Weird Circle 8 - The Knightsbridge Mystery

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: The Knightsbridge Mystery."

This episode, first broadcast on October 17, 1943, is an adaptation of a novelette with the same title by Charles Reade, first published in 1882. From skimming the original text, it seems that, while the main plot is similar, the story's development was condensed, and significant subplots were excised entirely.

The story starts with the narrator-character, Captain Cowen, confessing to the murder and burglary of wealthy landowner Mr. Gardiner, and to shock at the victim sitting alive right next to him as if nothing had happened. He proceeds to describe his motives, the setup to the crime, his preparation for it, its execution, his escape, and his return to an unchanged Knightsbridge Inn.

If being a murderer wasn't bad enough, he admits to taking advantage of a mentally disabled man, and putting a woman at physical danger. Some aspects of his story hint at the roots of his own downfall.

While there is some dialogue, this particular story was moved mostly by narration, especially the lengthy description of the details of the crime. This did a good job of keeping the point of view focused on the narrator-character.

Weird Circle 7 - What Was It?

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: What Was It?"

This episode, first broadcast on October 10, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Fitz James O'Brien, first published in 1859. Skimming some summaries, it looks like it's a reasonably close adaptation of the original.

In a first return to the supernatural since The House and the Brain, lodgers at a New York City boarding house encounter a haunting. Their reactions range from incredulity to faith, and their methods of finding out more about it range from a séance to systematic observation.

The haunting turns out to be both more mundane and more fantastic than any of them imagined - but they struggle to spread their knowledge of it further once it has passed on.

I think the creators might have finally managed to get a crowd scene going well - despite the fact that they had five to six participants in the conversation for long periods, it was clear who was talking to whom. The action sequences had, instead, a more limited cast, keeping them focused. This is in contrast to some instances in previous episodes, where over-subscribed fights sounded like a confusion of voices. Narration by the protagonist, Dr. Hammond, provides framing to the story and drives the plot forward where dialogue wouldn't make sense.

An enjoyable adaptation to a story I'm now glad I know about.

Weird Circle 6 - A Terribly Strange Bed

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: A Terribly Strange Bed."

This episode, first broadcast on October 3, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Wilkie Collins. From the summary, it seems like Collins` tale was merely a seed for this one, which is far more gruesome and titillating than the original.

Like The House and the Brain, we are led by a thrill-seeking protagonist and a more reserved partner; this time it is Jack Wescott, who has become morbid since joining his author friend Burke Manning on a trip to Paris. Burke is there to do research on historical murders; Jack is far more interested in recent killings.

When a flattened corpse is dragged out of the Seine, and they are told that this is part of a series of such grisly murders, and in addition, they witness an inconclusive back-and-forth with a strange man who has been to all previous discoveries (and who is unfortunately frequently characterized by his weight, both antagonists and colleagues referring to him as "The Fat Man"), Jack is eager to pursue.

Despite having prior knowledge about the dangers involved, that the original protagonist did not have, he steps into a a gambling den, and falls into the same trap, with similar results.

The creators decided to add more narration to move the plot forward in this one - some subjective, some all-knowing - but it did not feel out of place. Dialogue was used well, even if it does seem to add far too many additional characters.

Weird Circle 5 - Declared Insane

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: Declared Insane."

This episode, first broadcast on September 26, 1943, again adapts a full novel, this time The Commission in Lunacy (L'interdiction) by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1839. Skimming the summary suggests that this adaptation covers similar ground to the original, although obviously with much less detail.

I am starting to wonder whether my first impression, that this series is focused on the supernatural, was misguided. Instead, Declared Insane joins The Vendetta and Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym as another mundane tale, about power and its relation to justice, and how far decency and integrity could get you in Bourbon Restoration Paris - not as far as the connections and influence, which will provide you with very sincere liars to muster to your cause.

We see this as the conflict unfolds between the estranged wife of the Marquis d'Espard, who wants to seize control of her husband's affairs by committing him to an asylum, and Judge Popinot of the inferior courts, who would preside over the necessary hearing, but is not easily swayed by influence or wealth (a poignant quote: "Such a place for a judge to live... what kind of a judge are you anyway, living here? Huh! You must be an honest one!"), in parallel series of dialogues and described actions that believably lead to a not so satisfying conclusion.

The theme of the mental health system being used as punishment unfortunately lingers to this day. An investigating judge, however, probably reads as unusual to an American audience.

