Krayy

This is one that came up in a conversation this evening with a friend.

Not sure of entire plot but has a number of sequences in it where there is a boy who keeps drawing a picture of a house surrounded by stones in which a girl is kept prisoner.

When he goes to sleep he dreams about the house but when he approaches the house, the stones keep moving to block him getting in.

Thought it might have been "Children of the Stones", but reading the synopsis, I'm not sure it fits.

One thing I do remember is that it scared me stiff when I was a lad.

Carmel

It was called Escape into the night and was aired in 1972.I have been looking for this series for a while with no success.

Live each day to the full because one day it will be your last.

Tricky

Vicki Chambers and Mark Jones - Escape Into Night.

Based on Catherine Storr's 1958 novel 'Marianne' and adapted for television by Ruth Boswell, whose other credits as script editor or producer on children's drama series include 'Timeslip,' 'The Tomorrow People,' 'The Molly Wopsies,' 'Horse In The House,' 'Shadows' and 'Warrior Queen.'

'Escape Into Night' is a haunting story full of vivid images that were probably the cause of many a nightmare back in April 1972.

The somewhat complex storyline revolves round a young girl, Marianne (Vikki Chambers) who has the ability to dream herself into sketches that she has drawn. But this is no Mary Poppins tale of cartoon characters and comedy dance routines. The picture she ends up inside is one of a creepy old house ringed by a circle of standing stones. Also into the picture she dreams Mark (Steven Jones), a young boy who is confined to bed through illness. When the two of them fall out, Marianne, in a fit of temper, draws window bars and a high wall around the house and a single green eye on each of the stones to make sure Mark can't escape. But Mark is no figment of Marianne's imagination. He is real, and so is his illness. Only by helping him to escape the house will Marianne be able to help him recover in the real world.

This was a tense psychological drama that kept the viewer guessing which was the real world and which the make believe. As with many children's dramas at this time the budgetary constraints on the production meant light on the effects but heavy on the atmosphere. But beyond doubt it's the stones, more than anything else that seem to have left the biggest impression on the nation's children and even in adulthood those images do not go away.

"It was very frightening, something about a young girl crouching behind her front door, afraid to go outside because the stones would get her. Seriously scary." -Television Heaven Message Board 2004

CaptainWaggett

Small correction - the novel is called Marianne Dreams (there's a sequel called Mark and Marianne which takes place about 5 years later and doesn't involve anything supernatural) and it's the girl, not the boy who does the drawings. It was filmed as Paperhouse (and cynics might say, then remade as the Doctor Who episode Fear Her)

Krayy

Now I can get some sleep!

You guys are a goldmine of useful information...now I juts have to try and track either the movie or series down.

CaptainWaggett

Don't dismiss the book - it's pretty scary too, especially the rock pictures.

asiamiles

Glenne Headly's dubbing is my major issue with PAPERHOUSE; it's a pity when one relatively small thing really gets in the way of one's appreciation of a film, but just can't help it. PAPERHOUSE really suffers! Director Bernard Rose's next film CANDYMAN suggested he was destined for big things but his career has failed to really take off.

CaptainWaggett

He now makes indie films on cheap with hand-held cameras and Danny Huston which may be less stressful than big budget stuff where you have to worry about the dubbing.

jonathanecoley

What i've seen of escape into night is superb, a friend of mine runs the timeslip website. i was due to meet Ruth Boswell at a timeslip convention i had worked for. (Timeslip was Ruth's series before this), I recently had a hand in restoring some of timeslip to colour. Ruth is a lovely lady by all accounts, and an absolutely fantastic writer and producer. i urge anyone who saw and liked this to try out her other shows from this era, Timeslip, and the Tomorrow people, both available on dvd.