The Party's Over - Episode 11, Wednesday 31st January 1973

The story…

Dr Carmichael tells John Parker that his wife Ethel will need special care because she has a serious heart condition. However John is having an affair with a young woman called Julie and sees Ethel’s condition as an opportunity to get rid of her and inherit her wealth. He doesn’t want to risk resorting to conventional murder so hatches upon the unusual plan of trying to scare her to death...

Frightening times in the cellar foe Ethel Parker (Suzanne Neve)

Review

Without question the most unusual episode of Shadows of Fear and one with a peculiar background. The previous episode Come Into my Parlour had aired as far back as March 1971. It’s unclear exactly when this one was produced but actress Suzanne Neve mentioned it in a newspaper interview on 7th February 1972 so it was certainly made at least a year before broadcast and the radical change in style suggests it was at least a few months - probably longer - after its predecessors. 

This episode was written for a half-hour slot (around twenty-five minutes of screen-time) but with its Edwardian period setting – very well recreated on-screen - and extensive (and skilful) use of incidental music it’s a striking contrast from the more austere look of its counterparts. The story editor was now George Markstein rather than John Kershaw. – the former was a very experienced story editor who had worked on shows such as The Prisoner and (another Thames show) Callan so he may have been brought-in to revamp the show although John Kershaw was by this time working on Public Eye so may have been unavailable. Although background to this episode and the future direction of the show is lacking the reduced running-time, new story editor and look of this episode do suggest that this was a de facto pilot for a relaunch, perhaps with a looser focus on the original darker style. This episode – whatever its merits – is one that really would fit better in a new or different anthology (in many ways akin to an episode of Tales of the Unexpected) or just as a standalone production.

That is not to deny that this certainly does have some good use of suspense and it does play on some everyday fears and issues. Various Shadows of Fear explored plots by a spouse (usually the husband) to kill their partner and issues of infidelity and doubts about one’s spouse are not uncommon. However these links are not really strong enough to make it a comfortable fit with the rest of the series. One of the aims of the series was to connect with everyday fears drawn out of everyday situations and it’s questionable how well a story set in the past can do this. Period settings had certainly been used in thrillers (often related to historical criminals such as Jack the Ripper) and - most of all - the horror genre. However the common horror focus on pagan villages, vampires, witches and ghost stories from distant times was far removed from the down-to-earth, non-supernatural focus of Shadows of Fear; equally a focus on historical serial killers wouldn’t particularly fit in a show where the villains were essentially ordinary people for whom killing was generally a one-off event, not a habitual practice. The focus on a villainous husband in high society was also at odds with the series focus on individuals from more accessible backgrounds. None of this is to deny that such thrillers, suspense and horror productions can work very well, just that they really belong in a different realm from a more realistic show as Shadows of Fear.

John Parker (Edward Fox) seems to comfort his wife but appearances are deceptive

Leaving that aside though it is a very engaging story although the premise of trying to scare someone to death is rather far-fetched and helps to make this what might seem a “quirky” or “offbeat” tale rather than a darkly-serious one. It also manages to provide not just one but two twists at the end. These are common in the thriller genre and are well-done here but again they were rare in Shadows of Fear which relied more closely on suspense rather than surprise.

As it transpired there were no more Shadows of Fear episodes in any format. When the episode did air it was in a graveyard 11.00-11.30 pm slot. While such a slot might be normal for repeats or imported shows it was rarely used for a new episode of a British-made drama or comedy and was a clear sign that the show was at the end of the road. It suggests that the future of the show had already been decided before broadcast - indeed probably long before it with the episode screened to "get it off the books" with no expectation of it going any further. While this last instalment was not the best it was still good viewing and it was a shame the series did not continue although it would have been even better had it retained the exceptional style of the first ten episodes.

TV Times listing for The Party's Over

Notes and final thoughts

It's possible that the producers Thames or the other ITV channels felt unhappy with the episode and the new style and therefore decided not to pursue it any further, Another possibility is that Thames had been unsuccessful in negotiations to get a favourable slot and without that there was no possibility of continuing. Suspense / thriller anthologies were common around the time and maybe the wider ITV network felt Thames had had their opportunity and it was time to look elsewhere.

The February 1972 article contains a remark that this episode was part of "American TV's Shadows of Fear series". On the surface an obvious error as it was made by a British company and there is no evidence it was ever shown in the USA. However it is just possible the new style had been part of an attempt to create a show with greater appeal to the USA and international markets more generally. Maybe if it had gained international sales it might have been recommissioned. Indeed two new anthology series came later that year - Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (Anglia) and Thriller (ATV). Two distinguishing features of these shows were their use of some American actors and their association with a star creative figure (Orson Welles and Brian Clemens for Thriller). Both these gave their shows much more international sales potential and therefore more chance of being commissioned. Thriller was in production at the time and the Orson Welles show may also have been in the pipeline so it may have been felt there was no room for a revamped Shadows of Fear or possibly the Orson Welles' show (aided by its shorter time-slot and frequent period settings similar to The Party's Over) was commissioned as it seemed a more viable option.