REVIEW: The Stone Tape (101 Films Limited Edition Bluray)

 

The Stone Tape was my gateway Kneale. I’d turned six years old a few months prior to its TV premiere on 25^th December 1972, so it was either this transmission or the repeat (2^nd October 1973) that it first lodged itself in my head. Like the spectre that haunts the cellar in the Kneale’s play this viewing engrained itself on my consciousness. As time passed, unlike the ghost in The Stone Tape, these images in my mind’s eye began to degrade until I could only recall abstract images or sounds; the dots that chase Jane Asher down a corridor and up the staircase and the piercing sounds. Oh, the sounds! An assault on my senses. The audio was the last of the memories to fade with only intangible smudges remaining.

A few decades later I was reacquainted with Kneale’s play having sourced a blurry VHS bootleg, several generations down from a master tape, that drifted in and out of monochrome and colour. It was good to see the production again, but it was not at a satisfactory viewing experience. The BFI finally released a copy to DVD a decade or so later and I gobbled up this truly Proustian experience, rekindling my interest in Kneale and his work, and starting me on the track to eventually writing a book on his series Beasts.

In 2022 (Kneale’s centenary birth year and fifty years since The Stone Tape was first broadcast) I introduced a screening of the production at my local independent cinema as part of their Halloween season. It was in the smaller screen, but to my surprise it sold out. As the play unspooled I watched the audience, a good mixture of both old and young punters, who were enraptured by Kneale’s technological ghost tale. Afterwards, a few people came to chat and I remember one couple in their late sixties or early seventies. They had watched the original broadcast as a newly married couple and had never forgotten it, and so when they saw the screening advertised they travelled over thirty miles to come and watch it together. It was part of their golden wedding anniversary celebrations. It made me marvel at the power of Kneale’s story.

Now we have a new release of the Stone Tape, on a new media format that has even more storage capacity (more than the research scientists of the play could ever conceive), in a brand new limited edition blu-ray from 101 Films. The disc is presented inside a chunky rigid box sleeve illustrated with new artwork.

There are three art cards with the cover design and two more illustrations inspired by the programme, a thirty two page booklet with new essays by Andy Murray and John Doran and a welcome reprint of the original camera script for the play. This comes complete with the studio production schedule and details of the shooting blocks. The cover of the script book is based on the degradation that can manifest when photocopies are made of photocopies which neatly calls back to one of the play's themes. Together with the bluray disc these all fit together with a satisfying snugness in the rigid box and are not plagued by being so crammed in that you struggle to get anything out of the box. This has been an issue with several recent boutique bluray releases recently. In summary the packaging is excellent.

The menu of the disc itself is simple and clearly laid out, backed with a suitably atonal snippet of the  Radiophonic Workshop soundtrack. If you wish you can leave Jill Greeley’s dying scream on a loop forever. The cover of the disc carries a warning that the production was shot on video tape and that viewers should approach the material with empathy. Whilst the upscaling does not work miracles it is perfectly well done considering the lower definition of the archive materials. Scenes with low levels of lighting perform well with none of the smearing seen on some other archive TV releases. The audio is also presented well with no issues, in fact it seems to have more clarity than before so you can enjoy all the shouty men sequences even more now.

Extras wise we have a documentary on the legacy of the production, Children of the Stone Tape [1] (42 minutes), which begins with a compilation of all the hums, drones and screams that make up the audio landscape of the drama. This ably demonstrates what an aurally unnerving and assaulting experience the Stone Tape is. The documentary is a traditional mixture of talking heads and clips from the drama being discussed. The scope of interviewees is excellent taking in Stephen Volk, Mark Gatiss, Andy Murray and Jane Asher among others. Peter Strickland and Matthew Graham appear and discuss the importance of sound both in the TV version and their own radio adaptation. Volk explores how Gill’s character in the play is the only one in tune with the odd events rather than the bull headed male characters. Kneale also positions the genders in a similar fashion in his TV series Beasts. One of my favourite interviewees is Glynis Jones, sound recordist and co-composer of the soundtrack on the production alongside Desmond Briscoe, who offers some fresh perspectives and information on the play. The documentary also attempts to decipher what the stone tape theory actually is and which came first – the play or the theory? Howard Ingham explores the development of this idea and highlights T C Lethbridge as a central figure whose ideas may have also influenced Kneale’s wider body of work.

Next is Out of Darkness: A Visionary Manxman where Andy Murray visits and explores the Isle of Man for the very first time. This is moodily and artily produced and provides viewers with not only a glimpse of the Kneale document archive (which is heavily referenced in my book), but also snippets of original audio interviews, some great insights from Murray and other material. It is a strangely haunting, but fitting tribute to the man. There are also two commentaries. The first is ported over from the original BFI release and features Kneale with critic Kim Newman. The second is a new commentary by Jon Dear (from the Bergcast podcast) and writer/filmmaker Sean Hogan. This is a much chattier affair full of detail and observations which flows much better than the original with Kneale and Newman.

