The Scent of Fear is set on an aircraft travelling from the Soviet Union to the UK. A man who is being hunted by the authorities stows away on the plane and convinces a stewardess to let him remain undetected on the flight. During the journey suspicions are raised, a situation made dangerous by the presence of some senior Soviet police personnel.
The subject was very politically relevant for the time, seeing as 1959 was the midst of the cold war. Its TV drama origins ensure that it is a dialogue-driven piece with little action. That said, it is quite tense at times and does operate as an effective political thriller. The characterisation is often stereotypical – especially in the cases of the male flight crew – but the two main leads, Dorothy Tutin (stewardess) and Anthony Quayle (Soviet colonel), are good in their roles and drive the drama. The resolution of the play ends with a surprise twist which I felt was unnecessarily convoluted and unrealistic. It was surprising at the very least but not especially well conceived. The style of the play in general is pretty naturalistic and the camera-work fairly fluid and makes the most of the basic aeroplane set that the story is almost wholly set in. Overall, this is a very worthwhile TV drama which makes the most of its limitations.
The subject was very politically relevant for the time, seeing as 1959 was the midst of the cold war. Its TV drama origins ensure that it is a dialogue-driven piece with little action. That said, it is quite tense at times and does operate as an effective political thriller. The characterisation is often stereotypical – especially in the cases of the male flight crew – but the two main leads, Dorothy Tutin (stewardess) and Anthony Quayle (Soviet colonel), are good in their roles and drive the drama. The resolution of the play ends with a surprise twist which I felt was unnecessarily convoluted and unrealistic. It was surprising at the very least but not especially well conceived. The style of the play in general is pretty naturalistic and the camera-work fairly fluid and makes the most of the basic aeroplane set that the story is almost wholly set in. Overall, this is a very worthwhile TV drama which makes the most of its limitations.
