Bat.Out.of.Hell (Part 1) (1966)

Part 1 of 5 of an early Francis Durbridge thriller. Wealthy estate agent Geoffrey Stewart is called to an empty property in Sussex in order to meet a client, only to be shot once he enters the house. The perpetrators think they have gotten away with the crime, but things begin to go wrong when the body suddenly disappears, and then receive a mysterious phone call, apparently from the dead man himself. Then the police find a body, but it turns out not to be the dead man... Starring John Thaw, Sylvia Syms, Noel Johnson, Dudley Foster, June Ellis, Stanley Meadows, Clive Graham, Ann Windsor, June Bland and David Quilter. This is an early Francis Durbridge mystery, and despite it's age it moves along at a rattling pace that would easily suit today's audiences. It also isn't as simple as the opening episode suggests, and it's plot twists to come make it on a par with some of his best work. First broadcast on November 26th 1966 in the run up to Christmas that year, it's also nice to see an early screen appearance by John Thaw, who even back then shows he could handle lead roles. Oh, and if you can recognize the music playing when the police discover a body, it's because it's the theme tune to Callan, which wasn't broadcast on TV until a year later.