The Desperate People

Fans of Francis Durbridge (I include myself) will enjoy this deadpan mystery set in the Home Counties. Everyone is lying about something, nothing is what it seems, the clues mount up, inexplicable development follows inexplicable development (and not all are explained), in the course of which a fantastical plot is revealed that doesn't quite seem worth the villains' while to concoct. Several familiar faces - Dennis Quilley, Stanley Meadows, Barry Jackson, Shirley Cain - take it all very seriously. That Durbridge standard, the hotel in Maidenhead, plays a major role, and there is some historically interesting footage shot in the beautiful town of Arundel in Sussex. All very entertaining, and the low budget rather adds to the enjoyment. Later novelised, with a few minor changes - for example, Mrs Curtis is more of a shrinking violet in the novel than she is in this serial. To cap it all, there is Nigel Hawthorne playing the heavy. About as realistic as the Marat/Sade, but way more fun.

I have such a fondness for sixties crime dramas, especially anything from the pen of Francis Durbridge. The Desperate People is a clever, smart mystery that will have you baffled from start to finish, as it develops you wonder if everyone is lying, and what motives they'd have for doing so. A great set of characters, an intriguing mystery, and a list of suspects will fulfil the demands for many mystery fans. It is well acted, Dennis Quilley is particularly suave, very charismatic and a strong lead. Well supported by Renny Lister, Hugh Cross and Stanley Meadows, one of the best elements must be Nigel Hawthorne's Fletcher, he's great at playing a bad guy. Considering it was made back in 1963 it looks particularly good, the picture quality is good. The filming is as you'd expect, solid rather then stylish, as for the music I can't decide if it would have fitted into a Western or Doctor Who (Fans of the latter would recognise some of the music from the Hartnell era I'm sure,) but it's wonderful. Fantastic costumes, cars, shops etc, it's wonderfully nostalgic, a time passed by. I would recommend watching in stages, not all in one go, as the clues and twists are plentiful.