The Way Up to Heaven (19 May 1979)

Mrs. Foster has a plane to catch in order to visit her daughter and first grand-child. Her husband is an inveterate and somewhat sadistic dawdler, who appears to do it on purpose in order ... See full summary »

Director:

Simon Langton

Writers:

Roald Dahl, Ronald Harwood (dramatisation)

Stars:

Roald Dahl, Julie Harris, Roland Culver

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Roald Dahl	...	Himself - Introduced by
Julie Harris	...	Mrs. Foster
Roland Culver	...	Mr. Foster
Angus MacKay	...	Walker
Jeremy Longhurst	...	Car Driver
Anthony Bailey	...	Arthur
Julia Watson	...	Maid
Brian Capron	...	Airport Official
Dulcie Huston	...	Airline Hostess

Storyline

Mrs. Foster has a plane to catch in order to visit her daughter and first grand-child. Her husband is an inveterate and somewhat sadistic dawdler, who appears to do it on purpose in order to rile her. As a result she misses one plane but can catch the next flight in the morning. Mr. Foster attempts to slow her down again but when he is trapped in the lift she exacts a very final revenge on him.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1979 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglia Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Uit de wereld van Roald Dahl: Op weg naar de hemel (1975)

User Reviews

"What's wrong with combs may I ask?" Decent tale of the unexpected.

Tales of the Unexpected: The Way Up to Heaven starts as Alice Foster (Julie Harris) is due to catch a plane at Heathrow, a plane to New York so she can see her grandchild for the first time. Her husband (Roland Culver) is deliberately taking his time, stretching out every last thing he has to do because he knows his wife has an irrational fear of being late so much to the extent she becomes nervous & has muscle twitches. They get to Heathrow but the plane is cancelled because of fog but Alice is told she can catch the next flight the following morning, she goes back home to spend the night with her husband. The next morning & he's at it again, delaying & taking his time but when bad luck befalls him Alice decides to take her time...

Episode 9 from season 1 this Tales of the Unexpected story originally aired here in the UK during May 1979 & was the last story from the first season, the first of two Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Simon Langton this is quite a neat little tale that isn't the best from season 1 but is watchable in it's own right. The story by Roald Dahl had already been adapted for another anthology series Suspicion: The Way Up to Heaven (1958) before Ronald Harwood dramatised it for this show, the thing that stands out with these Tales of the Unexpected episodes based on stories by Dahl is the quaint, dark & fun situations & character's in them along with the obligatory twist at the end. In this one during his introduction Dahl speaks about how he always seems to have one person doing something horrible to another & that basic concept is what The Way Up to Heaven is about I suppose, at only 25 minutes it moves along at a nice pace has good character's, a neat story & a cool twist ending.

This one hasn't dated too badly & looks alright although that set which is meant to be the inside of Heathrow airport doesn't convince. This isn't scary, it's not exciting & it doesn't really have any tension either but as a stand alone story with a twist it's an entertaining way to pass 25 minutes.

The Way Up to heaven is a decent Tales of the Unexpected episode when the show knew how to make a tale with an unexpected twist, a must if you like the show & I'm sure many casual viewers would enjoy this too.