Never Come Back

The kindest thing I can say about `Never Come Back' is that it must be intended as homage to `The Thirty-nine Steps'. With its dashing leading man never more than half a step ahead of a suave but ruthless villain (a well-cast James Fox) in an exciting pursuit across England with a beautiful blonde so skeptical of our hero's innocence, and a baffling `maguffin' I was reminded at every cut and turn of John Buchan's classic Boy's Own Adventure novel.

Because Timothy Bateson is a handsome hero and the pace never slackens I intended to recommend you to see this if you haven't seen `The Thirty-nine Steps'. But instead I have to say that if you've never seen Hitchcock's classic from 1935 do so at the first opportunity. You have a treat in store!

Footnote: Interesting to see Martin Clunes, well-known British comedian from the hit TV series `Men Behaving Badly' in an early, straight role.

The handsome hero hack (Nathaniel Parker) finds himself taken up as the lover of a mysterious and detached young woman from a very elevated social class. From then on his luck changes - very much for the worse. Why, suddenly, is someone very nasty on his trail and trying to kill him?

Very reminiscent of Patrick Hamilton's viciousness and sordidness, this story instead reaches up into the top draw of society. Wonderful performances from James Fox mixing the extremely sinister with the apparently pleasant, and his upper class thug assistant, played with glove-like fit, by Martin Clunes; who both, expertly but amiably, just stop short of torturing our hero to death.

Superficially resembling the ripping yarn The 39 Steps, as already said Never Come Back has the entirely superior qualities of a Patrick Hamilton story. Furthermore it deals with themes which 70 years after the events are still not fully exposed to daylight.

The production and script are excellent and give an authentic period impression. All in all something of a landmark TV production.

never come back is well-written, well-acted, fast-paced and gripping. the period detail from the clothes and cars to the interiors is very well done. like the reviewer above, i can see a resemblance to the thirty nine steps but in no way is never come back a slavish copy or second best. it's not as famous, but just as good.