Shadows of Fear - Series Overview and Analysis

Shadows of Fear, the early 1970s Thames TV suspense / thriller anthology series, is sadly a little-known and largely neglected production but for me one of the very best British contributions to the genre. Individual blogs will look more closely at each episode but here is an overview of the series as a whole with some comments on its production background although unfortunately little is known about this.

In sharp contrast to later anthologies such as Thriller and Tales of the Unexpected, Shadows of Fear was not centred around the work of one particular writer / creator such as Brian Clemens or Roald Dahl. Numerous writers worked on the show and their backgrounds were very diverse but without any particular association with working within the broad thriller / suspense genre. While there may have been advantages in using writers, production crew and actors steeped in this genre it can lead to predictability and the use of more general writers, crew and performers probably helped in bringing a freshness of approach. In particular there seems to have been an attempt to generate suspense out of "ordinary" people and situations with nods to social realism. Writer and producer John Kershaw said the aim was "stories in which fear comes from ordinary, even everyday situations". In the same article he noted that it would be "difficult without resorting to death at the ciimax - death is after all the thing that people fear most" (Daily Mirror, 12.1.1971, p14). He stressed though the aim was to produce "suspense plays, not just murder stories". Therefore there is a noted absence of stories about serial killers, psychopaths or supernatural entities and none were set in mansions, castles or pagan villages as tends to be the case with many other works in the genre. Further excellent comments on the style of the series comes on the rear of the DVD released by Network in 2011 (bottom of page): "fear can visit us in many forms - perhaps most disturbingly when it stalks us in familiar or cherished surroundings... eleven plays in which every character has one thing in common - each has someone or something to fear". 

The opening titles also helped reinforce this theme. These were animated, largely monochrome titles depicting rows of bleak-looking houses and other equally bleak-looking neighbourhood scenes, ultimately with the door to one of the houses opening-up as if to herald the story to follow. The implication was that fear could lurk inside any of these seemingly-ordinary dwellings. All this was accompanied by the eerie, chilling theme music by prolific and versatile Roger Webb who wrote much excellent music for TV and film.

Rows of houses from the opening titles - in each fear may reside

The suspense / thriller genre can be linked to others such as horror, murder-mystery, police, detective, espionage / secret agent, military, superhero and more broadly action / adventure. While these are different in many ways they have the core similarity in stories based around overcoming a threat or villain, usually challenged by a hero or heroine (or heroic organisation). Broadly these are hero versus villain narratives or even tales of good versus evil or - less starkly "our side" versus "their side". Academics have termed these "mythic" texts or narratives as battles between heroes and villains or good versus bad are timeless. These mythic tales almost always end with the villain or threat being defeated and "good" triumphing. This may be at great cost with much tragedy on the way and there are commonly new villains, threats and plots to defeat in the next episode or story. However the basic story of threats being defeated remains.

Another stark image from the opening titles

This has certainly been a general feature of thrillers - at the end of the episode or film the villain is defeated, usually by the hero, sometimes arrested after a struggle but occasionally killed in a final conflict in which they are commonly trying to kill the hero / heroine or someone else. In this sense thrillers can be seen as "moral" genres because they show that crime and villainy does not pay - there is reassurance in seeing killers taken out of society and paying for their crimes (sometimes with their lives). However one of the most striking features of Shadows of Fear was the frequency with which episodes end just after a crime has been committed with the villain still at large. Of course it's possible - probable even - that most of the villains would later have been caught but at the point the stories ended they were still free. There wasn't the closure that typified stories in the thriller and mythic genres more generally. This was a bold departure from formula and a refreshing and realistic turn: villains can be difficult to apprehend and may get away with their actions for some time. Another advantage of this approach is it encourages viewers to speculate on what might have happened next in these narratives - would the offenders have evaded justice? If not how would they be caught and what would happen before that time?

