User Reviews

This is an episode of the British anthology series "Thriller" (1973) TV-Series 1973-1976, and was, I've read, the first episode shot. While the first season of that series is out on R2 PAL DVD, I watched it on a long out of print US video under the title "Carnation Killer." It lacks the Thriller opening.

It starts with a man walking up a set of stairs. We first see one of his arms thrust out in front of him, holding a bouquet of red carnations. We then see his other arm behind him, his hand gripping a woman's wrist, and we hear her struggling. She is seated at a dining table with a fancy setting, where she is killed. This is partly intercut with shots of a man pushing a baby carriage somewhere offroad. He pushes it down an incline towards a dumping ground, and a woman's body spills out (it doesn't look like she would actually have fit in the carriage).

Abruptly, the man is then exiting the trial where he'd been convicted of a series of murders by strangulation, in which he'd been nicknamed "The Carnation Killer." He escapes after the van he's in is in a collision.

Meanwhile, a man arranges with a solicitor to meet in a subway station. They've never seen him before, so he says he will wear a red carnation. You can guess where this is going....

A woman from the solicitor's office meets a man with a red carnation in the subway. It is, of course, the killer. She gives him a suitcase of money, and takes him on a train to see a house the man had inherited, where he is supposed to inventory its contents. The woman's boyfriend tries to meet her at the station also, but he arrives too late, and takes the next train.

When the man who'd really received the inheritance fails to meet the woman, he goes to their office, and they enlist the help of the police to find out what happened to the young woman. There are some echoes here of Psycho, I thought.

It's not bad, and it has a fairly dark ending. Pretty short too, only about sixty-five minutes.

This is a belter of a story, I continue to be so impressed by Thriller, this is a wonderful episode. The story is so wonderfully dark and gripping. You watch as Julie travels with Arthur, unaware of his past, and the fact that he is a deadly killer with no morals. She feeds his appetite for torture and killing, it's an unnerving watch. I am fast realising what a superb actor Norman Eshley is, in this he is smart, charming, totally captivating, his eyes tell everything about his character's instincts, it is a quite superb performance. A great twist in this episode, it's a truly great watch from start to finish. 9/10

An exceptionally good outing of the splendid "Thriller" anthology.

In this story, Arthur Page, a psychopath, escapes en route to custody after being convicted of the killings of a number of women. At the same time Julie, a secretary, is about to meet a client she has never seen at Waterloo station to give him the proceeds of a will and take him to a large country house he has inherited. By chance she and Page meet up at the station. As they head off there is no way of contacting her to warn her of the great danger she faces, while she cannot contact others for help. However Page is not the only dangerous person on the loose ...

This brilliant story is quite captivating. Norman Eshley is quite superb as the superficially charming but utterly deadly and disturbing Page. The character evokes some sympathy as he is clearly tortured by his problems but cannot control his behaviour. The powerful last scene makes clear that he has no responsibility for his actions.

Throughout Julie never quite understands the true risks, although she is unsettled by him. Katharine Schofield is in impressive form as Julie, a far more complex character than first thought, while Garrick Hagon appears in a notable cameo as her boyfriend. In true "Thriller" style there is a marvellous twist that shows all the main figures in a new light.

For historical reasons this is also very intriguing. In this age of the mobile phone the story could not happen - Julie would not be incommunicado and she and her employers could alert each other of danger. Of course it is this lack of contact that makes her predicament much more unsettling.

The police scenes are a little cliched and some of the remarks about women - not just from the obviously misogynistic Page - are clearly from a less politically-correct age. However this remains gripping and quite indispensable entertainment if you are lucky enough to come across it.

'The Colour Of Blood' is one of two truly excellent episodes of Thriller's first series. The other is 'The Eyes Have It' which I will review later this week.

In the current technological age, the story may seem somewhat quaint, for want for better expression, but that really does the tale a disservice seeing as it is a full-throttle and driven piece of storytelling.

Katharine Schofield plays the alluring Julie Marsh, a legal secretary, who is despatched by her boss to a railway station in order to meet a client in order to hand over a case full of money plus the keys to an house. The identifying mark is agreed as a red carnation. Coincidentally an unstable murderer Arthur Page (brought to life by a superb performance from Norman Eshley) appears in the vicinity also wearing a red carnation. The erroneous recognition is made by Marsh and Page seizes full advantage.....

But what seems to be a straightforward case of an innocent female being lured to a ghastly fate is in fact turned upside down by the role of Garrick Hogan's Peter (a work colleague of Marsh's) and the story rapidly unfolds with a satisfying and downbeat twist.

Highly recommended.

This was a deeply flawed show as no one - no one - asked for identification. Everyone from legal assistant to police officer should have asked for ID prior to proceeding to the next actions. SMH It was therefore difficult to even enjoy what proceeded to be a ridiculous story.