The release is lovingly crafted and curated, making it an essential purchase for Nigel Kneale aficionados. All the Nigel Kneale fan wants for Christmas is for you to buy them this.

The Stone Tape is available to buy here: https://101-films-store.com/collections/black-label-limited-editions/products/the-stone-tape-1972-limited-edition

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[1] The title is a reference to the celebrated Folk Horror children’s TV series The Children of the Stones.

'Wait 'til he's hungry' - Nigel Kneale's BEASTS by Andrew Screen

This article was originally published on the now defunct Horrified website.

Mention the summer of 1976 to those who were around at the time and they may go all misty-eyed as they nostalgically recall the record-breaking heatwave that evaporated water supplies, cracked paving flags and melted roads.

They might even recall the swarms of seven-spotted ladybirds that ran riot around the country. It was THE event of the year. It was a landmark in their life. Not for me. That occurred after the weather had broken, during October and November when I was allowed to stay up late and watch the ITV series Nigel Kneale’s Beasts (1976). I’d pestered my mum for days beforehand, prompted by that week’s TV Times listing magazine giving the programme a hefty push with an interview feature with the series writer Nigel Kneale, called ‘The Great Utility Monster’, outlining the new programme.

I first became associated with the work of Nigel Kneale when I was allowed to stay up late on Christmas Day 1972 and watch The Stone Tape (UK, Peter Sasdy). I’d just turned five years old a few months earlier and so must have either been incredibly well behaved or extremely quiet that night – my mum often fell asleep in front of the telly. So the memory is a little hazy, more impressionistic than solid. I recalled images of Jane Asher being chased by a blob of light and someone falling down some stairs. The tone and feel of the production imprinted itself on me. What I did remember was the name of the man who wrote it and I scoured the TV listings in the hope of finding something else he had written. I had to wait for exactly one year before I got my next Nigel Kneale fix in the form of the Hammer film version of Quatermass and the Pit (Roy Ward Baker, 1967) shown on Christmas Day 1973. From then on I was a Kneale nut, borrowing books from the library in the hope of learning more about him.

Nigel Kneale’s Beasts had sprung from an episode of an earlier anthology series, Against the Crowd (1975), which had been produced by Nicholas Palmer for ATV. The series was defined by ATV publicity as featuring people, ‘who by circumstances or conviction find themselves opposed by all around them’ and featured scripts from Fay Weldon, Howard Schuman, Roger Marshall and Palmer himself. The dramas featured various stories about aspects of modern society including racism and children with disabilities, but Kneale’s contribution, ‘Murrain‘, was the only one with a supernatural theme to it.

Shot entirely on location in a remote Derbyshire village, ‘Murrain‘ was a tale of rural witchcraft with a young vet stumbling upon the persecution of an elderly woman, Mrs Clemson, by a group of local men. David Simeon, more known for his comedy roles, played the vet, Crich, with a sensitivity and conviction he should have been wider known for. He held his corner well against the acting heavyweights of Una Brandon Jones as Mrs Clemson and Bernard Lee as the leader of the witch hunt. The slow-burning plot allowed Kneale to explore the human condition from a myriad of perspectives as well as provide an ending that could delight or infuriate due to its inconclusiveness.

Kneale, recently having fallen out with the BBC, enjoyed the experience and so, along with Palmer floated the idea of a pure horror anthology to ATV. The idea would be to make a series of six one-hour dramas in which an animal of one kind or another would provide the story’s theme. ATV, with an eye on marking their 21st anniversary as an ITV franchise, quickly agreed and gave the go-ahead for the series to enter production. The completed series, Beasts by Nigel Kneale, was announced as part of ATV’s autumn season along with new family entertainment series The Muppet Show (Peter Harris, Philip Casson, 1976-81) and a live-action space adventure from Gerry Anderson, Space 1999 (1975-77). Sadly, despite the fanfare, Beasts suffered from not having a networked transmission resulting in some areas showing the episodes in a different order and on different evenings. To avoid confusion this article will look at the series in the order that it was made in.

The first episode before the cameras was ‘During Barty’s Party‘, overseen by the veteran theatre and TV director Don Taylor. He had established himself with a string of one-off plays at the BBC including A Suitable Case for Treatment (21st October 1962) which was later adapted into the film Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (Karel Reisz, 1966) starring David Warner. More recently he had written and directed the powerful horror play ‘The Exorcism‘ for the BBC horror anthology series Dead of Night (1972). Kneale’s script featured a middle-class couple coming under siege from a swarm of relentless rats in their rural home and would require capable actors for the demanding roles. With only two actors visible on the screen, Taylor realised he needed a pair of veteran actors who could handle the pressure of being the main focus of the drama for the majority of the running time. He chose Anthony Bate and Elisabeth Sellars.

