"Tales of the Unexpected" The Landlady (1979)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Herbert Wise

Writers:

Roald Dahl (writer)
Robin Chapman (dramatisation)

TV Series:

"Tales of the Unexpected" (1979)

Original Air Date:

21 April 1979 (Season 1, Episode 5)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Supernatural Power | Famous Opening Theme | Cult TV

Cast

Roald Dahl	...	Himself - Introduced by
Siobhan McKenna	...	The Landlady (as Siobhán McKenna)
Leonard Preston	...	Billy Weaver
Anthony Dawes	...	Clergyman
John Bryant	...	Mulholland
Jess Davies	...	Temple

Movie Connections:

Version of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Landlady (#6.19)" (1961)

Classic horror themed Tales of the Unexpected story.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Tales of the Unexpected: The Landlady starts as 18 year old insurance salesman William Weaver (Leonard Preston) arrives in the English town of Bath, there he sees a notice in the window of a house advertising 'Bed & Breakfast' & since he's looking for a place to stay a few nights he decides to check in there. The landlady (Siobhan McKenna) seems a little eccentric & strange but in a warm innocent way like a dotty old aunt & since the room & house is so nice William is more than happy. However as he signs the guest-book William notices that there are only two other signatures from several years ago, to his cost William discovers that his landlady has a dark secret along a unhealthy obsession with young men & taxidermy...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 5 from season 1 & originally aired here in the UK during April 1979, the first of nine Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Herbert Wise The Landlady is a classic tale when the show actually had a dark & sinister edge that was sadly lacking by the time it was canned. I personally put that down to Roald Dahl's brilliant writing skills & being able to turn a seeming innocent situation into something completely different & shocking, his short story The Landlady had already been adapted for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV anthology series back in 1961 before Robin Chapman dramatised it for us Brits here in the UK for this series. The Landlady is one of the few Tales of the Unexpected stories I have seen that I would describe as horror orientated, most are moral tales or crime dramas with a twist so it's a rare treat to see a horror based tale. The basic concept isn't particularly original but it's very effective here with a nice quick build up & an effectively satisfying & memorable twist at the end as the landlady's dark & morbid secret is revealed. At only 25 minutes long it zips along at a nice pace, the character's are good & overall I thought it was a creepy little tale from the show's golden period.

This one hasn't dated too badly at all & it has better than usual production values with nice sets. This is actually quite a creepy episode & therefore is one of the more memorable ones. During his introduction Dahl states that he finds this story funny & also says that if you think it's far fetched just stop & think about it for a minute because he claims it's perfectly feasible & could happen! I'm not sure about that but what I am sure about is there's another good cast here including a great batty performance by McKenna as the landlady.

The Landlady is a classic tales of the Unexpected story that has become one of my favourites & it's nice to see some proper horror for a change, well worth a watch for those interested in the bizarre.