The Exorcism - BBC Dead of Night

[@marcellasheridan269]

Atmospheric is a talent that is severely lacking in today’s and most likely the last 30 odd years of tv and silver screen. I love programs like this, they are the best..

[@cmasseylynch]

Aren't we lucky these days? These days we are shown Bake Off and Quiz Shows,thank heavens we don't have to watch intelligent,well acted plays that they had in the 1970s.

[@malcolmclements9254]

Absolutely, the crap we are offered now. Don't watch modern TV anymore.

[@JensLarsson-vi5py]

So true 😊

[@lauraclark1520]

Ha, ha. Absolutely 😂 I have almost given up on terrestrial TV, that's why I have to resort to watching good TV on KZbin.

[@cmasseylynch]

@@lauraclark1520 I know - i look at bbc i player on saturday - and its top of the pops and two pints of lager all evening - for hours on end - no joke - what happened?

[@cmasseylynch]

nspector Hornleigh Goes to It 1941 - Classic Comedy Filmkzbin.info/www/bejne/r3XIlGuKg8enbas

[@malcolmclements9254]

Clive Swift was an amazing actor, he was the heart and soul of these ghost story's as well as his other roles, sadly missed.

[@johncarlisle6865]

Yes, he was great in 'A warning to the curious' & 'The stalls of Barchester cathedral'.

[@Art-b8y]

I always liked Clive Swift and enjoyed his roles.

[@1970sthrowback]

He was good in Frenzy as well. I'm sure he was in another horror film in the early 70s but can't remember what it was called, will have to search Ok got it - Deathline

[@rkc906]

This has got to be one of the greatest plays ever written for tv. I would love to see it performed on stage. The script n cast are just perfect. Sad to say they really dont make em like they used to!!

[@michaelwesley7985]

It's a classy,terrifying piece of work.

[@MeTheRob]

Really ? I found it lame , and the acting cringingly wooden. It probably passed for gritty realism or something when it was made. Posh luvvies doing emotions.

[@cjhards]

Upstairs,downstairs done this thing well. Imo this isn’t on that level.

[@heisntdoctorwho]

It has been performed on stage, and as I remember one of the actresses died suddenly in real life during the run. It’s still performed every so often in an-dram.

[@shireboundscribbles]

Some of the best actors of their age all together in a superb play that went completely under most people's radar.

[@margielyons6282]

The speech by the woman during her possession by the ghost of the unfortunate woman was heartrending. She gave a gripping and realistic performance.

[@tennkenobi]

Both male actors also had leading roles in M R James BBC ghost stories for Christmas... the Ash Tree and A Warning to the Curious. Both excellent.

[@incredibleflameboy]

Clive swift played Dr black in the stalls of barchester cathedral too. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a framing device to imply a shared continuity or not but both roles have the same name.

[@shireboundscribbles]

And Edward Petherbridge was in Casting the Runes too (the remake with Jan Francis).

[@tennkenobi]

@@shireboundscribbles YES! An ITV production I believe? Almost that time of the year again !

[@seansands424]

@@tennkenobi BBC 2 I remember watching it on there

[@ivorytower99]

EXCELLENT UPLOAD! These 4 are experienced acid trippers! Loved seeing a young Clive Swift.

[@eeddieedwards3890]

dropped some acid once...it burned a hole in the table.

[@Hologhoul]

Absolutely fantastic! Reminds me of my childhood and the atmosphere of the time. Brilliant drama and performances!

[@malcolmclements9254]

There's nothing like a scary ghost haunted house at Christmas.

[@plushy9849]

Wow, that was amazing! That monologue punched me in the heart. It's a shame there's not more of this kind of intelligent, meaningful dialogue around; you really have to dig for stuff like this.

[@realsteviem]

Thats because we are all being dumberd down, purposely!

[@lordElpus10]

Better than anything written now.

[@millionseller001]

Wish the BBC had kept more of these instead of rubbing them out in the 70s.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

Yes, frankly it was a national cultural crime committed. There were other equally good episodes of this series now gone forever, unless some smart and brave soul did copy them before wiping. :/

[@christinewhitfeld7939]

According to the subtitles, the cottage had nipples 3 feet high up the walks!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@realsteviem]

The UK was blessed with so much creative talent back in the 1970s. This, and Nigel Neales 'The Stone Tapes' is two of the best.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

The Stone Tape was actually intended to be the eighth episode of Dead of Night but they made it a standalone

[@realsteviem]

@ That’s interesting. There were some great episodes in that series, including the one titled ‘The Exorcism’.