It was a case of perfect casting. Sellars and Bate gave what are perhaps the most memorable and enduring performances of their lives which even prompted the usually curmudgeonly Nigel Kneale to heap praise on them: ‘Elizabeth Sellars, as the wife, gave the most terrifying performance I had ever seen. The moment when she realises what is going to happen, that they’re going to be devoured by a swarm of rats, she is so genuine in her fear – every time I see that now, looking at a tape, it curls me up. And I wrote it. The actor, also very good, was Anthony Bate.’(1) Kneale, who had envisioned a story similar to the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds (1963) delivered, together with Don Taylor, what is still one of the tensest episodes of television horror ever made achieved simply with sound effects and without a single rampaging rodent on show.

After the high of ‘During Barty’s Party‘ the series offered the most marmite of episodes in the form ‘Buddyboy‘, a ghost story featuring a phantom cetacean. There had been stories with ghostly animals before, but a dolphin haunting has to be unique. Apart from the left-field ghost in the episode, something just doesn’t quite gel with the story set in the opposing worlds of adult entertainment and performing dolphins. The cast included an early role for Martin Shaw as Dave, an utter shit of a man who can only relate to the world in purely transactional terms. This includes his relationship with the strange girl Lucy (Pamela Moiseiwitch) who had cared for the eponymous dead dolphin.

Also good value is Wolfe Morris, as the businessman Hubbard, who desperately wants to sell his dolphinarium to Dave to escape the ghostly presence of Buddyboy. His increasingly twitchy, sweaty and boggle-eyed performance goes to considerable lengths to convey his physical and mental breakdown before the curse is passed to the speculative porn baron Dave. Having seen this episode several times in preparation for my book on the series I can now appreciate some of the subtleties of the story into which Kneale works some nods to M.R. James. I can also appreciate that the bricolage of themes and influences makes this inaccessible for many – coupled with the fact that the episode does not feature one sympathetic character makes this the outlier of the series.

Kneale satirised Hammer horror films in the episode ‘The Dummy‘, having worked with the company several times previously. Bernard Horsfall gives an impressive performance as an actor known for his role inside a rubber monster suit who suffers a breakdown on set. He becomes the monster and goes on the rampage attacking cast and crew and trashing the set. The episode boasts the largest cast of all the series with many familiar faces and names enjoying the on-screen chaos. After killing a supporting actor and savagely clawing a policeman’s face, Horsfall graphically throttles to death his co-star who has become the new lover for his estranged wife. Kneale particularly liked the production, often citing it as one of his favourite episodes in interviews and it still manages to pack a punch with the modern viewer. It was certainly more entertaining and horrifying than anything Hammer was releasing at this point.

‘Special Offer‘ features the most special effects of the series as Pauline Quirke unleashes latent psychic powers in a local supermarket. The complex (for its time) special effects set up needed an extra day in the studio to achieve but the effort was worth it. Contemporary reviews could not see beyond the technical efforts on display and failed to pick up on the tremendous performance from Quirke as Noreen the teenager with the ‘power’. Often lazily dismissed as simply ‘Carrie in a supermarket’ the episode had actually been in development before Stephen King’s novel and the subsequent film adaptation. Kneale had originally pitched the storyline as an episode of the earlier ITV anthology show Orson Wells’ Great Mysteries (1973-74) and it was announced to be included in the first season. However, this never materialised and Kneale was able to develop his idea further for inclusion in Beasts.

‘What Big Eyes‘ is another odd fish of an episode and saw Kneale tackle the werewolf in a typically atypical way by going back to the root meaning of the term lycanthropy. The origin of the word can be traced back to ancient Greece and did not have any association with mythology at the time. It was actually a term for a neurological or psychological condition where sufferers believed that they could change into the form of an animal. Legendary scenery chewer Patrick Magee, with a much more subdued performance than normal, played a pet shop owner whose experiments on timberwolves comes to the attention of RSPCA officer Michael Kitchen.

Madge Ryan provides sterling support as Magee’s suppressed daughter whose emotions boil over in the puzzlingly ambiguous, but strangely emotional ending. The episode was promoted in the listings magazine TV Times which noted ‘Nigel Kneale suggests that the foggy borderline between wolves and people, the confusion arising therefrom, could be because in poor, primitive and over-crowded societies families put their surplus or retarded children out to die in forests or mountains. The hardy ones who managed to survive grew up wild and walking on all fours, so when they were found they were called wolf children. This gave rise to reflections like: ‘If wolves can bring up a human child perhaps they’re closer to us than we thought.’ As Kneale observes, lycanthropy, like politics is full of silliness.'(2)

The series ended with another stone-cold classic in the shape of ‘Baby‘. Jane Wymark, the daughter of the late actor Patrick Wymark of The Blood on Satan’s Claw (Piers Haggard, 1971) fame, played the wife of a vet portrayed by Simon McCorkindale who are renovating their cottage after moving to the countryside. While knocking down a wall they discover an ancient earthenware flask in a cavity that contains a malformed creature dried to a husk. This, of course, piques the interest of the vet. To say much more will spoil the immense feeling of lingering dread this episode musters. Some may find the ending of the episode dated primitive, or even laughable if they are unaccustomed to watching television drama of the period. If you can forgive the technical limitations of the time and commit yourself to the story then you will discover one of the scariest pieces of television drama ever produced.

