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Play for Today: Robin Redbreast

episode 1.9

UK 1970
produced by
Graeme MacDonald for BBC
directed by James MacTaggart
starring Anna Cropper, Andy Bradford, Freda Bamford, Bernard Hepton, Amanda Walker, Julian Holloway, Cyril Cross, Robin Wentworth
written by John Bowen

Play for Today

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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After a nasty break-up, urbanite Norah (Anna Cooper) moves to the country for a spell to get away from it all - and also because this country cottage she resides in is all she got out of the break-up ... without particularly wanting it, mind you, but now that she's got it, why not spend time there.

The villagers are a weird crop of people, like Norah's neighbour Fisher (Bernard Hepton), a supposedly learned man who has an opinion to everything, but hardly ever a solution, the karate-training simpleton Rob (Andy Bradford), who desparately tries to be Norah's friend and impress her with his knowledge about the German SS, or Norah's housekeeper Mrs Vigo (Freda Bramford), who has seemingly come out of nowhere, and who seems to know everything going on in Norah's life.

Eventually, Norah invites Rob over for dinner because he really makes an honest effort, but then he bores her to death, and she throws him out when he (rather innocently) suggests to get physical. But that night, a bird coming in through the chimney scares her senseless and she runs right into the arms of Rob ... and the two end up having sex - not a good thing, because earlier that day she has noticed all her contraceptives had been stolen. And sure enough, she gets pregnant. What's worse though is that several clues point to the fact that nothing about the other night had been an accident, that somebody deliberately sent the bird down the chimney, has seen to it that Rob just waited outside the door, and has of course stolen the contraceptives (they are returned later on).

Norah doesn't really want the child, but she can't bring herself to have an abortion either. The nearer the birth date comes though, the weirder the locals get, and it soon seems they need Norah's yet unborn for a pagan ritual. Norah wants to leave of course, but then her car breaks down, the bus won't stop for her, her phone's out of order, and her letters to the world outside the village are quietly confiscated. But what's worse is that Rob, who she thought being part of the game, doesn't only claim to not be in league with the villagers, he seems to be even more scared then her - and then Rob's gone all of a sudden, and Norah has to face the locals on their own turf ...

 

A well-done made-for-TV piece of rural horror - or folk horror if you may - that really profits from its script that's full or weird hints and uncertainties, rather than ever presenting the horror full-on, making it all the creepier in the process. On the downside of course, the direction is a bit on the stiff and stagey side, as was common for British TV productions from that era, plus the thing could have done with a few more outside sequences, but another plus is the great ensemble cast who really do their best to bring this one to life ... and succeed!

Many see this TV movie as a precursor to the much more prominent cult classic The Wicker Man - and while it was quite probably not an all direct influence, there is certainly a point to this claim ...

 

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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Thanks for watching !!!

 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!