Time For Murder (1985/Acorn Media DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B-
One of
the last serious attempts at an anthology show after the huge success of Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected
was Time For Murder, a 1985 series
launch that only produced six shows.
Each one was written by a different Mystery genre writer and for the
most part, these are very good, so why it did not continue is the one mystery
that will go unsolved. The six shows
are:
1)
Bright Smiler by Fay Weldon, starring Renée Asherton, Jeremy Nicholas, Jackie
Smith-Wood, Emma Watson and Jane Asher in a story about revenge at a massage
parlor.
2)
The Murders At Lynch Cross by Frances Galleymore, starring Jill Bennett, Joanna
David, Barbara Jefford, Sylvia Syms and Alan MacNaughtan in a story about
guests being murdered at a snowbound hotel.
3)
Mister Clay, Mister Clay by Antonia Fraser, starring Ian Ogilvy, Aden Gilbert,
Joan Hickson, Edward Hardwicke, Eleanor Bron and Charles Kay about a killer on
the loose at a strict prep school.
4)
This Lightning Always Strikes Twice by Michael Robinson, starring
Charles Dance, Amanda Root, Claire Bloom, Julia Goodman and Trevor Howard about
a tudor who uncovers a dysfunctional family about to explode.
5)
The Thirteen Days Of Christmas by Gordon Honeycombe, starring Patrick Allen,
Elizabeth Spriggs, John Wheatley, James Bree and Rhoda Lewis about a son who
has come back home form a mental hospital just in time for the holidays.
6)
Dust To Dust by Charles Wood, starring Patricia Hodge, Michael Jayston, William
Simons, Judy Campbell, Alan David, Susan Curnow and Andy Abrahams about a
deadly dating ad placer and her hunt for victims.
Those are
strong casts, something that will even be more obvious to those in the U.K.,
where these stars are under seen in The States (i.e., the U.S.) among other
things. Fortunately, the teleplays are
able to back up the various story ideas and plots. If you like mystery and suspense stories with
real richness and depth, Time For Murder
is more than worth your time. I was very
pleasantly surprised.
The 1.33
X 1 image is softer than it should be throughout for a later PAL analog taping,
but it is still shot nicely. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 sound is better with the mono slightly boosted, though there are
still audio flaws. The only extras are
text cast filmographies.
- Nicholas Sheffo