For the past few years, I have been researching and writing about the series for my publication The Book of Beasts, which is an in-depth analysis of the series and the themes contained within it. The book, which has the blessing of Kneale’s estate, contains chapters on the making of each episode and Kneale’s play ‘Murrain‘, as well as details of the storylines for three unmade episodes. This is all thanks to access to Kneale’s file and papers about the series.

If you have never seen Nigel Kneale’s Beasts I urge you to rectify this as soon as you can. The series is a touchstone of folk horror and hauntology and has provided inspiration to many modern creators of horror entertainment.

Happy Birthday Book of Beasts!

Just over a year ago my study of the TV series Beasts was published by Headpress. Following an amazing book launch at the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, attended by Beasts actor Jane Wymark and Nigel Kneale experts Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray, reviews started to come in.

To mark the book's birthday I've collated some of the reviews below.

Rodd Lott reviewed the book for the website Flick Attack and noted "Screen doesn’t just dig; he excavates. Reading each chapter is like getting a DVD commentary so detailed — on-set information, post-airing reaction, every moment broadcast and each evolution from Kneale’s original script — it runs over the allotted time."
The full review can be found here: https://flickattack.com/2023/10/the-book-of-beasts/

Starburst's Martin Unsworth commented "Screen’s weighty book is the first and certainly most comprehensive writing on the 1976 series that’s ever been attempted... Each chapter is meticulously researched and, given Screen’s access to archive material, utterly fascinating."
The full review is here: https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-book-of-beasts/

Ben Rickett's from Curious British Telly admired the depth of research: "This is more than just a review of the series, this is a deep dive into the depths of the mechanics behind Beasts... a fascinating read and one which contains jaw-dropping levels of detail."
Full review located here: https://www.curiousbritishtelly.co.uk/2023/10/the-book-of-beasts-out-now.html

Andy Paciorek reviewed the book for the Folk Horror Revival website and Fortean Times magazine (Issue 447, August 2024): "As well as rigorously covering production tech-specs and post-production reaction, Screen’s book is the most interesting, inviting and entertaining commentary on the work of Nigel Kneale I’ve encountered. A great tribute to possibly Nigel Kneale’s most peculiar body of work."
Full review can be read here: https://folkhorrorrevival.com/2023/11/19/book-review-the-book-of-beasts-folklore-popular-culture-and-nigel-kneales-atv-horror-series-by-andrew-screen/

Adrian Smith reviewed the book for the Cinema Retro website and noted that "It’s an incredibly deep dive and one which will keep fans of the show, and of strange 1970s British television in general, thoroughly engrossed."
The full review is available here:

https://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/12442-BOOK-REVIEW-THE-BOOK-OF-BEASTS-BY-ANDREW-SCREEN-HEADPRESS.html

Stuart Carter, writing for Vector - The magazine of the British Science Fiction Association, said "I doubt you’ll find a more complete account of this series unless you were on set when each episode of Beasts was filmed... The Book of Beasts takes an exhaustive look at a particular era of Kneale’s work, and whether you’re a fan of either the man himself or simply the genre he largely operated within, I highly recommend it."
The full review can be read here

https://stupc.wordpress.com/2024/11/25/book-review-of-the-book-of-beasts-by-andrew-screen/

The book can be ordered directly from Headpress
https://headpress.com/product/the-book-of-beasts/

The Stone Tape to be released on Blu-ray

 Nigel Kneale's play The Stone Tape (1972) will be released by on Blu-ray by 101 Films on 9th December, 2024. The limited edition set will contain an array of extra features including a brand new documentary, Children of the Stone Tape, about the legacy of this landmark production. 

Other extras include Out of Darkness: A Visionary Manxman, a short film about Kneale, a brand new audio commentary with Jon Dear and Sean Hogan, limited edition rigid box packaging, art cards, script booklet and another booklet with new writing on the production by Andy Murray and John Doran.

The release will also have an archive audio commentary ported over from the original DVD release featuring Kim Newman and Nigel Kneale.

For further information  or to preorder the release visit
https://101-films-store.com/collections/black-label/products/the-stone-tape-1972-limited-edition

Remembering Beasts by Stephen McKenna (Editor, tpmckenna.co.uk)

 

T.P. McKenna was an actor well recognised for his diversity, but equally, his default was often as not men of intrigue and sinister purpose. For his appearance in 'Beasts' (Ep.6 Baby), though, he was cast as a garrulous country vet, overly fond of his whisky. His character, a likeable, but also buffoonish counterpoint to the encroaching fear and terror faced by mother-to-be, Jo (Jane Wymark).

