After walking the family dog Blue I watched an omnibus of Tales of the Unexpected early doors this morning. It was on the telly. So strange to see it again, those quirky Roald Dahl morality tales. Oddly enough I'm reading a set of his short stories at the mo called Kiss Kiss, which is unexpectedly old-fashioned in a way and I understand formed the basis of some of the 'Tales'.
Anyways, the first tale this morning starred Shane Rimmer no less. Yep, Scott Tracy's voice in a salutary account of psychopathy across the decades, not unlike something you might find in an EC comic but without the grue. His victim is played by Cyd Hayman, a beautiful actress who I don't know at all but her TV credits feature everything from The Persuaders to Space 1999 to Jackanory!
Another Tale starred the ever-reliable George Sewell, well-known from Get Carter and playing Alec Freeman in UFO and one Bryan Marshall, who readers will know as the friendly Sergeant in Quatermass and the Pit or the corrupt Counsellor in The Long Good Friday. Again Dahl's pithy moralising seeps through again demonstrating that crime doesn't pay. Or at least in this one it didn't.
Yet another yarn dealing this time with the forgery of paintings starred Richard Johnson, who I remember in one of my favourite Sixties horror films, The Haunting. Checking IMDb he also featured in Space 1999 and a slew of other films and TV programs.
You can't watch Unexpected without wondering who the dancer is at the start. I had to look her up now we have Google. She's one Karen Standley and did the routine on her day off!
Were or are you a fan of the Tales of the Unexpected readers?
I was more familiar with the Journey into the unknown series, with that haunting whistled theme and what I assume was the Battersea Fun Fair at night. I'm glad Google is helping you with your investigations!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't ring a bell that series Looey. I will have to check it out and .... google it! ha ha
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