Another realistic aspect was the way the show blurred the usual distinctions between heroes and villains or villains and victims. In one episode a victim of crime later exacts terrible revenge on the perpetrators - an avenging hero dispensing "natural justice" or a cruel, clinical vigilante? Meanwhile the original villains have themselves become victims but do they deserve sympathy? In a couple of other cases the offenders kill out of a sense of terror - a belief that they otherwise will be killed. One of these is almost certainly a tragic misunderstanding, the other has more justified cause for concern but in neither of these instances was the killer under immediate threat; they would struggle to argue self-defence in court and they would almost certainly be convicted of manslaughter if not murder. A couple of other episodes see an innocent person framed for a killing they did not commit. However even in these instances they are not simple victims - one has already been shown to be a feckless individual while the other tries to bargain with the real killer and offer his services to cover up the crime. The Shadows of Fear world is not a simple one of black-and-white, clear-cut heroes, villains and victims and shows a more complex picture of flawed and scared individuals, some of whom will do desperate things when cornered or put under pressure.

Another interesting and often under-explored outcome is covered in another episode. In this one the offender leaves the scene some time before the end having achieved what he wanted - there is no great climax in which he makes a violent and ultimately unsuccessful attempt at escape or is stopped at the brink from committing a final, terrible crime. At the end of the episode he has evaded justice. However as the remaining minutes on-screen make clear there is no "closure" for those he has targeted. They may not have been killed or seriously injured but they will have to deal with the trauma of their experience for years to come - maybe for the rest of their lives. This is a highly realistic outcome that tends to be brushed-over in crime dramas. Even being the victim of a "minor" crime can haunt the victim for long to come but those caught-up in life-threatening situations or who witness killing can face terrible trauma. In another episode the villain appears to have been defeated but comments by his intended victim indicate that his influence is far from over whether that is in terms of the terrible memory of his deeds or even his villainy having "passed on".

In terms of general production style the show was remarkable for its intensity. Casts were very small with only a handful of characters each episode and even then there was often a predominant focus on just two or three of them. With the exception of a few filmed scenes in The Death Watcher all the action was recorded on video-tape in the studio; there were a few shots set outside the places depicted but even these were generally tight shots of doorsteps and exteriors and recreated in the studio. While many shows in those days were studio-bound the show was unusual in the degree to which it was so profoundly studio-focused. Most episodes had no incidental music and this also can be seen as contributing further to realism and an austere atmosphere. The focus was very much on the writer, director and actors to create tension. This is certainly a big difference from Thriller which appeared a few years later and in which the incidental music of Laurie Johnson was a central element. This is certainly not to knock the use of such music in suspense and other shows (indeed when it is used in Shadows of Fear such as in Sugar and Spice it is used very well) but it is a bold move to avoid using it and it can contribute to a starker atmosphere. In another difference with Thriller there was no use of American guest stars but the British acting talent on show was certainly very impressive and given the small casts those actors got a lot of screen-time and dialogue to develop their characters.

These points essentially apply to the first ten episodes that aired from June 1970 and (the great majority) in early 1971. There was then a two year wait for the final episode in January 1973 - The Party's Over. This is a very untypical outing that has little in common with the rest of the series. This is not just because it was designed for a 30 minute slot and had a period setting but because it has a very different, generally lighter atmosphere and elaborate set design for an opulent Edwardian setting. Actually a good, entertaining episode on its own terms - and with some impressive use of suspense at times - it really would have fitted better into a different anthology or even as a one-off production in its own right. Information about its circumstances is lacking but it seems very likely that - like the first episode Did You Lock Up? - it was a pilot but this time for a potential relaunch of the show with a shorter running-time and maybe different production style. It was given a late-night slot which would have greatly limited its audience prospects and it's quite possible that the decision not to carry on had already been made before transmission although whether the producers felt the new format hadn't really worked or it was unsuccessful in getting the better slot required isn't known. As it transpired there were no more and the show ended with the unusual number of eleven episodes - ten in original style and the final untypical one.