He knew many such a character from his hometown of Mullagh in Co. Cavan, having observed his father eventually lever them out of the family pub long after closing time. When he bursts into song it is with an unpublished ditty by his father's father about a malingering employee who could only be relied on not to be where he was supposed to be. So much so, the townspeople all knew him as 'Micky [gone] Forever' (see below for the lyrics of the song).

His suggestion of the song was doubly useful. Firstly, there'd be no copyright or royalties issues from its use, and secondly, he was required to sustain the performance off-camera for almost five minutes as coverage for Jo's return to the kitchen, and a further encounter, or not, with her demon. At the end of the take he received a round of applause from the crew.

Only weeks before the recording of Baby, Jane Wymark had played T.P'.s daughter in the John Hopkins drama, Fathers and Families (BBC 1976), while in 1981, T.P. and Simon MacCorkindale would reunite, as father and son, in The Manions of America (1981) with Pierce Brosnan and Anthony Quayle.

© Stephen McKenna 2024

Micky Forever walked all over the land

He walked it all over, his stick in his hand

He walked it all night, and he walked it all day

Lookin' for the white cow that did go away

And when he came back, his master did say

'Where were you all night, where were you all day?'

I've been looking for the white cow that did go away.

'G'wan outta that and I'll give you your pay.'

T.P. and Elstree by Stephen McKenna (Editor, tpmckenna.co.uk)

 

For some thirteen years, T.P. had been making his way up to Elstree on a regular basis. Either turning left to Elstree Studios, for the likes of The Avengers, The Saint & Jason King, or right, to ATV, where'd he appear in about twelve productions including five Love Story's with Diana Coupland, Peter Bowles & Dennis Waterman, Father Brown with Kenneth More, and the Brian Clemens Thriller series.

That it was such busy and varied production centre ought to better celebrated. There was a hard working ethic, the staff taking their cue from the boss, Lew Grade. Although, he worked out of his London office he was known to be at his desk at eight every morning. His forte was commissioning and selling to America when he could. With a strong eye for talent, he employed the right people and left them to get on with the job.

T.P.'s association with Elstree, no matter a left or right turn, came to a dead end in 1977. No particular reason, but just how these things work out.  He did make one final visit, though, in 1988, but that was only to work in the car park of what had become BBC Elstree.

Fortunately, he hadn't fallen on hard times and been reduced to role of Attendant, peak cap, and all. Instead, the Doctor Who production The Greatest Show in the Galaxy which had been due to complete at BBC Television Centre was affected by an asbestos crisis when the required studios had to be shut down. The solution arrived at by the production managers was to re-erect the Big Top they'd used on location in Dorset at Elstree and that became their temporary studio. Its one drawback being the lack of sound proofing which meant frequent pauses as they were beneath the flightpath of the busy Elstree Aerodrome.

© Stephen McKenna 2024

Shelagh Fraser (Dorothy Pummery in Baby)

 

Shelagh Fraser was born as Sheila Mary Fraser on 25th November 1920 in Purley, Surrey. Fraser’s father, John Newton Mappin Fraser, worked for the jewellers Mappin and Webb and her younger sister was Moyra Fraser, a ballet dancer and actor who was best known for her role as Penny in the sitcom As Time Goes By. Despite a career which spanned over six decades Shelagh Fraser is best known for her role as Beru Lars, the doomed aunt of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977).

As a child Shelagh contracted spinal tuberculosis and was forced to lie flat in a specially extended invalid carriage for long periods of time in order to recover. She attended St Christopher’s School in Kingswood, Surrey, and earned a scholarship to a drama school attached to Croydon repertory theatre. It whilst at drama school that she made her first stage appearance in 1938. On graduating she undertook work at various theatre repertory companies throughout the country during the Second World War. She also made her mark as a dependable radio performer with a distinctive voice highly suited for audio drama. She was a valued member of the BBC Repertory Company, which under the direction of Val Gielgud, provided a pool of vocal talent for radio drama. She also wrote several plays for the stage and radio including Always Afternoon (1950) co-authored with Dido Milroy.

She made her West End debut in January 1944 in the role of Effie in The Dark Potential at the Q Theatre. The Stage noted “Shelagh Fraser, a most attractive Effie, offers youthful innocence with skill.[1]” Following her debut in March 1944 she played the role of the maid in the melodrama This Was a Woman at the Comedy Theatre. As a member of the Overture Players she then appeared in The Palm of Your Hand at the Connaught Theatre in Worthing during September 1944 whilst November and December saw her in the cast of a touring production of So Brief the Spring. This was followed with the role of Mabel Crumm in a touring production of Terence Rattigan’s While the Sun Shines in 1945 taking over from Brenda Bruce. Also in the cast was the actor Peter Cushing. For the remainder of the decade she was in constant demand and notched up credits which included Call Home the Heart at St James’s Theatre during April 1947. The Stage review singled out her performance: “Shelagh Fraser also gives a brilliantly assured little study[2]”.

