Tales of the Unexpected: Stranger in Town is set in a small English town & starts as an eccentric old man (Derek Jacobi) arrives on the train, he wears a bright patchwork multi coloured coat, a top hat & entertains all the kids he comes across with amusing if somewhat useless magic tricks. The odd stranger spends ten days in town until virtually everyone there knows him & his oddball ways. Then on the tenth day he pays local businessman Latham (Clive Swift) a visit & reveals himself who he really is & why he is in town...
All the fives episode 5 from season 5 this Tales of the Unexpected story originally aired here in the UK during May 1982, the last thing ever directed by Wendy Tove Stranger in Town is actually a remake of The Stranger Left No Card (1952) which was in fact the first thing she ever directed. The script was by Sidney Caroll who also wrote the script for The Stranger Left No Card, to be honest I have never seen The Stranger Left No Card so I can't say how close the two resemble each other but by all accounts they are virtually identical. Anyway, Stranger in Town starts off in very Disney like fashion with some eccentric bloke in a multi coloured coat acting like a five year old wherever he goes in town, then there's a somewhat satisfying if a little predictable twist ending which rounds things off nicely. Like a lot of Tales of the Unexpected episodes Stranger in Town revolves a crime, at first glance a well thought out crime but has this guy never heard of finger prints? You can change your appearance sure but you can't change your finger prints... To spend ten days in a town & not leave your finger prints anywhere is a bit of a stretch. The basic concept is one of slight of hand that magicians use, the trick is to divert your audience's attention & make them look at something else & then when they are looking in one direction to make your move in the other.
Shot entirely on location on 16mm film Stranger in Town looks quite cinematic & is reasonably well made. The one thing that always impress me about Tales of the Unexpected is the cast, here Sir Derek Jacobi stars no less, British telly veteran Clive Swift makes an appearance & Stranger in Town marked the on screen debut of Oscar winning actress Jennifer Connelly.
Stranger in Town follows the same pattern as a lot of Tales of the Unexpected episodes with it's clever 'perfect' type crime scenario, that's fine if you enjoy stuff like that & Stranger in Town is fine example.
All the fives episode 5 from season 5 this Tales of the Unexpected story originally aired here in the UK during May 1982, the last thing ever directed by Wendy Tove Stranger in Town is actually a remake of The Stranger Left No Card (1952) which was in fact the first thing she ever directed. The script was by Sidney Caroll who also wrote the script for The Stranger Left No Card, to be honest I have never seen The Stranger Left No Card so I can't say how close the two resemble each other but by all accounts they are virtually identical. Anyway, Stranger in Town starts off in very Disney like fashion with some eccentric bloke in a multi coloured coat acting like a five year old wherever he goes in town, then there's a somewhat satisfying if a little predictable twist ending which rounds things off nicely. Like a lot of Tales of the Unexpected episodes Stranger in Town revolves a crime, at first glance a well thought out crime but has this guy never heard of finger prints? You can change your appearance sure but you can't change your finger prints... To spend ten days in a town & not leave your finger prints anywhere is a bit of a stretch. The basic concept is one of slight of hand that magicians use, the trick is to divert your audience's attention & make them look at something else & then when they are looking in one direction to make your move in the other.
Shot entirely on location on 16mm film Stranger in Town looks quite cinematic & is reasonably well made. The one thing that always impress me about Tales of the Unexpected is the cast, here Sir Derek Jacobi stars no less, British telly veteran Clive Swift makes an appearance & Stranger in Town marked the on screen debut of Oscar winning actress Jennifer Connelly.
Stranger in Town follows the same pattern as a lot of Tales of the Unexpected episodes with it's clever 'perfect' type crime scenario, that's fine if you enjoy stuff like that & Stranger in Town is fine example.