#the explanation Marshall gives for Sewell's mysterious behaviour: his sister is in an interracial marriage and he suspects that the upper | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mariocki · 2 months ago

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Shadows of Fear: Repent at Leisure (1.5, Thames, 1971)

"Poor Robert. Do you remember what the doctor said? He'd never seen such an advanced cirrhosis in someone so young. He had a liver like a Strasbourg goose."

"Occupational hazard."

"How'd you think that made me feel? It isn't very flattering for a wife to play second fiddle to a wine list."

"I'm sure it was no reflection on you."

"All the same. I hardly changed the pattern of his life, did I?"

"No... but you're asking Harry to make fantastic adjustments. From galley to, uh, captain's table."

"You're a terrible snob, Peter."

"Oh, I am. So are you, my pet. That's what frightens me."

#shadows of fear #repent at leisure #single play #horror tv #classic tv #1971 #kim mills #roger marshall #elizabeth sellars #george sewell #alethea charlton #peter cellier #series producer Mills takes directing duties and would helm the lion's share of the series from this point on; shades of trouble behind the #scenes? or another budget constraint? pure guesswork of course; as i said in an earlier set of tags‚ there's precious little info out there #about the production of this series. writer Marshall would have known Mills well from their time together on Public Eye (an ongoing #collaboration in fact). Marshall had written the first episode of this series (or pilot as it probably was) and that's the episode this #most closely resembles; it's less consciously 'horror' telly than the previous few and much more in the way of social suspense #it also seems a little stretched thin‚ again like the pilot: the plot is an old ham‚ a wealthy widow marries a steward from a cruise ship #and the scene is set for class based conflict and the whiff of a plan to do away with the lady and inherit a fortune... so far so blah #BUT i will say this one actually has a fairly excellent twist; a twist on a twist perhaps‚ or an Untwist. you see (SPOILER) George Sewell's #working class husband is actually... exactly who he says he is. and the murder plot in Liz Sellars' mind is‚ indeed‚ just in her mind.#unpacking this hoary old plot in a realist manner (but still with the called for suspense) is a smart move‚ but particularly impressive is #the explanation Marshall gives for Sewell's mysterious behaviour: his sister is in an interracial marriage and he suspects that the upper #class Sellars is probably a racist who'd react badly. i haven't time to fully unspool that (why marry her‚ is the obvious question) but i #do think it's a scripting masterstroke: it instantly reconfigures our sympathies towards the characters‚ makes Liz not just foolish (for #suspecting a murder plot) but an unsympathetic antagonist. in a few lines in one scene we suddenly see both her and Sewell in completely #different lights‚ and our allegiances are instantly changed. from that point on the horror is not what might happen to her because of his #'evil'‚ but what might happen to him because of her ignorance and neuroses. it's clever! and makes for a play that's much more satisfying #in its second half

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