[@alroulexe4996]

This is so good I'm pausing it to watch the 2nd half after MOTD, with lights off. The bit where he tastes blood instead of wine - really EERIE! The acting in this, from all four characters, is absolutely marvellous. That wine scene is brilliant.

[@barryroach1980]

I love Clive Swift and seeing him dressed like Fred off Scooby Doo is just great!!!

[@eeddieedwards3890]

Clive Swift was just "Keeping Up Appearances".🙂

[@realsteviem]

No. he was wearing the fashion of the Day!

[@SmartCookie2022]

A BBC ghost story with a political message aimed squarely at the middle-classes. Even the news item at the close hammered the message home, just in case you missed it. Apparently, the playwriter Don Taylor was passionate about politics and it shows. The play had some good ideas, but it felt a little needy for my own tastes.

[@deejaydubla]

Interesting to see Clive Swift in full-on leisure suit swinger mode.

[@HauntFreak13]

He was so sexy!

[@seansands424]

Edward Petherbridge was in the bbc sci, fi series Black 7 a few years afterwards

[@thedativecase9733]

He was adorable wasn't he!! Lovely actor whatever he was in.

[@SamuelBlack84]

Anything to get away from Hyacinth 😄

[@alexdavies1662]

THIS is the kind of television I long for - great actors, very good writing and something that to me is quite thought-provoking.

[@seansands424]

Have you seen the documentary J D sports warehouse how they treat the workers there, it is appalling, by the doc you can see how they want those day,s back again

[@jaycompany4886]

I agree, today's television is so boring and predictable

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

@@jaycompany4886 They don't know how to write dialogue anymore and compose a good story it's all just plodding along in circles now.

[@rentaghostokish5628]

This is actually a great philosophical inquiry into the reliability of empirical sense-based data and modern "rationalism". God, how I miss intelligent TV for educated adults...the 70s was a golden age for British TV.

[@twittykins]

It certainly was! TV today just doesn't seem as engaging as it used to be.

[@ajboox9988]

=rentaghost= What, is this how you entertain yourself? Writing pseudo-intellectual bafflegab to buffalo the bumble-chumps? Are we having fun yet?

[@dknytodd]

aj boox get over yourself!

[@ajboox9988]

=Die-Hag= Can't help you with that, since it's evident that I'm not the one with the problem.

[@robertforester-lake2849]

Well, the first part is verging on the intelligent and the tension is well done. Then - that laughable 'possession' what a load of socialist-dogma-inspired, melodramatic drivel. A shame.

[@stevethomas74]

45:36 The combination of that eerie music along with that 'reveal'? Just pure shiversome 70's TV nightmare fuel! 😳I look forward to watching the the others in this series. Thanks for the upload!

[@pattigracewillman4932]

Man! THis is an intense Ghost story! And one of the best intensely real acting ever played in a teleplay. Kudos to the actress.

[@kathleenw]

This is excellent, if you haven't listened to the radio version, please do, (The Exorcism, a Christmas Ghost Story) here we are treated to an astonishingly gut wrenchingly good performance by all but Susan Fleetwood as "Rachel" is unforgettable, a brilliant drama, I wish the calibre of this play both on TV and radio was easier to find these days, utterly utterly brilliant

[@williamgeorge2575]

I well remember watching this as a teenager in Christmas 1972. It obviously had a profound affect on me as it all seemed very familiar. Despite its rather dated appearance I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again nearly half a century later. Well worth tracking down! Many thanks. I look forward to watching the Stone Tapes.

[@realsteviem]

The same here. All though until now, I had never been able to find this anywhere, Ialways remembered the table scene with the blood/wine and fowl tasting food.

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

​@@realsteviem"fowl tasting food". Well turkey is a fowl.

[@seansands424]

@@realsteviem With me it is the dead woman with her kids lying on the bed with her mouth open

[@jilliandennis2576]

That was epic!!! The possessed characters story was so powerful, it had me in tears....it is what is happening now with the wealth gap ...i will watch this again and again...spellbinding.