Her screen debut came in 1944 with the small role of Millie in the film Welcome, Mr Washington (1944) and this was followed by a small supporting role as a girl in a guard’s van in the wartime drama I Live in Grosvenor Square (1945). More substantial, and her television debut, was the character Leila Arden in a BBC television adaptation of the Patrick Hamilton play Rope (5th January 1947). Just over a year later Alfred Hitchcock would make his own film version of the play starring James Stewart. Further film appearances for 1947 included an uncredited role in Meet Me at Dawn (1947) and the period drama The Master of Bankdam (1947) in the larger role of Alice France (credited as Shelagh Frazer).

She played Penelope MacRae in the short film Death in the Hand (1948), a horror tinged drama which sees a pianist reading the palms of passengers on a train and predicting their deaths. Soon the deaths start to actually happen. For the BBC she portrayed Miss Hooper in the feature length single drama London Wall (18th September 1948), a version of the play by John Van Druten. In cinemas she could be seen in the Victorian era drama Esther Waters AKA Sin of Esther Waters (1948) in the small role of Margaret. Fraser found herself front page news on 2nd August 1948 when the Daily Mirror newspaper carried a story regarding her pet dog, Lucius O’Grady, who strayed off the platform at Sloane Square underground station[3]. The dog caused chaos by holding up trains for an hour before it was coaxed out of the tunnels by underground staff.

Stage work was still her major form of employment as the decade ended. She appeared in the comedy thriller Madeline at the Q Theatre throughout January 1949 and followed this with productions at the New Lindsey Theatre including A Son of Heaven during May 1949 and S.S. Tenacity during June 1949. She also appeared in the play Judith, which she also wrote, at the Royal Artillery, Woolwich during September 1949. December saw her return to the Q Theatre in the play Call Home the Heart. Her only screen appearance for 1949 was for the film adaptation of H G Wells’ The History of Mr Polly (1949) in the role of Minnie Larkins. She had two film roles the following year – Ellen Foster in the thriller Your Witness AKA Eye Witness (1950), and an uncredited appearance in portmanteau drama Trio (1950). On TV she appeared in a BBC production of Rope (8th January 1950) recreating her role as Leila Arden. Always Afternoon, written by Dido Milroy from a story by Fraser, was produced at Theatre Royal, Brighton during July 1950. The play presented the dilemma of a woman who seeks refuge in marriage with an elderly man until her safety is threatened. The lead players were Ernest Thesiger and Margaret Johnston.

During summer 1952 Fraser played Lady Orreyed in The Second Mrs Tanqueray in a provincial theatre tour and, later, at the Haymarket Theatre in London’s West End. She would later reprise this role in the 1952 film version. Later in the year she co-wrote, along with Victor Becker, the play Home or Away as well as starring in the presented production at the New Theatre, Bromley. During August and September 1952 she was a cast member of the comedy The Wedding Ring. Back at the BBC she was cast as Kitty in the one-off drama Two For A Pair (9th October 1951) and appeared in 'Coming Out Party' (8th December 1951), the opening episode of the second season of The Inch Man, a forgotten BBC drama series featuring the adventures of a house detective in a London hotel. This was followed by the BBC Sunday Night Theatre production of 'No Smoking'” (16th March 1952) playing Sylvia. Her 1952 cinema roles included Myra Lorne in Salute the Toff AKA Brighthaven Express (1952) and the aforementioned The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1952). On television she appeared in the single BBC drama If This Be Error (11th November 1952) with a cast that also included Peter Cushing and Dandy Nichols.

Theatre work, such as portraying Hermione in The Private Life of Helen in a touring presentation during April / May 1953 and Drama at Inish during October / November 1953, occupied her time and she made no film or television appearances during this period. Along with Billy Thatcher she wrote Tai Lu Flies Abroad, which detailed the adventures of a magic Siamese cat, for Hullo There!, a weekly radio magazine programme for young listeners. Dorothy Gordon narrated the cat’s adventures and they proved so popular that the adventures also featured in their own children’s television series broadcast by the BBC between 1952 and 1954. Fraser, Thatcher and Dorothy Gordon narrated the tales with illustrations by Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone and musical accompaniment by Donald Swann. A series of books based on the feline’s adventures were published from 1955 onwards with Fraser and Thatcher adapting their own tales. Fraser returned to television in 1955 with the role of Emma Horton in the 'Fabian of Scotland Yard' episode The Lover’s Knot (27th April 1955) and a headlining role as Mary Kent opposite Kenneth More, as her husband Tony, in the comedy film Raising A Riot (1955).

The production company responsible for Fabian of Scotland Yard also produced The Adventures of the Big Man, a series based on the exploits of a public relations officer in a large London shop. Fraser appears as Ethel Henton in the episode 'Lady Killer' (30th July 1956). The Last Man to Hang? (1956) was a crime drama directed by Terence Fisher with Fraser seen as Mrs Bracket. Further up the cast list is future Beasts actor Elizabeth Sellars. Fraser also appeared in the BBC drama anthology series Television Playwright in the episode 'The Maitland Scandal' (13th May 1958) as Mrs Rigby. She followed this with the role as Constance in the film Son of Robin Hood (1958).

