Jan 18, 2024
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Ice House (BBC, 1978)
"Who are these people, the people here?"
"Guests. They saw our advertisement and came to us, as you did."
"You take no care of them."
"You do not see the care we take of them."
"Comparatively. Your care is all for me. You have given me individual attention."
"Well, you are the most recent. They have all been here some time."
#a ghost story for christmas#the ice house#1978#bbc#horror tv#single play#classic tv#john bowen#derek lister#john stride#elizabeth romilly#geoffrey burridge#david beames#gladys spencer#eirene beck#sam avent#dennis jennings#ronald mayer#rosemary hill#the last of the og series and generally regarded as the weakest entry; Gordon Clark had left the bbc to go freelance at this point and so#there existed no real continuity with the other plays at all by now (excepting producer Rosemary Hill). Bowen is a writer i admire a great#deal but I'm afraid i never entirely 'got' the ice house.. it's just a little.. obtuse? a vague sense of the uncanny‚ but perhaps too vague#it's also annoyingly obvious in places: Bowen sows subtle seeds of an unnatural attraction between siblings Burridge and Romilly and slowly#draws the comparison with the twin flowered vine in the story‚ but a subsequent scene of the two making out explicitly intercut with shots#of the vine feels almost offensively patronising. and yet by the end you're wishing it would spoonfeed‚ just a little‚ at least to explain#quite what's happening to John Stride's protagonist at the close. Stride's performance‚ incidentally‚ was a big disappointment when i first#watched this however many years ago; i thought him dull and listless. that's one area I've changed my mind completely‚ he's actually very#very good‚ giving a lovely subtle performance of a self assured‚ slightly blowhard middle aged business type who is very quietly#floundering on the inside. all three leads are very strong‚ and there is more to enjoy here than I remembered. but alas it is still#probably the weakest of the original run‚ and just lacks whatever effervescent quality makes the others into such singular successes