Television Anthologies: The Frighteners

Years: 1972-1973
Broadcaster: ITV
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror
Written by: Eric Coltart, Andrew Newman, Robert Holles,
Mike Hodges, Brian Phelan, Jacques Gillies, John Burke,
Douglas Livingstone, Peter Collings, Wilfred Greatorex,
William Trevor, Maurice Edelman, David Hodson
Episodes: 13
Episode Average: 6.462

BEST EPISODES:
Bed and Breakfast (1972), Miss Mouse (1972)

THE
FRIGHTENERS

(1972)
13 episodes
Series Score: 84
Episode Average: 6.46
Perfect 10's: 0

EPISODE 1

THE MINDER

Originally broadcast: 7 July 1972
Directed by: James Goddard
Written by: Eric Coltart

BENDER
(Tom Bell)

CYRIL
(Kenneth J. Warren)

RONNIE
(Warren Clarke)

PORTER
(Brian Glover)

A gangster's sprung from prison while he's at hospital with a broken leg, questions are asked about someone who has been slagging him off, and his minder tries to hide both an injury and the truth about the situation.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 5

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EPISODE 2

NIGHT OF THE STAG

Originally broadcast: 14 July 1972
Directed by: John Reardon
Written by: Andrew Newman

GINNY
(Jennie Linden)

MIKE
(Robin Ellis)

CAROLINE
(Vivienne Chandler)

DAVID
(Prentis Hancock)

A woman takes it badly when her boyfriend dumps her on his stag night,
talk turns to why he's decided to start a family with somebody else, and her desperate plea to spend the night together sees them head upstairs.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 3

OLD COMRADES

Originally broadcast: 21 July 1972
Directed by: John Reardon
Written by: Robert Holles

RUTHERFORD
(Robert Urquhart)

WOOD
(John Thaw)

LEGGETT
(George Innes)

An ex-Army Major is unexpectedly reunited with two of his old comrades, his visitors remind him about why they were sent to the glasshouse, and some important facts missed in the court-martial are acted out in detail.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 4

THE MANIPULATORS

Originally broadcast: 28 July 1972
Directed by: Mike Hodges
Written by: Mike Hodges

IRVING SOKOLOSKY
(Stanley Lebor)

MARTY SMITH
(Brian Grellis)

ADRIAN WILLS
(Bryan Marshall)

DAVID STANLEY
(David Sands)

FRANK MANCHA
(David Healy)

PAT STANLEY
(Kara Wilson)

A surveillance team monitor a student as they test him for a clerical job, news that his wife is cheating leaves him on the edge of total breakdown, and a decision is made to deliver one final letter before pulling the plug.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 5

THE DISAPPEARING MAN

Originally broadcast: 4 August 1972
Directed by: Henri Safran
Written by: Brian Phelan

HARRY
(Victor Maddern)

VIOLET
(Avis Bunnage)

THE GUVNOR
(Ray Smith)

TED
(Ronald Hackett)

POLICE INSPECTOR
(John Ringham)

JENNY DAVIS
(Margo Cunningham)

COUNCIL CLERK
(Reginald Barrett)

PRAM MAN
(Talfryn Thomas)

BARMAN
(Mark Moss)

SHOP ASSISTANT
(Dorothea Phillips)

POLICEMEN
(Richardson Morgan & Leslie Schofield)

A man thinks that he's being ignored in life because nobody can see him, a visit to the local housing office reveals that he disappeared in 1952, and talking to someone about the problem suggests a need for drastic action.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 6

FIRING SQUAD

Originally broadcast: 11 August 1972
Directed by: Henri Safran
Written by: Jacques Gillies

COLONEL SOUTE
(Rudolph Walker)

PITT
(Edward Brayshaw)

MR. MARSHALL
(Earl Cameron)

BANCROFT
(Michael Craig)

SHARON
(Gloria Connell)

SULLIVAN
(Alfred Bell)

DAVID
(Jason Kemp)

JACKO
(Dan Meaden)

WATCHMAN
(Verne Morgan)

An African dictator sends word that a mercenary is returning to the UK,
the colleagues he betrayed gather to welcome him home at the airport, and questions are asked about £12,000 that is missing from his luggage.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 7