[@seansands424]

Poor woman feel sorry for her

[@michaelmullin9540]

Same here

[@zacetto]

It regularly *ucks me off that the Beeb destroyed the remaining episodes of this superb series. The one I desperately wanted to see was about a world weary priest who gets trapped in his church at night and hounded by dead spirits. I heard it was the most frightening.

[@aburninglandfillofbadmovie2930]

It sounds like it might be based on the nikolai gogol story "The Viy", similar content.

[@zacetto]

Thanks so much for your answer that I will act upon. I neglected to say that on reflection, I think this was the final dramatised series of ‘Leap In The Dark’. The episode was near another called ‘Poor Jenny’. I remember this, as my parents never let me watch such fare, as I was only 9. I caught the afore mentioned episode by mistake. My friend watched them all and filled me in on other episodes.

[@bobpendlebury3733]

Had a virtually exact same experience in 1989 in Southsea...became trapped inside the house just days after my father had died...fortunately my brother Geoff managed to open the door....this was so bizarre!!!

[@vincentchavez2198]

I just love that somber/melancholic musical piece, I can't get enough of it! No wonder the harpsichord is my favorite instrument. The clavichord sounds almost the same as a harpsichord.

[@MeTheRob]

No it doesn't. A harpsichord is a clunking machine compared to a clavichord.

[@willmercury]

​@@MeTheRobYou're just spreading cheer wherever you go. Do you name your turds after yourself as you deposit them in the corner, and do you share their photos during the holidays?

[@JensLarsson-vi5py]

Really Great actors of the 70's ! Making a masterpiece of a great ghost story !

[@cathydoyle8804]

You have made my evening, Thank you so much for your hard work at finding these special gems!

[@twittykins]

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Have you seen The Stone Tape (1972) with Jane Asher? One of Nigel Kneale's best stories after Quatermass, it's a creepy one featuring computer based ghost hunting. It was originally episode seven of the 'Dead of Night' series which, thanks to the BBC.'s short sightedness, still has three missing episodes.

[@Villiago]

What an excellent series throughout, although I have to say my favourite episode was the episode entitled 'A Sobbing Woman.' Furthermore, it's a sad indictment of contemporary television that we are still watching these programmes that were written and recorded over forty years ago. Many thanks for the upload! Best wishes, Villiago.

[@irishking1414]

Villiago sobbing woman with Anna Massey was excellent

[@derby1884]

I remember watching the series when it was originally shown. One episode i remember included a haunted piano but appears to have been wiped from the archives. Most of the scenes took place in the middle of the night. Very eerie. Surely someone has a copy somewhere?

[@leenobody3249]

I prefer to think that it is testament to the brilliant writing and acting of yesteryear that we are still watching all these years later.

[@jameswatker9766]

“... Furthermore, it's a sad indictment of contemporary television that we are still watching these programmes...” Nope. You and the 7 other people who are watched this in 2020 were able to do so because the internet makes on demand repeat viewing easy. If it’s good it will get rewatched by someone. I imagine people will rewatching Inside No 9 or Black Mirror in years to come. But frankly your whole premise is a bit odd. People watch things made in the past. That’s how culture works. It’s not like readers in 1972 only read books published in 1972.

[@vincentchavez2198]

'A Sobbing Woman' was all psychological, it was all in her mind, nothing to it.

[@Gwalion]

Most enjoyable! great to see the wonderful Edward Petherbridge, such a fine actor.

[@johncarlisle6865]

I've just realised that he appeared in an adaptation of 'The Ash Tree', by M R James.

[@vintagebrew1057]

One of my favourite folk horror stories. Thanks.

[@mrjones29]

Great little chiller.

[@kevinisler7887]

I was somewhat impressed with the exocution of the movie/play. I like Clive from "Keeping up Apperances". However, when Anna Cropper, speaking as the previous incarnation, I was AMAZED with her acting delivery and how well written her part had been composed. She, made the character her own!

[@PitchSkullBlack]

Just watched this for the first time. Easily the scariest piece of television I have ever seen.

[@SavoirRare]

Kim Newman has said that this episode was one of the defining moments of his horror fandom and that it terrified him upon seeing it as a teenager.

[@nicholasforrester8587]

I was 10 years old in1972 . Great to see it all these years later.Thanks 😜

[@JensLarsson-vi5py]

This is, a max.'2 cuts of her performance "which should go down in history as the Masterpiece it is ✨✨ Grand performance by all these other greats , not to be unnoticed of course !

