her doorway. Moments later he stabs and kills her. Some time later Ann Rogers - an American secretary working in London - is also returning home and sees the same man on the stairs leading to her flat. When opening her front door she sees the dead body of another young woman lying in the entrance to a neighbouring flat and feels the man may have been the killer. 

She goes to the police and is interviewed by detective Mark Tanner. The enquiries aren't successful and the killer remains at loose but the meeting between Ann and Mark does lead to a relationship. One day she is looking in the window of a jewellers and is horrified to see the man working in the shop. He also spots her and although she runs off he pursues her. She reaches her office building but does not feel entirely safe, even when Mark tells her the killer has been apprehended. Unfortunately the arrested man turns out to be a crank. The real killer has been able to enter the building and after the rest of the staff leave at the end of the day he sees his chance to eliminate the woman who can testify against him.

Review

One of the best-remembered and most popular of episodes. Again there is no mystery about who is the villain but that makes his appearances all the more unnerving. Clearly the outing has the qualities needed to make a real impact and there are certainly remarkable things in store here.

The teaser sets the tone with the appearance of Robert Lang's "The Man". Prior to the murder he makes no sound but actually seems scared - or at the least edgy. The killing is another in the non-realist style of Thriller violence as the woman falls with not a mark on her.  The second murder we do not see - only the body of the victim in her doorway as Ann enters her flat. This is an excellent scene, better for its lack of violence. The sight of the woman lying on the floor, visible to the viewers but out of Ann's immediate eye-line is shocking enough but becomes even more powerful as Ann spots her and takes in the horror. This warrants more appreciation, as does Ann's encounter with the man beforehand as he leaves the house as she enters. Once again his demeanour is utterly disconcerting but it is only later that the full realisation that he has just killed her neighbour emerges.

That ushers in Ann's involvement with the police and Mark Tanner in particular. Ann is naturally shocked and frightened, not just in the immediate aftermath but sometime thereafter. Mark's later involvement with her certainly raises the issue of professional distance, if not misconduct. However we are used, even in the modern day, of screen detectives having these dubious personal involvements with victims, witnesses and even suspects. It is a forgiveable story device that does lend another dimension to the story although it could easily have been rewritten without them being romantically attached at all.

However the story really hits home and achieves its classic status from the moment Ann spots the man purely by chance while looking through a jewellers' window. As they make eye-contact both make a terrifying discovery that will have drastic consequences: he knows he can now be exposed; she knows he is aware she has seen him and she is now at terrible risk. The first chase ensues but the real drama takes place within the apparent safety of the Parker building.  

The whole action within the building is superb. Ann remains extremely scared although she does not tell her colleagues. Unbeknown to her the man has slipped into the building. The scenes of stalking and chasing are justly acclaimed and provide some of the tensest in Thriller. They take place with no dialogue, except for one brief sequence, It's easy to overlook the physical demands made upon actors Julie Sommars and Robert Lang in these sequences of running, chasing, hiding and occasional skirmishes. Excellent use is made of camera work - particularly shots from Ann's perspective running down the corridors and of darkness. Director Shaun O'Riordan and the production crew alongside the actors make these some scenes some of the best in the show's history. The arrival of the police adds to the drama and the final minutes - if not as frantic as the chase sequences - are still tense and powerfully done. 

Julie Sommars gives one of the best acting displays in the whole of Thriller as Ann. The other Thriller heroines have very demanding roles in emotional terms but hers requires a great deal of physical action as well which she handles in exceptional style. Robert Lang though may be even better as "the man". There is no role like this at all in Thriller - or very few other productions. The character only delivers a couple of lines in the whole episode so the emphasis is heavily on gestures and facial expressions but it is conveyed superbly. The man is both frightening and, it appears, frightened, maybe due to a terrible conflict over what he is doing or fear of being caught. So many screen-villains are talkative, giving away all their motives and plans and toying with their victims - indeed it becomes something of a cliche - so it is marvellous to have one who creates so much mystery. Mark and Keston conjecture, with some plausibility, that his motive is at least in part sexual but we never know. One of the great Thriller villains.

Robert Lang as "the man"

There are other attractions as well. It is great to see comic actor Ken Jones in a straight part as the security guard Sam and he gives a fine account of a very sympathetic figure. Indeed the humour comes more from his colleague Freddy whose fear of missing a date with his wife leads to a fateful swapping of shifts. The presence of a crank claiming to be the killer, something that frequently plagues the police, is a welcome and highly realistic touch.

The episode isn't perfect and Mark Tanner's "trendy copper" look is thoroughly 1970s and his permed hair a real fashion faux-pas. Some of the dialogue could have been better (with Mark the victim of most of the bad lines) and perhaps the actual climax could have been a little less formulaic. However these scarcely detract from a very fine and justly renowned story.

TV Movie title-watch

The titles appear to be indebted to Psycho as well as including a gratuitous scene of the victim undressing. They appear to contradict the action in the ATV version. The killing in the US titles is clearly not one of those seen in the original. It therefore depicts an extra murder although the ATV dialogue makes clear that the killer has only killed two women.

A Coffin for the Bride - Series 3 Episode 1, Saturday 1st June 1974 (ITC movie title "Kiss, Kiss, Kill, Kill)

The story...

