And the Wall Came Tumbling Down

First viewing: November 1984 / Second viewing: October 2003

While this did not inspire the Style Council hit of the following year, "Walls Come Tumbling Down", this "Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense" episode nevertheless ended the series on a high note. Well it was the last one broadcast on Irish TV back in 1984 anyway.

A stirring performance from Gareth "Maxwell House" Hunt provides a key ingredient in our enjoyment of this episode. With credible flashbacks to "witching times" and a relatively spooky atmosphere in the old church, "And The Wall Came Tumbling Down" is a chastening tale of love, betrayal and sacrifice for a man's beliefs. To it I bestow 7/10

This is a good, solid episode of Hammer House of Mystery & Suspense which also brings in a flavor of the classic Hammer movies of old - what with the period setting (at the story's start) and the themes of a satanic cult and witchcraft - not to mention evil lurking behind a mysterious bricked-up alcove.

The episode concerns a 300 year-old curse - playing out in the present day at a deconsecrated church, which is due for demolition... standing starkly in the middle of a vast construction site near London's Tower Bridge. It seems that the church was used as a meeting place and desecrated by a small satanic group centuries earlier. Now, in the present day, the various members of the cult - which suddenly collapsed due betrayal among its number - are living on locally through their various descendants. They are now finally reunited for one final showdown - thanks to the evil once again being unleashed by a doomed workman working alone inside the church.

It's great to see former New Avengers actor Gareth Hunt as the gruff construction site manager, and American actress Barbie Benton is engaging as the persistent journalist who's dead keen to make a story about the diabolical deeds at the doomed church. The lovely Carol Royle is effective as the girlfriend of the young man (who's descended from the original cult member who betrayed the coven), and whose hysteria and fear are played out in a great performance by Brian Deacon. Look out for veteran Brit actors Peter Wyngarde and Pat Hayes in small roles - as well as Coronation Street's Peter Baldwin in a cameo (who will be very familiar to many British viewers) .

The story is atmospheric, memorable and intriguing, and the idea of some of the actors playing dual roles (of their old/new selves) works really well. It's good to see another 'supernatural' HH of M&S, alongside some of the more conventional mystery and murder episodes. The historic element is also a nice touch with a nod to the past - and which should definitely be appreciated by fans of Hammer.

Billed as a comeback for Peter Wyngarde. He did a Doctor Who episode earlier that year. The press decided to be rather sniffy about this Hammer story.

And the Wall Came Tumbling Down has an atmospheric beginning. In 1649 a young artist called Martin admits to his sins of partaking in witchcraft. He blurts out the names of witches who are burned at the stake.

Martin is holed inside the alcove of the church by his tormentor and head of the coven, Daniel Haswell (Peter Wyngarde.)

In the present day the church in London is about to be demolished. Much to the consternation of the site manager Peter Whiteway (Gareth Hunt) there are a series of incidents. He is told by American Caroline Trent (Barbi Benton) that some paranormal energy is trying to escape.

A young man called Alan wanted to see the church one more time before it is demolished. Only to be wanted for his girlfriend's death. He looks a lot like Martin.

Then there is the case of General Haswell who also has an interest in the church. He's a big believer in nuclear armageddon.

This is a pretty flawed story up to a point where it does not make sense and goes off the rails. I don't know how Caroline kept a straight face as she explains to the police what could had caused the deaths.

I first saw this in 1984 (a year earlier than the 1985 US date shown on IMDb) when it was broadcast in the UK as an episode of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense. An abandoned church, a hidden room (complete with skeletons), a mysterious cult whose actions are felt across hundreds of years... I should have loved it. Unfortunately, it fails to live up to it's potential. The whole thing has a very pedestrian feel to it, Barbi Benton looks nice but recites her lines as though she learned them just before the cameras rolled, and Gary Waldhorn is wasted with such little screentime. Brian Deacon and Carol Royle are okay, but the best things in it are Gareth Hunt (best known as Gambit in The New Avengers) and Peter Wyngarde (best known as Jason King). They both deserved better. On paper it probably looked like a pretty good project; there's certainly an air of Nigel Kneale about it - especially Quatermass and the Pit (itself superbly adapted by Hammer in 1967) - but it fails to get anywhere close to that quality. The atmospheric church (a real location) and Hunt and Wyngarde get this a 5/10.

This episode, unlike almost all the others, bases its entirety on paranormal phenomena, and more particularly on a place that is its center. Really very valid episode that brings a breath of fresh air to the series that was becoming all the same, thanks to very nice finds, obviously it has its problems as first of all the unrealism of what happens that for the canons of the series is perhaps slightly too much. Then it also has several plot problems and an ending that is too hasty and forced, it seems in fact that everything culminates somehow well but too hastily and botched to be really done right.