General Witchfinders
44b - Nigel Kneale's Beasts - During Barty's Party
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Episode notes
Welcome back to our “Beasts” Double Bill! Last time, we watched "The Dummy" from the infamous anthology series by General Witchfinders hero Nigel Kneale.
We now leave the smashed-up movie set of "The Dummy" with its snarling Y-fronts-wearing jilted actor and join Angie and Roger Truscott in their secluded Hampshire home for "During Barty's Party." This episode features the only actual 'beasts' as the main threat: in this case, large, super-evolved, intelligent rats.
Elizabeth Sellars plays Angie Truscott, known for "The Mummy's Shroud," and Anthony Bate plays Roger Truscott, heavily channeling Michael Bryant's Peter Brock character from "The Stone Tape." Bate was cast as Doctor Fendehman in "Image of the Fendahl" but dropped out, with Denis Lill taking the role.
Colin Bell plays Barty Wills, the local DJ hosting the titular "Barty's Party," his regular rock and roll radio show. Like the rest of the cast, Bell is only heard, not seen. He is seen, however, in "The Sea Devils" and "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," both Jon Pertwee stories.
Norman Mitchell plays the Police Sergeant. Supposedly, at 18, Mitchell walked from Sheffield to London to become an actor, leading to nearly 200 film appearances, 500 radio broadcasts, and an estimated 2,000 television appearances. He developed a niche of playing policemen, appearing as such in 12 episodes of "Worzel Gummidge," "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (more on this very soon), "And Now the Screaming Starts!", "Oliver!" and the first Doctor Who Christmas episode, "The Feast of Steven."
John Rhys-Davies plays Peter Newell. Famous for his parts in Lord of the Rings and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Rhys-Daviesis a supporter of the British Conservative Party, Rhys-Davies was a radical leftist in the '60s, who tried to heckle a young Tory MP. But the parliamentarian "shot down the first two hecklers in such brilliant fashion that I decided I ought for once to shut up and listen". The MP was Margaret Thatcher. He is a supporter of Brexit. On 25 April 2019, he appeared as a panellist on the BBC's Question Time. His conduct on the programme towards politician Caroline Lucas was later described as "thuggish and sexist" by some viewers.
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