In OId Man’s Hat, written by Fay Weldon and starring Alexandra Bastedo and Ian Hendry, Freddo thinks he has fallen on his feet with his beautiful young wife Elise and a lovely home but a run of bad luck sees him losing his job and having to put their house on the market. Worse yet, he starts to have suspicions about Elise.
The TV Times of the week had an extensive feature on Yvonne Mitchell who had been a well known film actress in the fifties with key roles in movies such as Yield to the Night and Woman in a Dressing Gown and had appeared in the BBC’s landmark 1954 production of George Orwell’s 1984. For the previous 10 years Mitchell and her writer husband Derek Monsey had been living in the South of France but had recently returned to the UK. Mitchell herself was an accomplished writer with novels, biographies and plays to her credit.
The two stars of the episode both had strong connections with writer Michael J. Bird whose Greek Island set dramas were a big hit during the 1970’s. Just a few months later in April 1972 Hendry would go on to star (for two seasons) in the very popular The Lotus Eaters and Alexandra would appear later in the decade in The Aphrodite Inheritance.
production details
UK / ITV – ATV / 1×50 minute episode / Broadcast Tuesday 4 January 1972 at 9.00pm
Series: Suspicion Episode 6 (of 9)
Writer: Fay Weldon / Production Design: Richard Lake / Director: Paul Annett
cast
Ian Hendry as Freddo Watts
Alexandra Bastedo as Elise
Margaret Whiting as Helen
Yvonne Mitchell as Martha
John Gregg as Roland
Bartlett Mullins as Gerry
Rosalind Ayres as Rosie
Nigel Navera as Clive