File It Under Fear

A strangler is on the loose and young women are being killed. There are several suspects and Liz Morris, the local librarian, is the only one who can provide clues.

A familiar tale of a strangler on the loose is presented in a well-made fashion, is well-acted and suspenseful with some really sinister atmosphere, especially of night shots. There are several suspects, their characters finely etched, and the unraveling of the fiend occurs - after some tense climax - it comes as a surprise. It competently plays on the fact that it could be anyone. Also loved the library setting, and it's a good insight on how a library was like in the 70's as I work in one.

'File It Under Fear', the eighth episode in Thriller's first series, is an effective mystery story with the right blend of atmospherics and tension.

Maureen Lipman plays the part of a somewhat dowdy but incredibly sensual librarian, Liz Morris who lives at home with a somewhat domineering and morbid mother (played by Rose Hill) and a somewhat dour and enigmatic lodger Steve Kerroway. Richard O'Callaghan plays the part of George Bailey, her library assistant. It's A Wonderful Life this is not! A number of young girls in the area have gone missing / been found murdered and Liz becomes wary when she realises that she could be a victim.

The action is primarily focused on the library and the gripping conclusion takes place there. The location shots are particularly effective and atmospheric while the ending (avoid the US credits) is somewhat surprising.

Well let's get it of the way. Maureen Lipman is miscast as Liz Morris, the lonely dried up spinster on the library shelf at the age of 28!

Maybe they should had got an actress who looked more plain or frumpy. Liz works in a library where the male staff are more interested in the younger and more glamorous library assistants.

However when young women in the town are killed, with one of the library assistant's later going missing.

There is fear and paranoia as a deranged killer is on the loose. Liz has a clue about the culprit, an American stationed in a nearby US air force base. He has taken out some notorious novels.

The police dismiss her. She's just a frustrated spinster in their books.

Only one night Liz finds herself locked in the library and she is not alone.

Brian Clemens has wrote a proto feminist thriller. Slightly undone with a clunky and confusing finale. There are a lot of suspects but it does unravel as fast the collapsing library shelves.

I wondered if Liz even had the power to fire library staff. They would be council employees.

"File It Under Fear," a truly frightening and highly original British thriller penned for TV by the estimable (and underrated, if not unknown) Brian Clemens, made its U.S. debut as an entry in the ABC network's late-nite series of thrillers wherein, at 11:30 PM every weeknight, American viewers were treated to a 90-minute mystery designed to woo viewers away from NBC's the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Unfortunately, this brave, adventurous undertaking lasted only one season (low ratings and high-production costs spelled doom from the start). Nevertheless, I fondly re-call the high-quality and Grade-A sheen of the entire series, most of the tele-films British (though not all), and many of them written by Brian Clemens (an unsung "master of suspense" whose screenplays for such theatrically-released gems as "See No Evil" and "And Soon the Darkness" sent chills pulsating through movie-goers spines in the early '70s, the same era of "File it Under Fear"). The deceptively simple set-up involves an attractive young woman who spends her days working in the local library of an unnamed British village, and spends her evenings living with her crotchety mother whose taste for the macabre goes into overdrive when the village is plagued by the grisly murders of several young women. The suspects are plentiful, from the eccentric group of loners who congregate in the creepy Victorian library to while away the time, and chatter about the gruesome goings-on, and the lady-in-peril's circle of equally sinister acquaintances. Circumstantial evidence leads the heroine to fear that the killer is a handsome, enigmatic young American, but during a harrowing night when she is locked in the library, alone and defenseless and stalked by the unknown psychopath, the identity of the killer is at last revealed--amidst the crashing of bookshelves and screams of horror. This forgotten little gem is blessed with a superb cast, marvelously eerie settings, and, of course, Mr. Clemens deviously delicious screenplay. I taped this film on when the entire series was syndicated to American t.v. (in the late '70s). But my tape has long disappeared, as well as, I regret, has "File It Under Fear." As original and creepy as anything Hitchcock ever conjured up, "File It Under Fear" has stayed in my mind to this day. It is truly one of the most unsettling, nerve-needling and gleefully suspenseful thrillers ever made.

A serial killer targeting young women is on the prowl . Head librarian Liz Morris sees her colleague Gillie Randall in the company of a man . The next day the normally reliable Gillie fails to appear for work and the library staff start fearing the worst especially Liz who worries that she's a witness to a crime

This is basically a whodunit and it's left to the audience to make up their own minds as to who the murderer is . Apparently however this might not be the case if you've seen the American prints which let the cat out of the bag as to who the serial killer is . What makes the episode stand out slightly is the amount of people in the cast who were or would find relative fame for their comedy roles and to be fair the cast are mainly efficient . The story itself isn't bad but like so many other type of stories in this genre is a bit too formulaic with red herrings , false leads and surprise plot twists and once you know who the murderer is doesn't lend itself to repeat viewings