Thu 12 Oct 2023
A British TV Mystery Episode Review by Mike Tooney: THRILLER “The Double Kill” (1975).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[5] Comments
THRILLER “The Double Kill.” ITV, UK, First broadcast either on February 18 or April 19, 1975 Series 5, Episode 2, Number 31 of 43. Cast: Gary Collins (Hugh Briant), James Villiers, Peter Bowles (Superintendent Lucas), Stuart Wilson, Penelope Horner (Clarissa Briant), John Flanagan, Hilda Fenemore, Griffith Davies, Michael Stainton, Gordon Salkilld, Norman Mitchell, Paul Nicholson. Series creator: Brian Clemens (1931-2015). Writer: Brian Clemens. Director: Ian Fordyce (1931-1988). Currently streaming on Pluto TV and YouTube (see below).
Clarissa Briant has it all: a stately home in the country filled with valuable artwork (with more to come), the great wealth that such possessions betoken, and Hugh, her American husband, to share it with.
But Hugh seems more eager to share knowledge of Clarissa’s acquisitions with the world at large, especially at social occasions and even in the local pub to perfect strangers. He has become the incarnation of that old wartime adage about loose lips sinking ships, blabbing to one and all, for instance, about how their security systems are yet to be installed, puzzling behavior even for an American.
Sure enough, it isn’t long before a burglar has a go at those objets d’art gracing the walls and mantelpiece, only to get caught by Hugh in flagrante delicto. You’d think that Hugh has laid a trap and an unsuspecting bug has fallen into it — and you’d be right; but you’d be wrong in assuming Hugh is going to do the proper thing and turn the burglar in.
No, Hugh has big plans, and a common variety thief like this one just won’t do. Hugh needs someone who is willing to go much further than simply purloining stuff, someone with enough guts to go that extra step to murder . . . .
“The Double Kill” fits snugly in the “perfect crime” subgenre, two fine examples of which are Double Indemnity (1944) and Dial “M” for Murder (1954). Although it comes closer to the Hitchcock film, “The Double Kill” excels in plot twists, enough to make Dial “M” look as uncomplicated as a typical investigation with Encyclopedia Brown.
While Gary Collins (1938-2012) carries on the British tradition of importing American actors to boost international sales, he is very good here, veering from smug overconfidence to near desperation, his barely concealed anger and frustrations bubbling up from time to time. Although he appeared in a few movies, Collins spent most of his career on the small screen, starring, for example, in the Night Gallery spin-off series, The Sixth Sense (1972, 25 episodes). Along with another American, Donna Mills, he had the most repeat appearances (3) on Thriller.
Similarly, Penelope Horner (born 1939) performed in both movies and TV, retiring in 1986.
Another versatile actor who could handle drama and comedy equally well was Peter Bowles (1936-2022), the wily Superintendent Lucas, whose conduct during the investigation takes a surprising and almost Machiavellian turn.
October 13th, 2023 at 2:01 pm
The biggest name here amongst the cast and crew is Brian Clemens, who besides writing all of the stories in the THRILLER series, was heavily involved in the production end of THE AVENGERS (the one with Diana Rigg, not Iron Man).
I’ve watched enough of the THRILLER series to expect lots of twists and turns in the tale, though if you watch more than enough, you can start to earn to expect them in advance, if you know what I mean. No matter. They’re all good, and most if not all are on YouTube.
October 13th, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Clarifications:
– Thriller(GB) ran in the USA as part of ABC’s Wide World Of Entertainment, that network’s late-night grab bag from the ’70s.
ABC(US) couldn’t use the Thriller title due to a legal dustup with MCA-Universal regarding Boris Karloff’s ’60-’62 anthology; they ran the British shows with no overall title, giving main promotion to Brian Clemens as the head writer.
I’ve got the whole series on DVD.
– The Sixth Sense was not a spinoff from Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.
What Really Happened:
Night Gallery, with its various episode lengths, proved hard to assemble into a syndication package; so, MCA-Universal decided to mix-‘n’-match the NGs into half-hours, adding in Sixth Sense episodes (chopped into half-hours) to fatten the syndie package (Rod Serling was paid to make faux intros to the SSs, for matching purposes).
It’s all kind of complicated, actually …
October 13th, 2023 at 8:28 pm
I recall the THRILLER series from CBS Late Night, but recently have watched several on YouTube. The plots tend to have more than enough twists and the casts tend to be very good. Once in a while an episode proves darker than you expected.
October 14th, 2023 at 6:05 pm
This Thriller ran on the ABC network in late night.
These episodes were introduced by ABC staff announcer Fred Foy (The Lone Ranger):
“Tonight! An all-new mystery thriller by BRIAN CLEMENS!”
Fred Foy’s voice was unmistakable.
October 14th, 2023 at 8:50 pm
I once attended an Old Time Radio Convention Fred Foy was a guest for. Of course they had his do THE LONE RANGER intro. Chills? I should say so! That man had a voice no one would ever mistake.