Mark Walker is an attractive, charming young man who marries two older women - and then kills them. He is very clever because he disguises their deaths as tragic accidents - drowning in the bath. His only problem is the solicitor acting for the first woman who suspects him of murder but cannot convince the police.

While visiting a health club he meets Stella, a very attractive young woman whom he pursues simply for pleasure. However he very soon is attracted by an extremely rich older widow called Angie. Everything seems to be going to Mark's plan and it looks as if he will soon be a wealthy widower for the third time but maybe he isn't going to have things all his own way this time...

Has the widow Stella waded in too deep with Mark Walker (Michael Jayston)?

Review

The favourite episode of Brian Clemens, this was one of the four stories he selected for release on the ITC videos in 1993. However it is not just Brian who held it in high esteem. It is probably the best-known and most acclaimed Thriller outing among the wider viewing public. Perhaps some might wonder if this is the "Helen Mirren Halo" at work but its acclaim is justIy deserved. It is an excellent effort, and just about impossible to fault.

Once again we see that a story does not have to be a whodunit to really pack a punch. From the teaser onwards we know that Mark Walker is a murderer and that he is motivated by money. However the contrived accidents show that this is a slippery villain, as do the shifting identities. Solicitor Oliver Mason may suspect him but Walker seems to have avoided all police suspicion. The pre-occupations with fitness and water provide more twists. Michael Jayston had given an excellent display as the vindictive killer Roger Masters in Ring Once for Death. This time though, both the character and the performance are even better. Walker is just as deadly but has far more charm than Masters. On the other hand he is harbouring a troubled mind. A traumatic experience while in the merchant navy still bothers him and may somehow lie behind his current activities. Interestingly like Masters he therefore seems to have risen from fairly humble origins, maybe on the back of the money inherited after his murders, but his insecurities do not make him bitter or aggressive. Once again Brian Clemens avoids creating a two-dimensional "evil" villain, producing a much more complex character.

We get to see Mark set his sights on a genuine romance with Stella with whom he is able to confide some of those insecurities. However "business" soon rears its head again in the remarkably tempting form of the plain but lively wealthy widow Angie. The only real problem for him seems to be how to juggle romances with the two without being discovered. However appearances are deceptive...

Of course with this being Thriller and not a whodunit the questions are how far he will go and how he will meet his comeuppance - there would never be any question that he might ultimately get away with his crimes. How he meets his downfall is brilliantly done but he is also the victim of some "rough justice" along the way which wins him at least a grudging sympathy. It does have to be said that some of the ways in which the table are turned on him would be exceptionally unlikely in real life but they are remarkably satisfying plot devices. "Rough justice" can also be "poetic justice" and the final scene in particular is one of the very best in the history of Thriller. Sometimes realism has to be sacrificed on the altar of great drama - superb writing, performance and direction, particularly at the climax which contends for the very best ending in the show. 

Acting performances are excellent. Helen Mirren is in extraordinary form but almost as good is Michael Jayston as Mark Walker: one can see why the producers were keen to get him back so quickly and he does not disappoint in any way. Michael Gwynne gives a first-class performance as the brave solicitor Oliver Mason, bringing great dignity to the role. There is a very fine "straight" performance by Arthur English as the affable barman Freddy. Given his comic background one might have expected Arthur to be cast in an instalment more focused on humour such as K Is for Killing but he showed here that he could more than handle a serious part. However all the actors had great characters and a marvellous story to work with and those elements are so important as even the best actors can look adrift in a weak storyline with unpromising characters. 

Solicitor Oliver Mason makes his suspicions clear to "Mr Jameson" (aka Mark Walker) but no-one else seems to be listening

The detectives are seen briefly but are among the better ones in Thriller. Quilly nicely demonstrates both the inevitable scepticism needed by detectives but also the danger that pride can encourage them to stick to decisions in the face of contrary evidence. Those seen later on are a different matter and things would have been very different had Walker encountered them earlier (although that would not have made for a much shorter and less captivating episode!)

This was the last episode not to feature any American characters. There is no doubt that Americans added much to the show but there were occasions when it seemed they were being shoe-horned into a story simply to create an American dimension. That would definitely have been the case here where there would have been no natural role for an American character - maybe only the Mark Walker role of the major parts could have been re-cast, and that would have been a mistake. Astutely the producers resisted the temptation to include an American on this occasion and it helps the episode to work so well. One wishes they had followed suit on a few occasions thereafter (and before), using Americans only when they comfortably fitted into the story.

Another interesting aspect is the "classic" look of the characters and sets on view. Some episodes such as I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill which follows have distinctly Seventies fashions but the look here is much more timeless. This would certainly help with contemporary viewers who would then have less opportunity to poke fun at dated fashions. The presence of a young Helen Mirren would be another reason to choose this as an introduction for newcomers.

There are no weak spots or lulls here. Other very impressive Thriller episodes might have the odd character, performance, scene or story aspect that didn't entirely work but the quality on display is extraordinary and it is one of those rare cases where everything just clicks. Whether it is the very best is open to debate but it certainly sets a remarkably high standard. The third series which it heralded would have even more delights in store - the peak of the show.