#faceless mob‚ whose presence outside the home (and intrusion into it‚ through bricks thrown or petitions delivered) lends a thick feeling o
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Shadows of Fear: The Lesser of Two (1.7, Thames, 1971)
"You don't understand, do you, you never did. People round here -"
"People! People are stupid."
"No, they're not, they're ordinary, they're just simple people."
#shadows of fear#the lesser of two#1971#single play#horror tv#classic tv#kim mills#john kershaw#godfrey quigley#margery mason#geoffrey hughes#elizabeth burger#dorothea phillips#john rolfe#thames#a return to form for the series with an impressively cerebral treatment of a minor plot. Quigley‚ it is revealed (very slowly) is a newly#released convicted killer (of a 'girl' we learn; no more detail is offered‚ allowing the mind to fill in all sorts of horrible details)#he returns to his home and his family but is entirely unwelcome. the local community unite to make it clear that he must leave. that's#about all there is to the story‚ but Kershaw's treatment is very mature‚ almost courageous. Quigley maintains his innocence but is believed#by nobody‚ except perhaps (perhaps) Mason as his uncertain wife. slowly tho‚ Kershaw makes clear that innocent or not‚ the real horror here#is the mindless prejudice of the community Quigley once belonged to. largely unseen (still a budget production remember) they form a#faceless mob‚ whose presence outside the home (and intrusion into it‚ through bricks thrown or petitions delivered) lends a thick feeling o#unease as the play wears on. the couple's son (a young Hughes) is resolutely with the mob‚ even going so far as to arrange a shady set up#which could mean death for his estranged father. it's important to note though that Quigley isn't entirely sympathetic‚ nor is his guilt#of the crime entirely in question; rather it's irrelevant to the particular situation being explored‚ and actually the play is all the#stronger for muddying those waters and keeping the viewers sympathies in flux. it's a challenging‚ fascinating piece of writing#and well met by a cast of seasoned and always very strong (but never hugely successful) actors#Mason and Quigley in particular carry the play in their unbearably tense reacquaintance in the early scenes
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