The Black Tower is an intriguing puzzle of an adaptation. It has the alluring name, a host of star names, plus a number of murders and incidents - yet despite this being a good murder mystery, there is something that doesn't quite gel here, and I can't put my finger on what exactly. It starts dramatically enough, with Adam Dalgliesh (now Commander) getting shot in a drugs raid. Struggling to recover, he is invited by his old friend Father Michael Baddeley to come down to Toynton Grange, a convalescence home, to recooperate. But by the time he has stopped moping and does so he discovers that his friend has died.
Mind you, no end of things occurs before that happens, for something very strange is happening down at the Grange. The place is run by Wilfred Anstey, who founded it to help others after he was cured of multiple sclerosis, but not many of the residents actually want to be there. Only elderly Grace Willison seems happy there. Ursula Hollis arrives there only because her useless husband Steve (who sadly doesn't get horribly murdered) doesn't want to look after her after she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Young Jennie Pegram was rescued by Wilfred from a hospital ward of geriatrics (why, had they threatened to eat her?) after a TV news report, but finds it dull as a manic depressive, while the irascible Henry Carwardine is seemingly there under sufferance. It is made worse when on Ursula's first day Wilfred announces that a young lad Henry was fond of, a former resident, has died. Yes, homosexuality pops up again in P. D. James land and on more than one occasion in this mystery, but here it implies that Henry looked on him more as a son than how Wilfred imagined, who nevertheless saw to it that the lad was removed from the Grange. As you can gather, Wilfred is not entirely popular, and before long someone has frayed his rope as he starts to go climbing - though luckily for Wilfred (if not the residents) he spots the damage before he can drop. Not even the staff like being there, with resident doctor Eric Hewson only there because he escaped a charge for an affair with a 15 year old patient, while his wife Maggie is an alcoholic who enjoys winding up Wilfred, who knows he cannot get rid of her when he needs her husband. What Maggie doesn't know is that Eric is having an affair with his nurse, Helen Rainer. Add to that some poison pen letters going around and the fact that the Grange is struggling for money and you have a very unhappy camp indeed. But it gets a lot worse for dear Wilfred when his only other resident, Victor Holroyd (a rather amusing Norman Eshley from George & Mildred fame) decides to throw himself off a cliff in his wheelchair after discovering at the hospital that he is unlikely to walk again. Or does he?
It's strange to think that Dalgliesh hasn't even arrived at the Grange, but once he does and discovers that his friend Father Baddeley has died he is almost immediately suspicious - especially when he spots his cabinet desk lock broken and something missing. When he hears about the other incidents, he becomes convinced something very wrong is going on at the Grange - but what? What follows is an incident packed mystery, including a fire at the Tower, one of the patients going 'over the wall' during the night (and who can blame them?), and practically a murder an episode, effectively filmed. And it benefits enormously by some great performances by some of the stars in this. As mentioned Norman Eshley is amusing as the ill fated Victor, who early on threatens to reveal a secret that will blow the Grange sky high before his death, and is matched in irascibility by the marvellous John Franklyn-Robbins as Henry Carwardine. He is constantly amusing and has some of the best lines, including one where after Grace (Rachel Kempson) asks if he's heard what has happened to Wilfred after the attempt on his life, he replies "Don't tell me he's gone climbing again with the same rope? That would be funny." Robbins also manages to combine humour with pathos, and is beautifully touching at times. Rachel Kempson is also good as Grace Willison and her scenes with Dalgliesh are beautifully judged, while Maurice Denham gives one of his best performances as Father Baddleley, radiating goodness but inwardly troubled, and one of the strengths of this adaptation is that the stars can give memorable performances for completely different types of characters. Martin Jarvis does well as the cringing Wilfred Anstey, while Harriet Bagnall deserves some praise as Ursula Hollis in her screen debut (whatever happened to her?). But topping them all is Pauline Collins, who is magnificent as Maggie Hewson. She is magnetic in this, a fiery, funny and vulnerable woman who lights up every scene she's in. The scene when she discovers her husband has been having an affair and goes to his mistress' room (a coldly effective Heather James) to hunt where he's hiding is great fun. But she is so effective at showing her vulnerability throughout, and you cannot help but feel for her. Only Art Malik feels miscast and out of place as the wealthy Julius Court, who lives nearby the Grange and has an active role in it's funding.
Indeed, one of it's flaws is that for some reason this adaptation just doesn't gel. Although all the residents at the Grange are strangers to each other, it is only Ursula who is a newcomer, yet it feels as if all of them have only met for the first time, such is the lack of interaction between most of them. Characters accuse each other of being the murderer, which grates somewhat and seems unworthy of a P. D. James mystery, while Valerie Whittington - so effervescent in The Missionary - is wasted in the role of the dour Jennie Pegram. Surprisingly Roy Marsden is somewhat cold as Dalgliesh to start with. I realize his character is struggling to reconcile himself to the job, but the rather pointless scene involving him and his (presumably) girlfriend, played by Sheila Ruskin, just made him seem a rather cold fish. It is also a little perplexing considering that in Cover Her Face earlier that year he had attracted the attention of Deborah Riscoe! What happened to her? He does soften by the time he gets down to Toynton Grange, but this adaptation suffers from the absence of John Vine as Inspector Massingham. His vitality is missing in this and leaves Dalgliesh with no one to sound off. To be fair, this also leaves him vulnerable, as exemplified by the fact he has had his confidence and faith shaken by his shooting, and adds to the sense of danger around the Grange.
Despite the incidents in the first episode, it is rather slow to get going but once Victor goes over the edge (no pun intended) there is plenty of incident to keep the viewer intrigued. But what becomes a big problem for this adaptation is that as it progresses it loses many of it's most interesting characters along the way. By the time it reaches the last episode so few charismatic personalities remain that it leaves few characters left to care for, and their absences are keenly felt. The rather overblown climax also feels a little out of place compared to the previous three P. D. James adaptations, and the ending is somewhat abrupt and bleak. Something else that differs this story from the others (though not a criticism) is it's motive, as while the others had emotional reasons for murder, in The Black Tower it is something far more sinister and calculating fueling the killings. Overall The Black Tower has a lot of dramatic incidents to make this a great mystery, and one scene involving a hanging and the desperate attempts to revive them is hugely impressively and compellingly done. But there is just something about this adaptation that stops it being a truly great P. D. James thriller. It's good, but it should of been even better.
