Dead of Night (TV Series) A Woman Sobbing (1972) User Reviews

So many missed opportunities.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 14 August 2018]

Of the three surviving episodes of Dead of Night, I must admit this is my least favourite of the trio. This is supposed to be a horror anthology series, and whilst Exorcism does its job brilliantly, and Return Flight does to some degree, this one lacks any possible scares. The scenario is a good one, a woman tormented by a woman crying and taunting her in the attic, sadly the subtlety is overplayed and we get zero threat. The wonderful Anna Massey does such a great job as the troubled housewife, she fights against the tedious script, injecting life into something that could have easily been devoid of any charm.

It's definitely odd, an attempt was made to give it a bit of a horror vibe, with Jane calling in a priest, and then attempting the exorcism herself. Even the fact that they had a young Dutch au pair Girl living in the House failed to add any significant dynamic.

So many wasted opportunities, but still worth watching for Anna Massey's performance. 6/10

Dead of Night: A Woman Sobbing {TV} (Paul Ciappessoni, 1972) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 14 October 2013]

Interestingly, while I criticized "The Exorcism", an episode from this fantasy series made for British TV, over its lack of the titular religious ritual, this actually does turn up here – and, being performed by a lay person rather than a man of the cloth, it proves ineffective! Still, while the film imbues proceedings with a supernatural aura, it perhaps emerges best of all as a powerful examination of schizophrenia: here, in fact, we get a married woman (a remarkable Anna Massey) who begins to crack under the strain of leading a lonesome country life while hubby is away on business (the wife's odd behavior, which he scoffs at by asking her to increase the prescribed daily dose of Valium, even makes him entertain the possibility of a fling). The direct manifestation (pardon the pun) of the protagonist's mania, then, is a repeated incident in which she hears female crying – hence the title – emanating from the attic…but which nobody else in the house can corroborate; eventually, this extends to a voice calling out to the heroine or else mocking her (during the 'spiritual cleansing' scene) but also the sight of a dead woman who presumably threw herself out the window! The ending proposes a not unexpected 'history repeats itself' scenario, but which rather undermines the valuable psychology outlined within the preceding 50 minutes or so!

A sympathetic study of mental illness - or something more supernatural

[dr_clarke_2 · 8/10 · 19 September 2020]

'A Woman Sobbing' is the final episode of Dead of Night (although the production team would also make Nigel Kneale's The Stone Tape, originally intended to be part of the series) and is written by John Bowen. Like Bowen's Play for Today 'Robin Redbreast', the story sees a woman moving to the country and encountering sinister forces, but otherwise has a very different feel.

Of all of the episodes of Dead of Night, 'A Woman Sobbing' is the most ambiguous in its supernatural element. Anna Massey plays the brittle Jane Pullar, who hears a woman sobbing through the ceiling at night, which her husband thinks is a result of her being overwrought. She's stressed out by motherhood and increasingly dislikes her children. Her husband has to take time off work for them to find time to make love. Hiring an au pair to look after the children is intended to help, but simply provokes jealousy. Eventually, she is convinced to seek help and after a rather stupid Samaritan recommends exorcism, she ends up having a furious argument with a priest who refuses to perform one and recommends prayer instead. Finally, she accepts psychiatric intervention, but the sounds of the woman sobbing eventually return, culminating in a tragic ending that is both inevitable and signposted halfway through by Jane's vision of a woman in a white gown lying on the drive.

For the most part then, 'A Woman Sobbing' is a study in mental illness (and a well-written, sympathetic one) rather than a supernatural tale, although the ending leaves the audience to question this as a new couple moves into the house, the wife hears a woman sobbing through the ceiling, and the episode comes through circle. But whatever the true nature of the episode, it works remarkably well. Bowen's characterisation of the tormented and possibly schizophrenic Jane is excellent and Massey's portrayal of Jane is remarkable, as she gradually loses her grip on her mind and her life, is incredibly convincing. Ronald Hines is also very good as Jane's husband Frank, who is "very fond" of his wife but doesn't really understand her current unhappiness; thus, in a nice touch, they end up discussing Gaslight, in which a man deliberately causes his wife to question her sanity.

The minor characters also work well, from Julian Holloway's sexist, boorish Sandy, to the pair of workmen who intimidate Jane with sexually suggestive comments purely for the cruel sport of it. The episode is also handsomely directed by Paul Ciapessoni, who makes good use of close-ups throughout, dwelling on the faces of the actors as they convey their characters' thoughts. The scene of Jane having ECT is really striking, as the camera focuses on the preparation of her treatment whilst a recorded voice discusses the intended benefits.

The ambiguous, character-driven approach of 'A Woman Sobbing' means that it is very different in tone to the rest of Dead of Night, a series that - on reflection - boasted an admirable variety of stories within the loose horror framework. The three surviving episodes and the scripts of the lost ones make it unsurprising that whilst undoubtedly largely forgotten, the program retained a loyal following and was deemed of sufficient quality by the BFI to justify a home media release. For anyone interested in British television fantasy, the DVD is well worth tracking down.

Well written, well-acted, compelling

[ebeckstr-1 · 8/10 · 24 March 2019]

And Massey's excellent performance is the highlight of this well-written psychological drama with a supernatural twist, clearly a take on The Yellow Wallpaper. (Note: Other reviewers have described this episode as being ambiguous with respect to supernatural content, but there are clearly things happening through the point of view of the objective camera that can't just be happening inside the head of the affected character.)

Another intelligent and creepy instalment from 'Dead of Night'

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 28 July 2016]

'A Woman Sobbing' was the final episode in the TV horror anthology series 'Dead of Night'. It's one of only three episodes to have survived, the others having been long ago deleted by the BBC. I think it would be fair to say that this one isn't as good as series opener 'The Exorcism' but is definitely superior to the other surviving instalment 'Return Flight'. It's actually a pretty fine bit of TV horror in fact. Its story focuses on an unhappy woman, unsatisfied with life as a housewife in a remote country area. Her life is made more traumatic when she starts hearing a woman sobbing in the attic in the dead of night. She begins hearing this nightly but is it really a ghost or is this a result of her schizophrenia, a condition she is taking medication for.

Like 'The Exorcism' the main reason that this episode is so good is down to a very strong performance from its central actress. In the case of 'The Exorcism' it was Anna Cropper who was the standout; in this one it is Anna Massey who puts in a very convincing performance of a schizophrenic woman. She is, by turns, harsh and vulnerable and ensures that the story is always interesting. There is enough psychological depth in her portrayal that it raises the question over whether there is an evil entity at all or whether the voices are merely a result of her mental illness. In fairness, this quite reasonable question is effectively answered in the prologue in a way that removes the ambiguity somewhat. Nevertheless, like the other instalments in this very interesting series, the mixture of the supernatural with contemporary social concerns is a good idea. It results in a commendable serious-minded and intelligent approach to the horror genre, while still being quite effectively chilling in places. This episode is no different and is really a very good way to sign the series off on.

Do you hear something, darling?

[begob · 4/10 · 13 December 2015]

An affluent housewife hears a woman sobbing in the attic of her house at night. Are the pressures of her ordered middle class life getting to her, or is something really present?

Not quite a horror, more a little sketch of the psychological concerns of early '70s feminism. And this being the BBC it's guided by class and a bit too precious to make a strong drama.

The lead actress is good, although a bit stumbling in a slightly misjudged telephone scene. Otherwise, the production values and performances are fine. The only attempt to establish the myth of the story is made at the very end with a repeat scene with different actors, and no scares are delivered.