[@philversion1383]

Heard about the dead of night series years back and been meaning to seek them out. Amazing, no jump scares, no over the top dramatics and intelligent people actually trying to rationalise the situation their in. I love how the tension builds slowly, but doesn't go overdrive and also remains genuinely quite frightening in places, but without the need to try and make you jump. Thanks so much for uploading.

[@0_dearghealach_083]

Thank you for uploading this. It's better than some of the rubbish horror ya see in cinemas today!

[@BeeLZBeeb]

Always searching for gems like this, fantastic. It’s gone into my playlist and I’ll be watching the other episodes too if I can find them, thankyou!

[@robertb7918]

I watched this on TV in the seventies when I was 12. I was absolutely traumatised by it and went to sleep in my mother's bed at the end. I had my hand over my eyes at the end so I didn't see the one and only visual effect but in a way that made the monologue at the end more disturbing. When I found a copy of this and downloaded it about 10 years ago, the memory of it was still so powerful that I was apprehensive about re-watching it in the middle of the afternoon. When film makers only had the crudest of special effects, they actually had to put some effort into the dialogue and story. God forbid that anyone tries to do an updated remake of this.

[@peterbamforth6453]

Superb episode,Thank you for the upload. :}

[@davidwardrop9214]

Thank you Twittykins for uploading this.

[@Sunshine123x]

Never heard of these ! But love the old stuff such as the hammers . Thanks for upload will watch em

[@federico452]

Absolutely a good episode. all actors are so good i will watch all episodes

[@malcolmclements9254]

Clive Swift a legend. He was in all the ghostly stories before he met Hyacinth. Sadly gone now.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

She was probably his ultimate horror encounter...

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

​@@LarryFleetwood8675😅

[@ContentGramophone-tp9gw]

Cant think anything more horrific than socalisam

[@E-Kat]

@@ContentGramophone-tp9gwyet the cspitalism takes so much from socialism!

[@samanthavoltaire623]

Thanks so much for this! Wonderfully atmospheric...

[@derby1884]

The BBC radio version is equally atmospheric. More so, actually,.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

Good old wobbly 'dollhouse' sets, really did bring out the creepy factor more than filmed location work.

[@PaulyRob]

I saw the theatre play of this with Kate O'Mara, Norman Eshley, Vivien Heilbron, and Doug Fisher back in 1983......absolutely compelling.

[@elbados]

Really good. Thanx for the uploading.

[@dreamangus1505]

Ooofff this gave me tingles!!! It's much like an episode of Sapphire and Steel which also gives me tingles. Devastating ending!

[@seventhseal1000]

There's also a BBC radio version of this play which is twice the length & even creepier than this TV version.

[@Earnshawfully]

I think it is even better, too.

[@cathydoyle8804]

The bbc radio version is so good , it is very dark and creepy but this is just as good as you cant beat very good actors. Thanks so much for this brilliant classic British drama.

[@davidgrahambrown3793]

Yes, Kenneth Haig, Susan Littlewood, Sarah Kestleman and Norman Rodway, played the characters.

[@garybyng8020]

Yes - I listened to this a few weeks ago. Very creepy! Those sound effects towards the end and the music are chilling!

[@paulinebrooks3221]

I watched this when it was originally broadcast - and remembered the plot so vividly that I 'Googled' the main themes and found it had survived!! Some forty years this drama has been in my mind - excellent writing, socially relevant but subtle theme - made a tremendous impact on me then - so much so I remembered it well, despite now being in my late 70s. Perhaps someone should revisit this concept - its just as relevant today (sadly) as it was when it was first made (as long as it is a British production - Americans do not have the same history of Corn Laws and introducing the Industrial Revolution with all the social ills that went with it)

[@seansands424]

I all way,s remember this it has stuck in my mind since I first saw it

[@tinagarcia9009]

frightfully good, thank you for the upload.

[@KarrasBommer]

What an incredibly intelligent script for something written more than forty years ago. Mesmerizing.

[@Carusus1]

The original title was "An Exorcism", IIRC, based on a stage play of 1975 by Don Taylor. It was famous for the fact that Mary Ure died only hours after opening its run.