Weird Circle 4 - Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

"The Weird Circle. In this cave by the restless sea we are met to call from out the past stories strange and weird. Phantoms of a world gone by, speak again the immortal tale: Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym."

This episode, first broadcast on September 19, 1943, is an adaptation of a full novel by the same title by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. Skimming the summary suggests that this is, again, a very loose adaptation.

Another mundane horror like The Vendetta, this compresses many of the real terrors of life at sea into one neat package. Shanghaiing, abuse of power by captains, storms, mental stress, mutiny, and the extremes to which thirst and starvation lead people are all there. Obviously a nautical theme goes well with the show's shoreside frame.

This recording adds some organ music to the outro, as well as a statement about this being part of the Armed Forced Radio and Television Service (now Armed Forces Network), which suggests that this was recorded from an overseas broadcast, or possibly that at this point this was produced for that purpose.

Weird Circle 3 - The Vendetta

"Out of the past, phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: The Vendetta."

This episode, first broadcast on September 12, 1943, doesn't immediately suggest an adaptation of any individual story. I guessed it would be Guy de Maupassant, and he did write a short story titled A Vendetta, but other than Corsica featuring in both, and the fact that a vendetta drives their plots, there seems little in common between them.

Unlike the previous two episodes, this is a purely mundane tale about the destructive power of revenge. The writers chose to start with two framing stories - a Roma (the slur is used) is offering to tell stories for a penny, and when a passerby takes her up on it, she begins a tale with a man and a woman, lovers, and that woman also starts telling a story of the day her mother was burned to death in a fire started by members of the Porte family. Her father was able to save her, and the two of them, the last of the del Piombo family, leave Corsica for Paris, where the bulk of the tale, including that of the star-crossed lovers, takes place. (I do apologize if I got the names wrong - the audio quality was especially poor, and I did have to try and parse Americans attempting to parse Corsican names through a Mid-Atlantic accent)

In the end the framing does make sense, and there is no real point in which its existence becomes an issue (compare The Princess Bride with its frequent interruptions, and imagine someone catching fragments of that on the radio), but it was still a bit risky. The dialog in this one moved between different pairings, rather than sticking predominantly to one driving couple as in their The House and the Brain - to great effect.

The lack of supernatural elements might be disappointing to an audience primed for something more, but I felt that it was nice to show that natural human passion can also lead to horrifying results. From my sampling months ago, I expect this will happen again from time to time.

Weird Circle 2 - The House and the Brain

"We are met in this cave by the restless sea to reveal the horror in Man's mind. Listen to The Weird Circle!"

This episode, first broadcast on September 5, 1943, adapts Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The House and the Brain, first published in 1859. I've not had a chance to be exposed to the original, so I'll focus on the show itself.

The story starts in London, where our protagonists, Paul and Sandra Whitney, a young couple, are attending an art auction run by their friend, Jim. Paul and Sandra tease each other amicably, and we find a typical mid-20th Century dynamic of a rational, practical husband with his emotional, impulsive wife. They are both fascinated with the occult - he more logically, she more passionately, excited about the details of the macabre. This fascination leads them from a sinister portrait Jim shows them, of an evil old "cutthroat", to his now haunted house, built 450 years ago.

The haunting's physical effects are described as entirely factual - and despite later dismissing claims by Mrs. Browning, the housekeeper, that ghosts swarm the place day and night, they both seem to take the possibility seriously, although Sandra absolutely believes it, while Paul is dubious.

This is a strange, occultism-friendly version of London, where later a policeman is very easily convinced that a ghost was responsible for a murder. Indeed, this contrast between Sandra and Paul isn't like Mulder vs Scully - the true believer vs the skeptic - but instead of two somewhat different attitudes towards an admittedly ultra-mundane world. Sandra is also shown as more susceptible to the hypnotic influences of the antagonist, but Paul still does barely fight it off.

The real horror for them isn't that there is a haunting, or that ghosts are around us, but that there is a malign, mesmeric presence able to control all that is living and dead in the house. That there's supernatural evil specifically alarms them - and leads them to the action which defeats it.

As for sound effects, repeated use of Mrs. Browning's cackle, as well as a children's choir singing a song I couldn't identify, are used to express the presence of horror and the supernatural. There's no repeated reuse of water and wind to connect to the framing seaside story.

Overall, I enjoyed this more than their adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher, and the dynamics between Sandra and Paul really manage to drive the story along and expose us to this weird London.

I'm looking forward to reading Bulwer-Lytton's original and comparing notes some day.