Shadows of Fear Episode 2 - Sugar and Spice (Tuesday 12th January 1971)

The story....

Anne Brand (Sheila Hancock) is an exasperated, demoralised wife and mother. The most obvious source of her frustration is her heavy-drinking, unreliable, unfaithful husband Vic (played by Ronald Hines) who has apparently ended an affair but she remains unconvinced. Her young son Michael has failed to return from school, something which his older sister Judy (Suzanne Togni) seems to know something about but isn't telling - but why?

Judy and her father at odds

Review 

Shadows of Fear had made its debut with a one-off episode Did You Lock Up? back in June 1970. Despite that the TV Times billed this as a "new series" and a Daily Mirror article previewing this episode stated that the predecessor had been a well-received pilot that "topped the ratings". This episode was written by series producer John Kershaw who - similar to Roger Marshall who wrote the opener - was more of a general TV writer rather than one steeped in the suspense genre. In another similarity with Roger Marshall, it should not be so surprising that he later worked extensively on the socially realistic fellow Thames series Public Eye and in its setting this is one of the most socially realistic episodes in Shadows of Fear even if it plunges into rather disturbing subject matter. Director Patrick Dromgoole contributes greatly to the unsettling ambience and he and Kershaw deserve great credit along with the actors for the results on-screen - one of many excellent outings in the show's short history and for me probably its best.

Almost the whole episode is occupied by the three characters of Anne, Vic and - most of all - Judy. All the scenes take place at night in the humble family home or on its doorstep (filmed in the studio rather than an exterior). This gives the setting a claustrophobia and intensity than isn't present on a more expansive production with many sets or outside filming. This could easily have been performed in the theatre. A dripping kitchen tap and a stagnant pool of washing-up (literal kitchen-sink drama!) help exemplify the humbleness of the setting and stand as a symbol or the deterioration of the household as a whole.

The title "Sugar and Spice" is certainly an ironic one. Anne and Vic's daughter Judy is anything but nice and while she does crack an occasional smile it always seems to be at someone else's expense. Her moodiness is something that many parents of teenagers will be all too familiar with but it's clear that problems run deeper than that. Judy is devious, sometimes defiant and certainly manipulative. One can understand why her parents find her so difficult to deal with. Her father calls her "a bully" in terms of her treatment of Michael and the way she responds to a neighbouring girl Mary suggests her unpleasant behaviour may not be confined to the family. However there are also a few moments when she shows a more vulnerable side - troubled and not just troubling. The viewer is left to speculate on how the family - especially Judy - has come to this and what she actually knows or is capable of doing.

The malevolent Judy (Suzanne Togni)

Experienced actors Sheila Hancock and Ronald Hines give strong accounts as the parents with Sheila giving a particular fine performance as the dispirited wife and mother. However the most memorable acting display is by Suzanne Togni as Judy. Before this she was largely best-known for appearing in visual, slapstick-style comedy such as one of the team in The Magnificent Six and a Half children's films (precursors to Here Come the Double Deckers) and Ronnie Barker's dialogue-free short film Futtock's End.) This role is far removed from such humour and she showed great potential as a dramatic actress here. However for whatever reason her screen career ended very shortly after this episode. This isn't so unusual for child / teenage actors but in this instance at least it seems unfortunate she wasn't seen in future productions.

There is an atmosphere of foreboding throughout given the disappearance of the family's son Michael which only his mother seems to take seriously. While it is possible that Michael may be somewhere safe and well, disturbing events most definitely do happen in the family home that evening and what compounds them even further is the reaction of those involved (including one of them in particular). Shadows of Fear also defied many of the suspense conventions in its endings and this is also seen here. It's a dark and troubling, even shocking conclusion typical of a series that didn't try to have everything neatly wrapped-up and the viewer is left to ponder what would have happened to the characters afterwards. An excellent offering but the series had many in store.

Notes

This is one of the few episodes that used some incidental library music including several pieces from the 1967 KPM album Tension and Suspense such as "Dread and Danger" and "Forewarning" (Syd Dale) and "Sixth Sense" (David Lindup). The music after the opening theme music by Roger Webb is "Empty Buildings A" by Don Banks from the Conroy album Drama-Tension.

The pop / rock group pictured in a magazine seen while Judy and Mary are talking is Shocking Blue, a Dutch band best-known in the UK for the song "Venus" which was later covered by Bananarama.