[@dsmsl9734]

This bbc drama was from 1972. Please enlighten us all as to how this was based on a play from 1975? I’m all ears…

[@thrashmetaldave]

​@dsmsl9734 don Taylor wrote and directed the tv episode but The Exorcism: A Play was originally published in 1981

[@jontaylor8157]

Hello. Playwright's son here. The title is and always has been The Exorcism. It was originally written for TV and then dad later adapted it for the stage. It was subsequently published by Samuel French.

[@Carusus1]

I am grateful to the son of the author for correcting my failing memory and pointing out the details., and to dsms for an acute observation. Some conundrum here. The Wiki article on Mary Ure states: "On Wednesday 2 April 1975, she appeared on the London stage with Honor Blackman, Ronald Hines and Brian Blessed in an adaptation of the teleplay The Exorcism and 'within hours of a triumphant opening [night]' was found dead". So in 1975 what was on stage was an adaptation of the 1972 TV play, and I got it the wrong way round. Apologies. That it was not published until 1981 is a separate question, I think. I used to have a copy, but can't find it. I have it on DVD (I think). That said, I found it highly original. It sent shivers down my spine and I looked out for other work by Don Taylor. (I also remember The Roses of Eyam.) I have edited the Wiki page on Mary Ure to indicate the author's name.

[@granny13ad33]

Quite wonderful! Very eerie. Excellent ending! Thank you very much!

[@richardwilsonavena]

This is onem of the most incredible things I have ever seen!

[@nobodynothing8206]

I had totally forgotten about this. watched it in the 70s as a kid & strangely enough i haven't been to a dinner party since.

[@robertforester-lake2849]

Oh dear.

[@tipthetube3219]

Wicked. Remember watching this alone on black n white portable set up in parents attic games room, age 12half curled up in armchair, scared witless, unable to move. Wasn't as brave as thought...

[@seansands424]

! remember watching it news year,s eve 1973 on a regentone black and white tv in the corner of the sitting room, I was 12

[@seansands424]

Remember watching this on our old black and white tv in the corner of the setting room before we had a solid state GCE colour tv

[@ObiwanKanoobi]

Thanks very much for this upload. I saw this on TV in the early 70's when I was 7 and I have been searching for it for ages. All I could remember was a TV play about dinner guests being trapped in a house, a guy trying to smash a window with a hammer, and a woman saying that 'the lights are probably blazing across the fields'. Every now and then I have looked on the Internet to find out what it was and today was the day I found it lol. TV plays and one off stories were so atmospheric and memorable back then.

[@SamuelBlack84]

It also exists as a radio play which is just as chilling and spooky and has a lot more extra scenes

[@gilesglossop5071]

I believe this has been described as a 'Marxist ghost story'; it's brilliantly written and acted and the bit about drinking blood is superbly disturbing, but I always thought the fate of the four characters was fairly undeserved. I mean, they are all chattering class, trendy lefty types in that particular early 70's way, but they're pretty harmless for all that. For the four of them to starve to death like the previous occupants a couple of hundred of years before was a bit rough. They were all a bit smug and probably only talked to the working class when they had some coal delivered, but to die in the twisted agony of hunger pangs seems a brutal retribution. Poor buggers, and on holiday too, and at Christmas.

[@SamuelBlack84]

The ghost of the previous owner no doubt despised the rich and saw them all in the same manner and ultimately wanted revenge. A proxy revenge, but retribution nonetheless What I've always found creepy is how all four of them were dead upstairs in total silence until someone found them Eyes and mouths wide open transfixed in expressions of unspeakable agony

[@rickykilby4672]

Loved this.Very creepy and atmospheric.I love clive swift.He also appeared as Dr.black In the bbc adaptation of MR James' whistle and I'll come to you,this was shown as part of their Ghost story for Christmas series

[@rickykilby4672]

Just realized my mistake it was a warning to the curious not whistle and I'll come to you oops

[@pattisimons5746]

@@rickykilby4672 The Dr. Black character was also in The Stalls of Barchester. Loved him.

[@malcolmclements9254]

A great ghost story for Christmas, when the BBC was the BBC before the walking dead took control.

[@euskadihelena3861]

muchas gracias por el excepcional aporte!! Son auténticas 'reliquias'!! saludos desde Euskadi (Basque Country)! 😉

[@esc_ow5939]

I saw this in the 1970s when I was a child...it chilled me and impressed me then and still impresses now. Although this is fairly heavily scripted, the writing is good and the performances are excellent. The title is misleading. As to the long speech that some have criticised, I find its content vital to the theme of selfishness and greed and champagne socialism. Thank you twittykins.

