013 Adaptation – Old
I’ve just
discovered that Robert Westall wrote the original book for teenagers—yikes! The
Wheatstone Pond is one of the scariest plays I’ve ever heard. Adapted by Martyn Read in 2000, it caused me
to have one of those “driveway
moments[1]” where I
couldn’t take the headphones off even after I had gotten home. An antiques’ dealer, (Jeff) Morgan (played by
John Duttine), is in hospital having suffered amnesia after a traumatic event
and the funeral of his friend. A nurse
tries to get him to remember, and the narrative seamlessly moves us back and
forth in time without being at all gimmicky.
It began when Hermione, an archaeologist and expert on toys, came into
his shop. As most antiques dealers (in
British fiction anyway) tend to be, Morgan is not above doing a little
side-dealing to get a good piece, but he’s a nice enough chap. He and Hermione immediately have a rapport,
but strange things are happening in the nearby pond which had to be dredged
because of a suicide. Immaculate
antiques start appearing from the bottom of the lake including a revolver,
though it gets much more sinister when a child’s body is found in a box. Worse things are yet to come as Morgan (as
per the name, no doubt) starts getting visitations of clairvoyance. There’s something truly evil in Belleview
House (less Arthur Machen, more Matthew Lewis), and this place gives one of the
most remarkable occult images of radio that I’ve ever heard (but I won’t spoil
it for you). It was very well-written
and even had a happy ending. ETA: I’ve
been so inspired I’ve bought one of Westall’s books!
Gaston Leroux was much better known in France as the author
of the Joseph Rouletabille mysteries than he ever was as author of Phantom of the Opera. That said, I’ve never read any of his
mysteries, but I think The Mystery of
the Yellow Room is the place to start.
This adaptation, starring Nicholas Boulton and Geoffrey Whitehead, was very
enjoyable, bookended beautifully by the period drawing room music, situating us
in an 1890s mystery that was both similar and different to Conan Doyle. Joseph Rouletabille was similar in many ways
to Holmes—eccentric, arrogant, a bit abrupt, and brilliant—and quite
funny. Aside from being an investigator,
he’s a journalist. His sidekick, St
Clair, is a lawyer. Together they make a
good team. It was an excellent mystery,
and very well-plotted for radio. It was
satisfying to see that the female lead, Mathilde, like Christine Daaé, was not
the helpless female she seemed, was more than capable. In fact, like Christine, she had a bit of a
sordid past but it was all going to be smoothed away by marrying a brave and
honorable aristocrat/gentleman. The villain
was excellent as well! Condemned by all
the other characters as a knave and a devil, he had the whiff of the very
modern about him—and seemed almost Wilkie Collins-esque.
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