This series was broadcast in what were very unenlightened times so far as mental illness was concerned. The general public perception of such people was that of ''loonies, nutcases, crackpots' and so forth. The mind going wrong was something quite terrifying to most, and there was very little distinction between degree and diagnosis. Basically, you were either good and sane or frightening and dangerous. Sigmund Fraud had had very little impact upon people in general. By the mid-twentieth century, The only thing that had changed since Victorian times was that inmates of asylums were no longer used as entertainment. Standards of care were still quite deplorable even so.
It was extremely daring to attempt to demonstrate that 'loonies' were in fact ordinary people who just had emotional, psychological or behavioural problems. And even if they had; it didn't mean that they were dangerous and must be locked up, or hidden away like Mrs Rochester or Mr Dick. They were certainly nothing to laugh at.
Herbert Lom was perfectly cast for the part of Doctor Corder. He oozed a cool serenity in the face of the most alarming psychoses. Just a few knowing and compassionate words were often enough to disarm the berserk, and restore sanity to troubled minds. Sadly, the truth is often very different. But most of us now know someone who has at least consulted an 'analyst'. In fact, if you're famous it's quite fashionable. And this series can take some credit for that enlightenment.
It almost launched me on a psychiatric career!
Today it would probably seem quite tame and implausible, though Herbert Lom's tremendous charisma is unlikely to have dated. He was, in my opinion, a very under-utilised cinema asset.
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