[@seansands424]

The woman lying dead on the bed with her mouth open

[@seansands424]

Sum,s up the middle class 70,s in a nut shell

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

@@seansands424 Yes, good old videotaped immediate TV drama that would often become spooky in itself just from the sparse production values alone. Love it, so atmospheric and by today's (lesser) standards seeming almost otherworldly. Shadows of Fear is another good series.

[@seansands424]

@@LarryFleetwood8675 Quality TV then got your moneys worth on like now

[@alexdavies1662]

A very enjoyable episode and quite disturbing, given the circumstances that the characters are in. I find the climax to be gripping and with a good twist.

[@taildragger53]

Oh no, it's Richard Bucket!! Hyacinth is scarier than this.But I love the retro look and feel..Thanks for uploading this gem.

[@carminum]

IT'S "BOUQUET" !!! Agree on Hyacinth...

[@taildragger53]

LOL..yes, absolutely...

[@lanfordripley7780]

"The Bucket residence, the lady of the house speaking."

[@tuttut3]

It's Bouquet

[@JohnJohn-qq1cw]

Yes Bouquet spelled bucket.

[@TheLydiaR]

Glorious seventies drama with top knotch actors!

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

Notch

[@paulbeland6709]

This is more succinct than the radio version, but both are riveting. A classic.

[@MrSnowdog73]

Great upload havnt seen this in years

[@tonystinkmetal]

excellent. spooky and skewers the comfort classes.

[@rentaghostokish5628]

of which you are a member. Hypocrite.

[@tonystinkmetal]

woo-hoo! you taught me a lesson. yes siree, they done taught you some fancy words at that there college!

[@briscoethecollie1510]

Sylvia Kay who played the Mum in Just Good Friends was actually a very attractive woman, incidentally, check out the Thriller episode, File it Under Fear with Jan Francis and Sergeant Wilson himself, John Le Mesurier, absolutely outstanding story and acting, nothing like it on TV now, well worth a check as it is on KZbin as well.

[@jasonhurd4379]

The actress at the clavichord was Nicky Paignton in The Jewel in the Crown.

[@cathydoyle8804]

What a beautiful ghost story , very interesting,pure witchcraft, they never left that cottage alive!

[@SamuelBlack84]

The creepiest scene is when it shows the rooms downstairs empty and silent while you can imagine all of them are lying dead upstairs

[@thedativecase9733]

Hyacinth Bucket's husband - in a former life!

[@chrisamadeus4647]

Loved this, proper actors with proper stories, I wish the BBC would look how good they were, it's vulgar all crap now....

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

Absolutely, so glad to have lived these TV times then.

[@FordZaphod23]

Great to see this for a second time. This series was available on DVD. Don't know if it still is but if so, recommend to order it legitimately, if you want to see more (as I did). Oh, and Anna Cropper was gorgeous!

[@BarleyC]

Thank you so much for posting! I've been searching for this - saw it when it originally aired - scared the heck out of me!

[@malcolmclements9254]

Kenneth Kendall the newsreader.

[@GaryBailey-hk4ex]

Now this is British T.V., what I grew up on were shows like this, Dr. Who, BRITISH COMEDIES, ARE YOU BEING SERVED, TO THE MANOR BORN, GOOD NEIGHBORS, MAY TO DECEMBER, MONTY PYTHON, BENNY HILL, AND LATER KEEPING UP APPEARANCES, FAWLTY TOWERS , FORGOT THAT ONE, VICAR OF DIBLEY, AS TIME GOES BY. SHOWS LIKE U.F.O., SPACE:1999, DR.WHO, BLAKES 7, CORONATION STREET, SHERLOCK HOLMES, MONARCH OF THE GLENS . NOW they have guys test running cars, doing there worst to them , hours and hours of nature shows interspersed with hours of Reruns of One of the Star Treks. BBC America at one time was an amazing channel, now it is a very small, small shadow of it's former self!!!🌩️⚡🍀🦉💚🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇮🇺🇸

[@steffanhoffmann]

After watching it I did a little research. A USA magazine said it's what British TV excel at. I tend to agree.