MISS MOUSE

Originally broadcast: 25 August 1972
Directed by: John Reardon
Written by: John Burke

LUCILLE
(Alison Fiske)

ARTHUR
(John Normington)

MATTHEW
(Matthew Ashman)

MISS COBB
(Heather Canning)

MRS. COBB
(Madoline Thomas)

A woman taunts her dull husband when they return home from a party, talk of her leaving with another man sees him strangle her to death, and the babysitter explains how she heard it all on the baby alarm speaker.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 8

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EPISODE 8

THE TREAT

Originally broadcast: 1 September 1972
Directed by: Gareth Davies
Written by: Douglas Livingstone

GORDON
(Ian Holm)

LESLIE
(Leslie French)

CYRIL
(Liam Redmond)

HENRY
(John Barrett)

A nurse takes three retired old soldiers out for a day in the countryside, finding a scarf hanging in a tree attracts an unexpectedly angry reaction, and two of the men are sent off to hide when they decide to play a game.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 9

BED AND BREAKFAST

Originally broadcast: 8 September 1972
Directed by: David Askey
Written by: Peter Collings

ANTHONY ASHWORTH
(Ian Hendry)

OLIVE ASHWORTH
(Wendy Gifford)

FRED CARTWRIGHT
(John Welsh)

DAISY CARTWRIGHT
(Gabrielle Daye)

CHAUFFEUR
(Roy Boyd)

THE OLD MAN
(Harry Douglas)

A couple demand a room after putting a b&b sign up at a private house, the retired occupants are given reason to regret an act of kindness, and an insistent chauffeur arrives at the door with another unwanted guest.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 9

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EPISODE 10

YOU REMIND ME OF SOMEONE

Originally broadcast: 23 September 1972
Directed by: Cyril Coke
Written by: Wilfred Greatorex

MAN
(Jack Hedley)

DRIVER
(Barry Jackson)

SECOND DRIVER
(Godfrey James)

POLICEMAN
(John Malcolm)

HUSBAND
(Frank Mills)

WIFE
(Valerie Bell)

A man lets himself into a parked truck and demands a lift to Sunderland, the police find his wife dead after a nosy neighbour raises the alarm, and things turn awkward when the hitchhiker claims to recognise the driver.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 11

THE CLASSROOM

Originally broadcast: 13 May 1973
Directed by: Graham Evans
Written by: William Trevor

MISS SMITH
(Patience Collier)

MACHEN
(Clive Swift)

MR. EDMUNDS
(Joe Ritchie)

MACHEN AS A CHILD
(Graham Smith)

A man goes to see his old schoolteacher on the night of her retirement, the former pupil claims that her hatred caused him lasting damage, and the woman takes control of the classroom after she's told to kill herself.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 12

GLAD TO BE OF HELP

Originally broadcast: 20 May 1973
Directed by: David Reid
Written by: Maurice Edelman

BOB BLAW
(Joe Lynch)

JOHN STANDING
(Tony Wardle)

MRS. BLAKELY
(Valerie Lush)

BILL HENLEY
(Clifford Cox)

MRS. BLAW
(Eve Pearce)

BARMAID
(Valerie Minifie)

WOMAN & MAN
(Shelagh Wilcocks & Bert Palmer)

An ex-boxer asks his MP to look at paperwork for a compensation case, the man reveals how his son's behaviour led to treatment for psychosis, and the mood changes as he tells of how the boy was strangled to death.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 13

HAVE A NICE TIME AT THE ZOO, DARLING

Originally broadcast: 3 June 1973
Directed by: Henri Safran
Written by: David Hodson

THE MAN
(Geoffrey Bayldon)

RUTH
(Gillian Bailey)

ELIZABETH
(Helen Lindsay)

ELIZABETH'S MOTHER
(Elsie Wagstaff)

CAROL
(Amanda Humby)

A man follows a thirteen-year-old girl when she goes to Chessington Zoo, news that he has been watching her doesn't seem to overly concern her, and a comment about her beauty sees the strangers sit down for a chat.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6