During 1959 she had a couple of television appearances which included her final BBC Sunday Night Theatre production 'The Gentle Goddess' (30th August 1959) and Mario (15th December 1959), a BBC version of the Thomas Mann book of the same name. Fraser appeared as Mary Hogan. She also guest starred in a Probation Officer instalment (1959) which featured future Doctor Who William Hartnell in the cast. She guest starred in the Knight Errant adventure series playing Margaret in the episode 'Something in the City' (14th June 1960) before undertaking the recurring role of Brownie Bevan in a nine episode run of Emergency Ward Ten (8th November to 20th December 1960). Her only onscreen role for 1961 was the short film Wings of Death playing Diane Parker opposite Harry H Corbett as a detective, Superintendent Hammond. Meanwhile her stage presence was going from strength to strength with a notable credit as one of the lead cast in Three, a trilogy of one-act plays by Pinter, Simpson and Mortimer at the Nottingham Playhouse during May and June 1961. In her personal life Fraser married screenwriter and director Anthony Squire in 1961.

The year of 1962 bought two television roles – Mary Duckworth in the Z Cars story 'Person Unknown' (14th November 1962) and Ruth Kindred in the ITV Play of the Week episode 'A Matter of Principle' (11th September 1962). The following saw year a pair of ITV Play of the Week productions featuring Fraser. First was the original screenplay 'Girl with a Difference' (14th May 1963) followed by the John Bowen scripted 'The Truth about Alan' (4th June 1963) which also featured Anthony Bate who would later appear in 'During Barty’s Party'. Towards the end of the year Fraser made her first guest appearance in an episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook when she took the role of Jean Docherty in 'Odds on Johnny' (1st November 1963). The year ended with Fraser appearing as Claire Jusserand in the Maigret story 'Maigret’s Little Joke' (24th December 1963).

Fraser made no film or TV appearances during 1964 and instead seemed to concentrate on stage roles. She was back in front of the cameras the following year though with a guest slot in the Public Eye episode 'Have It on the House' (1st May 1965) in the role of Mrs Willis. She also appeared in the ITV Play of the Week production 'Summertime Ends Tonight' (18th October 1965) playing Hilda Villiers. 1966 was a busy year with roles in The Wednesday Play production 'A Game, Like, Only A Game' (16th February 1966), the Gideon’s Way instalment 'Morna' as the aristocratic Lady Copthorne, her final role in an ITV Play of the Week production – portraying Mrs Black in the episode 'The Climbers' (8th August 1966) and her debut Armchair Theatre production – 'Barrett Keller: His Mark' (17th September 1966) as part of cast that included Bernard Bresslaw as a wrestler who becomes involved in the world of modern art. Fraser played an American antiques dealer. She also dipped her toe in comedy waters with her role of Lillian in the George and the Dragon episode 'Merry Christmas' (24th December 1966).

Her most noteworthy job for the year was in the film The Witches (1966). This would be the first time Fraser worked on a Nigel Kneale script, with a small turn as Mrs Creek, in the black magic thriller based on the novel by Norah Lofts. 1967’s resume included a second Dr Finlay’s Casebook, 'Under the Hammer' (15th January 1967) and a second Armchair Theatre, 'The Girl' (26th August 1967), which also starred Joss Ackland and Janina Faye. She also undertook a recurring role in a series playing Mrs Blake-Clanton in the Southern Television produced drama Mystery Hall (28th September – 2nd November 1967).

A Man of Our Times was a George Cole starring series in which he played a harassed man who is dismissed from his managerial job and finds himself in marital turmoil at the same time. Fraser popped up in one episode of the series – 'Never Mind How We Got Here, Where Are We?' (14th March 1968) - in the role of Mrs Manson. The cast also included Bruce Robinson in the role of her son Rex. Robinson later found a cult following as the writer and director of the sublime Withnail And I (1987). On the big screen Fraser could be seen in the movie version of Till Death Do Us Part (1968). The following year saw Fraser make a couple of TV appearances; Daphne in the ITV Sunday Night Theatre production 'The Piano Tuner' (8th March 1969), as Mrs Evesby in the First Lady episode 'All In A Good Cause' (19th June 1969) and for the BBC’s Wednesday Play slot she played Mrs Grayson in 'The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel' (1st October 1969). The majority of her onscreen appearances for the year were in cinema. She could be seen as Mrs Thatcher in the low budget British science fiction film The Bodysnatchers (1969), had an uncredited role as Miss Gurnsey in Waris Hussein’s drama A Touch of Love (1969) and another small role in the comedy Staircase (1969). She also had another role as a mother, this time to Judy Geeson’s character, in the film Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969).