[@SamuelBlack84]

We used to at least

[@Petuniareally]

Nicholas Grace! Always a pleasure to see his acting.

[@barryroach1980]

at 18:20 a black figure walks behind the 2 characters and moves to the right, when they leave the fuse room they turn left and walk into where their wives are sitting......i have watched this play many times over many years but first time i have noticed this.

[@glennhoddle10]

Holy Crap! Well spotted indeed!

[@jamiewulfyr4607]

Goddamn.

[@susannahhunt100]

I thought the clock stopped at 5.30ish.

[@SamuelBlack84]

It's the camerman

[@michaelmolyneaux-swann]

Clive Swift presents a very strong case here for reviving the leisure suit/cravat combo.

[@lennisefuller5075]

😊A young Richard Buckets..Oops that's (Bouquet)....Splendid ❤

[@michaelwesley1937]

Masterpiece! Genuinely one of the scariest,most literate,most intelligent plays ever screened on UK television! I literally know Anna Cropper's astonishing monologue off by heart!

[@triddell]

The blonde woman (sorry I don’t know her name) was fantastic. She gave a wonderful performance. I love this episode.

[@malcolmclements9254]

If the phone is dead that's a worry, a big worry.

[@jez6208]

Loved it! Thank's ever so.

[@chocksoldier4376]

Cheers. Love this series

[@Sashapooch]

Kenneth Kendall, my goodness. Memories of this are very strong. I remembered the line, 'There is no such thing as total darkness, is there?'

[@michaelwesley1937]

Probably the scariest line in a tv play,ever!!

[@malcolmclements9254]

BBC 1972.

[@marbleman52]

My thinking on the 'exorcism' is this: The dead woman, talking thru the woman, talked about the privileged people having enough to eat, not caring about her and her children starving to death and even hanging her husband for stealing. The dead woman also charged the house to remember everything that happened to her & her family. Could there ever be atonement for the horror that she & her children had to go thru, she lamented..! Finally, 4 people come to the house for Christmas; 4 people of class and 'privilege', having a table full of food & drink ready for their leasure; one of the men even stating that they might as well enjoy their status as privileged Socialists & Marxists. The house remembered...and 'exorcised' these elitist & 'privileged' people from itself...making a little bit of atonement for the starvation of the woman, her children and the hanging of her husband for simply trying to find a litle bite of food for the family.

[@joyceduhaine2744]

marbleman52 - All one has to do is imagine the house with a face on it, like a Pixar film character or something, and then the title, and the story, makes perfect sense.~ I love those 70's BBC dramas that were filmed on video tape for interior shots (andneeded to be seen at least twice to understand everything). Now all the intelligent dramas are online only, as tv has become so moronic in America. Netflix and KZbin have become a godsend, at least for me. If only all those other episodes of Out of the Unknown, Menace, and Against the Crowd weren't wiped back in the late 70's... (Not to mention the hundreds of other great shows that have become pop culture ghosts) btw: i can't recommend the mid-70's series"Village Hall" highly enough, to anyone who'll listen!!

[@seansands424]

same today the poor get,s shit on

[@SamuelBlack84]

@@seansands424 I wonder what the world would be like if money no longer existed and wasn't needed anymore and everything in the world was free?

[@kimneilson3156]

Well dur.

[@susannahhunt100]

@@SamuelBlack84 We would all be fat.

[@FIONA21ful]

I haven't seen this one! I'm so glad I found it , Thank you for uploading these old gems.

[@seansands424]

Shame it is not the first cupie but a forth cupie that some body found, you can tell by it,s blurriness never the less it is still very good remember watching it when i was a 12 some time around christmas 1973 in the setting room at night on bbc2

[@videox222ify]

thanks for posting

[@twittykins]

I'm glad you liked it!

[@susannahhunt100]

I have seen this twice before. Brilliant .

[@chrisgreene2623]

There is also a version of this for Radio too

[@fevkin]

I was nineteen when this aired. Don't remember if I watched it back then but quite enjoyed it for the interior decor. That dress was something else. Nonsensical ending though

[@malcolmclements9254]

This reminds me of the Meaning of Life when they are all sitting in their country cottage having dinner and there's a knock on the door and the Grim Reaper is standing there. "Hello who are you..?" "DEATH" "Er... there's a Mr DEATH at the door."