Bat Out of Hell

This 5-part series from ancient black and white tv times popped up on YouTube recently so I viewed it all asap of course - have seen the gravel-voiced John Thaw in just about everything he ever did, oodles of his more famous roles we have on DVDs - Inspector Morse (sob) and The Sweeney (ha ha) in particular. Here I was shocked to see Mr. Thaw when a mere boy, with his usually curly, wiry hair parted and plastered down, always in a suit and tie, a middle manager (or as he puts it, a glorified errand boy) for a real estate company with a flawlessly glib answer for everything, well, just about everything, what about that airline ticket to Australia? Tireless Thaw has a boss, an older gent with a hot blonde wife who is not looking forward to vacationing in the south of France because her husband has selected such a cheap hotel for them. While they'll be vacationing, she is sending her mink in for repairs but - oops - what's this gold cigarette case with the Bat Out of Hell inscription doing in one of her pockets? And that candy woman with unsweetened malice on her mind? You'll just have to watch and see.

This 1966 mini-series for the BBC has been restored and its five episodes last two hours. Francis Durbridge (1912-1998) was one of the cleverest thriller writers. He is most famous for his character Paul Temple, Detective. Durbridge always comes up with more twists and turns and surprises than other writers. Here he does not disappoint. Dudley Foster brilliantly plays the dour police inspector who is trying to solve an impossible crime. The two plotters are Sylvia Sims and John Thaw, both very good. It is strange to see Thaw as a young man, so utterly different from the famous Inspector Morse which he later became. In this series, we have a dead man who comes to life, a dead man who then becomes dead, a schemer behind a schemer behind a schemer. And there is the mystery of what does 'Bat out of Hell' mean? It is inscribed on a woman's bracelet. Hard to figure. And then a woman who owns a sweet shop is murdered. Now why was that? Were her wine gums too strong? Or was her fudge not sweet enough? I doubt that anyone will figure this one out in advance, it is worse than a Rubik Cube.

Diana and Geoffrey have wealth but not happiness, his assistant Mark is carrying on with Diana, and the pair plot to kill Geoffrey. When Mark shoots him and goes the dispose of the body, he's gone, and a string of phone calls from beyond the grave begin.

I am a big fan of all things Francis Durbridge, and over the years his work has been adapted many times, Paul Temple and Melissa arguably the most famous works. Bat out of Hell is very typical of his style, with twists and turns galore. His work was popular all over the world. Surely it's time some of his books were remade.

John Thaw and Sylvia Syms are both particularly good, it's always nice e to see their early work. Thaw is loaded with charisma, Syms was very glamorous, and was always a fine actress.

Overall there is more than enough for whodunnit fans to keep them intrigued until the end, the red herrings do a good job in throwing you off the scent, maybe a bit slow for some, but overall I really enjoyed it.

7/10.