Dead Head
Created byHoward Brenton
Directed byRob Walker
StarringDenis Lawson
Lindsay Duncan
George Baker
Simon Callow
Leonie Mellinger
ComposerRichard Hartley
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes4
Production
ProducerRobin Midgley
Running time50 Minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release15 January (1986-01-15) –
5 February 1986 (1986-02-05)

Dead Head is a four-part crime thriller scripted by Howard Brenton.[1] It juxtaposed 1940s film noir style and costumes with contemporary London settings. It was directed by Rob Walker.[2]

Plot

Petty criminal Eddy Cass (Lawson) receives a mysterious box that proves to contain the head of a young woman. This involves Cass in a conspiracy by the British security services to frame him for the crimes of a sadistic serial murderer of prostitutes.

Critical reception

The Times called it an "intriguing tale," though "neither a pleasant thriller to watch nor to contemplate"; while The Guardian thought it had "lashings of panache and style"; and writing in 1996, the Evening Standard called it the "only British series that came close to Twin Peaks jocular malice."[3]

Home media

The series was released on DVD in the UK on 15 April 2013.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Dead Head". 15 January 1986. p. 59 – via BBC Genome.
  2. ^ "Anything for England (1986)". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
  3. ^ Burton, Alan (31 January 2018). Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960. Vernon Press. ISBN 9781622732906 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Dead Head". 15 April 2013 – via Amazon.

External links

Works by Howard Brenton
Categories