Jeremy Clyde (of the 60's duo Chad and Jeremy) stars as Godfried Schalcken. Our story opens as Godfried is a young and starving art student in love with a woman named Rose (Cheryl Kennedy).
One day Rose's father Gerrit Dou (Maurice Denham) is visited by a mysterious suitor for Rose. He stays in the shadows, but he offers a trunk of pure gold which Dou, in need of money accepts.
Schalcken is broken hearted as is Rose, but the deal is made and she marries the mysterious stranger and is not scene again for many years. One day she comes pounding on the door of Dou's home and she is frantic. She pleads for food, wine, a priest and to not be left alone for a single second.
Deathly afraid of the dark now, Rose pleads for light in the room, which as Schalcken steps out to grab a lamp the room door slams shut and we hear a blood curdling scream from Rose. Schalcken breaks down the door, but nobody is there.
Schalcken has this haunting memory living with him and at the funeral of Dou comes the final haunting revelation of what happened to Rose and who or what her suitor was.
This is an excellent and very obscure BBC presentation of an adaptation of the J. Sheridan le Fanu short story of the same name. Charles Grey is the narrator and this alone adds great atmosphere to everything.
This tale is an excellent example of a finely crafted horror tale. The haunting of Schalcken will haunt you as well, and the ending is something that is not soon forgotten. I have spoken to a few people who saw this many, many years ago and have never forgotten the ending. Oh yes, and you've never seen a dinner scene like the one in this play.
Again, a huge thanks to Greg Luce for making this available. It seems to have been lost for many years, but now it's available and if you get the chance, see it!!!
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