Overall I consider six of these eleven episodes to be excellent and all the others are good outings which have their merits, including The Party's Over although it is a shame that more were not made in the original style of the opening ten. Fortunately the show is readily and cheaply available on DVD and has received screenings from Talking Pictures TV and is certainly well-worth checking out.

Front cover of the DVD released in 2011 by Network

Episode list (original broadcast dates in brackets). Broadcast times 9.00-10.00 pm except where noted:

1. Did You Lock Up? (17.6.1970, repeated on Thames only on 25.3.1971)

2. Sugar and Spice (12.1.1971)

3. At Occupier's Risk (19.1.1971)

4. The Death Watcher (26.1.1971)

5. Repent at Leisure (2.2.1971)

6. Return of Favours (9.2.1971, 8.50-9.50 pm)

7. The Lesser of Two (16.2.1971, 10.30-11.30 pm)

8. White Walls and Olive Green Carpets (23.2.1971)

9. Sour Grapes (2.3.1971)

10. Come Into My Parlour (9.3.1971, produced in black-and-white)

11. The Party's Over (31.1.1973, 11.00-11.30 pm)

Back cover of the DVD

Notes - possible production dates

Video Tape Recording (VTR) numbers can give an indication of production order for a series and are available for Shadows of Fear - normally episodes produced earlier in the year have the lowest VTR numbers. Using those numbers the order would seem to be as follows:

1. Did You Lock Up? 

2. Sugar and Spice

3. White Walls and Olive Green Carpets

4. The Death Watcher

5. Repent at Leisure

6. At Occupier's Risk

7. The Lesser of Two

8. Come Into My Parlour

9. Return of Favours

10. Sour Grapes

11. The Party's Over

All the fifty minute episodes seem to have been produced in 1970. The gap between episode 1 and episode 2 in both broadcast and VTR numbers with the first episode a probable pilot does suggest that Did You Lock Up? was produced well before the others. Given the impressive reception for episode 1 the others probably followed into production soon after, probably mid 1970. As episode 2 (Sugar and Spice) was written by producer John Kershaw and was in effect launching the series it is perhaps unsurprising if it went into production next. There is a gap in VTR numbers between The Lesser of Two and Come Into My Parlour which probably indicates a brief break in production.

There is a possible anomaly in the production order above as it seems almost certain that Come into My Parlour was the last of the fifty minute episodes produced - or at least the last in main production, This is because it is the only one in black-and-white which means it was made during the technicians strike which ran from November 1970 to February 1971. The two episodes that are listed as following would also have been in monochrome had they been produced later in 1970. It's possible Come into My Parlour was originally planned for earlier production but pushed back or maybe there was a little post-production work on the others which led to them having later VTR numbers. Come Into My Parlour most likely was produced in November 1970 just after the action started with production on Return of Favours and Sour Grapes probably in October..

What then happened is most uncertain. Ten episodes had been made at that point but series would usually run for at least thirteen. It's possible that the producers decided to pause the series at that time and either wait for colour production to resume (which might have happened quickly but in fact did not) or just to produce another series at another time. Other series continued in production throughout those months leading to numerous episodes in monochrome but given that Shadows of Fear didn't have any recurring cast there would have been fewer problems in halting production. If all this were the case production could potentially have resumed in March 1971 or very soon after but maybe an enforced break in production was used as an opportunity to rethink the series. 

it's not known exactly when the final episode - The Party's Over - was produced but lead actress Suzanne Neve mentioned her role in it in a Daily Mirror article on 7th February 1972 - almost a year before it appeared on-screen. It seems likeliest it was made in late 1971 but then held back for a long time, maybe while discussions over a potential new series were taking place and perhaps in the expectation that it would be shown in the same run as any other new episodes. As no others were made it was then transmitted as a late-night one-off in January 1973. 

Notes - music

The theme music by Roger Webb is now available to stream or purchase on services such as Amazon Music in long and short versions, both longer than the theme heard on the episodes. It is also available (including on 7 inch vinyl) from Trunk Music who released the tracks - more details here.