Roald Dahl introduces this story by stating " This is a story about those school days of mine, and for once, I have not made anything up. It's all true". Well, I wouldn't know how true, but it does have a pretty good aura of credibility to it.
Right out of the gate I was amused and certainly surprised to see an overhead sign directing passengers at a train station on the 'Way Out'. That was the title of a very short lived at one season of horror based stories also hosted by and based on the works of Roald Dahl. It aired in 1961 and was done in black and white, with only a handful of episodes available to my knowledge.
The other thing that made me sit up and take notice was that flashback scene in which Mr. Perkins the father (John Mills) dropped off son William (Paul Spurrier) at the Saint Wilfred's School. Upon saying good bye, Mr. Perkins states to young William "Now keep your pecker up!" Talk about a head scratcher there for early 1980's television!
As for the story itself, there's only the hint of dubious possibility at the end after all was said and done regarding schoolboy Perkins' association with the notorious Bruce Foxley (Jonathan Scott-Taylor). If you're like me, you'll come to the expected conclusion that the gentleman calling himself Jocelyn Fortescue (Anthony Steel) is really the presumed villain Foxley. In that regard, the story could have it both ways at the expense of the viewer, without resorting to the typical irony that often comes with these Tales of the Unexpected.
Right out of the gate I was amused and certainly surprised to see an overhead sign directing passengers at a train station on the 'Way Out'. That was the title of a very short lived at one season of horror based stories also hosted by and based on the works of Roald Dahl. It aired in 1961 and was done in black and white, with only a handful of episodes available to my knowledge.
The other thing that made me sit up and take notice was that flashback scene in which Mr. Perkins the father (John Mills) dropped off son William (Paul Spurrier) at the Saint Wilfred's School. Upon saying good bye, Mr. Perkins states to young William "Now keep your pecker up!" Talk about a head scratcher there for early 1980's television!
As for the story itself, there's only the hint of dubious possibility at the end after all was said and done regarding schoolboy Perkins' association with the notorious Bruce Foxley (Jonathan Scott-Taylor). If you're like me, you'll come to the expected conclusion that the gentleman calling himself Jocelyn Fortescue (Anthony Steel) is really the presumed villain Foxley. In that regard, the story could have it both ways at the expense of the viewer, without resorting to the typical irony that often comes with these Tales of the Unexpected.