Between 1970 and 1971 she would appear in the TV drama A Family at War in another matriarchal role as Jean Ashton. This role not only made her a recognisable face with the general public, but also kept her in regular employment which curtailed her chance to appear in other programmes. She did find time to make one guest appearance in one other series during this period with the character Joan Prentice in the Doomwatch episode 'The Islanders' (4th January 1971). The following year she was cast in the Doomwatch (1972) movie playing a different character, Betty Straker, in a poorly developed adaptation of the television episode. Following her exit from A Family at War Fraser guest starred in the Follyfoot episode 'Out-of-the-Blue Horse' (13th August 1972) in the role of Vera Berwick. 

1973 would bring the role of Mrs Alison in the criminally ignored British horror film Nothing But The Night (1973) as well as television work in the form of TV movie And No One Could Save Her (21st February 1973) and BBC Play of the Month episode 'The Common' (21st October 1973). On stage she appeared in Schellenbrack at the King’s Head Theatre Club during April and May 1973 opposite Wolfe Morris, who would later feature in the Beasts episode 'Buddyboy'. Further stage work the following year took in her final appearance in a West End play as Mrs Dunning in the David Hare play Knuckle at the Comedy Theatre, although she continued to be involved in regional theatre in Liverpool, Windsor and Edinburgh. On the screen she was in 'Paperwork' (6th November 1974), an episode of Softly Softly: Task Force which featured Fraser in the role of Marjorie Allen. On the big screen she featured in Persecution (1974), another ignored British horror thriller, with a sterling cast including Lana Turner, Trevor Howard and Ralph Bates. Fraser appears as Mrs Banks.

In the year prior to her role in Beasts Fraser played Lady Bassinger in the Wodehouse Playhouse episode 'Unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court' (14th May 1975) and Mrs Heath in the Armchair Cinema production 'In Sickness and In Health' (21st May 1975). Her role as Dorothy Pummery, the wife of TP Mckenna’s character Dick, in 'Baby' was next. Her final TV role was in an episode of the children’s horror anthology series Shadows, 'Brief Encounter' (18th August 1976), written by Susan Cooper. 

Post-Beasts Fraser made a small appearance in a film that would change cinema and thus enshrine her with cinematic immortality. She was cast as Aunt Beru, the mother figure who encourages Luke Skywalker to join the Academy, in the very first Star Wars film now known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). It would become her most watched and famous role. Her last screen appearances for the decade included 'Sleeping on Grass' (20th November 1978), an episode of the BBC business drama Tycoon, and roles in two episodes of The Professionals – season one story 'When The Heat Cools Off' (24th February 1978) and season two’s 'A Stirring of Dust' (25th November 1978) both of which featured Beasts cohort Martin Shaw. 

Her first screen role of the 1980s was as Diana Price in the BBC drama The Old Men at the Zoo (15th September – 13th October 1983). From now on her screen roles became sporadic and she was not seen again until a tiny role as a CND supporter in the BBC Screen Two drama 'Frankie and Johnnie' (2nd February 1986) directed by Martin Campbell who had overseen her appearances in The Professionals. Her final film role came with another “cough and spit” role as a Women’s Volunteer Service member in John Boorman’s Hope and Glory (1987). She then made an appearance as a lost shopper in the comedy short film Work Experience (1989) which also starred Lenny Henry and Kathy Burke

Redundancy drama 'The Merrihill Millionaires' (29th September 1993) was a Screenplay production. Fraser featured in the cast as Mrs Wilson. 'House Calls' (16th February 1997) was an instalment of the detective series A Touch of Frost. Fraser appeared in the role of Mrs Hinckley. Following this she could be seen as Sarah Thorpe in the Heartbeat episode 'Local Knowledge' (25th January 1998). Her penultimate screen role was as Edith in the short film Edith’s Finger (2000). Edith is an elderly lady who has suffered a stroke and is only able to communicate by tapping her finger. The production won the Welsh Bafta award for best short film.

Fraser’s final screen role was as Jane Rochelle in the Midsommer Murders episode 'Judgement Day' (29th January 2000). Her final role was made even more notable by the fact that the episode marked Fraser appearing alongside fellow 'Baby' cast member Jane Wymark, who played the regular role of Joyce Barnaby.

During the 1980s Fraser turned her attention to writing radio dramas, having appeared in hundreds of radio plays during her acting career as a member of the BBC Repertory Company from 1942 onwards. For Radio 4 she adapted The World My Wilderness by Rose Macauley and The Salt of the Earth by Rebecca West. She also wrote an original radio play, The Maid’s Room. Fraser passed away on 29th August, 2000 in London at the age of 79. Her obituary in the newspaper The Guardian noted that “Fraser remained a strikingly pretty woman, whose appearance was marked with a characteristic expression in which humour and tenderness were equally mixed, and which reflected her warm and constant gift for friendship.[4]”

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[1] The Stage, Thursday 27^th January 1944, page 1

[2] The Stage, Thursday 17^th April 1947, page 7

[3] “Lucius – Almost A Corgi – Knew When A Dog Had Had His Day”, The Daily Mirror, Monday 2^nd August, Page 1

[4] Obituary by Derek Granger, The Guardian, 20^th September 2000