Elizabeth Shepherd was once the original choice to star as Mrs Peel to Patrick Magee's Steed in The Avengers.That didn't happen but we sort of get a taster of how that might have been in this long forgotten, oddball spy drama from the sixties.Here she plays a wonderful, sexy ,camp villainess ,Syrie Van Epp.Don't worry too much about the plot in this gem just enjoy the surreal campness and let it wash over you.
4 Reviews
Prime time surrealism subverting the crime drama
zippgun22 August 2011
Only in the 1960s could such an oddity as this have gone out on a prime slot on the UK's (then) only commercial TV broadcaster.
Nominally a crime/espionage drama of intrigue, "The corridor people" plays like a theatre of the absurd satire, making other "oddball" 60s shows like "The Avengers" and even most of "The Prisoner" seem rather conventional by comparison.
What does the title of this series mean? Possibly it refers to the "corridors of power" (a term coined by the English novelist CP Snow a few years earlier)-but there seems to be more to it than that. I have my own theory that the title is a reference to the characters existing in metaphorical corridors, not whole "proper" human beings because they lack any ability to empathize with others, are bereft of any altruistic instincts in their dealings with people.
So, here we have our main characters. A portly police official called Kronk (played by John Sharp-the show's eccentricity is reflected by the character names too), assisted by two Keystone coppers called Blood and Hound, an international villainess/adventuress called Syrie Van Epp (Elizabeth Shepherd) and a sleazy American private eye called Phil Scrotty (Gary Cockrell), a sort of Chandleresque Phil Marlowe gone wrong. None of these characters are sympathetic. Scrotty, who would have been the hero in a more conventional series, is a double dealing rogue always out to financially profit from whatever he's involved in; he's made, superficially at least, a bit likable by reason of his quick wits and natural ebullience. Kronk is an Establishment guard dog, with a totally ruthless and amoral approach to his business. He is the creature of the powers that be. Syrie, sexy but chilly, is (like Scrotty) out for money, or at least anything else which will increase her share of selfish worldly pleasures.
The doings of these characters are played out mainly on a small series of sets, the show rarely leaving the confines of the studio. Shot on tape and in black and white, it looks a little like the early video episodes of "The Avengers", probably a mark against it in 1966, by which time many of ITV's hour long crime series were being made more expensively on film, using a lot of outdoor location shooting and even colour (though this development bypassed most 60s viewers who had black and white TV sets).
Confusing, erudite, self consciously absurd and pretentious, "The corridor people" can be easily dismissed as the most extreme example there was of arch 60s TV tosh, injecting Kafka and Alfred Jarry (and maybe Karl Marx too) into the 60s spy/crime show, something done better (and with a much bigger budget) a year later by Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner". However, for some this unhinged little series will provide a few hours of brain twisting pleasure. As you watch, bemused by the eccentric dialogue, narrative oddity and sights like a midget hit man assassinating someone from a pram (the kind of flummery you might also see on "The Avengers" and "Get Smart") you may discern that the world of "The corridor people" is, uniquely for a 60s crime drama, utterly bleak. This is severely cynical stuff. Even if given 35mm film and a lavish budget "The corridor people" could never have been "The Avengers". The latter was utterly conventional in portraying a dominant ethically run society, but one threatened at times by various evil forces who must be vanquished by feats of derring-do in order to reassert a benign status quo. This basic narrative was often (especially in the later filmed episodes of "The Avengers") spiced up with nods to pop art and surrealism; the makers using 60s "kookiness" while at the same time mining a rich vein of good old English eccentricity. But there is no benign status quo in "The corridor people"; the "villains" are morally indistinguishable from the principals (you could not call them "heroes"). Evil is not some external threat, but is a key element within the established order, an order which naturally makes (clandestine) use of the immoral and amoral (Scrotty, Syrie) in exercising its control and authority.
"Nothing odd will last" said Dr Samuel Johnson, a maxim which proved all too true for "The corridor people", which ran for a mere 4 episodes. Whether this was what was intended all along, or the "plug" was pulled on it due to poor ratings, I don't know. But it's hard to see something like this series going on for years. The show was produced by Granada, the same ITV company who made the prosaic eternal kitchen sink soap opera "Coronation street". One wonders what "Corrie" viewers at the time made of "The corridor people"-the two shows don't seem to be from the same planet, never mind being shot at the same time by the same studio.
I have no recollection of seeing this show in 1966. For long it remained something of a legend among TV cultist, many probably fearing it had been wiped along with so much else from the 50s and 60s. However the magic of DVD has unearthed "The corridor people" and made all of it available to view today.
Nominally a crime/espionage drama of intrigue, "The corridor people" plays like a theatre of the absurd satire, making other "oddball" 60s shows like "The Avengers" and even most of "The Prisoner" seem rather conventional by comparison.
What does the title of this series mean? Possibly it refers to the "corridors of power" (a term coined by the English novelist CP Snow a few years earlier)-but there seems to be more to it than that. I have my own theory that the title is a reference to the characters existing in metaphorical corridors, not whole "proper" human beings because they lack any ability to empathize with others, are bereft of any altruistic instincts in their dealings with people.
So, here we have our main characters. A portly police official called Kronk (played by John Sharp-the show's eccentricity is reflected by the character names too), assisted by two Keystone coppers called Blood and Hound, an international villainess/adventuress called Syrie Van Epp (Elizabeth Shepherd) and a sleazy American private eye called Phil Scrotty (Gary Cockrell), a sort of Chandleresque Phil Marlowe gone wrong. None of these characters are sympathetic. Scrotty, who would have been the hero in a more conventional series, is a double dealing rogue always out to financially profit from whatever he's involved in; he's made, superficially at least, a bit likable by reason of his quick wits and natural ebullience. Kronk is an Establishment guard dog, with a totally ruthless and amoral approach to his business. He is the creature of the powers that be. Syrie, sexy but chilly, is (like Scrotty) out for money, or at least anything else which will increase her share of selfish worldly pleasures.
The doings of these characters are played out mainly on a small series of sets, the show rarely leaving the confines of the studio. Shot on tape and in black and white, it looks a little like the early video episodes of "The Avengers", probably a mark against it in 1966, by which time many of ITV's hour long crime series were being made more expensively on film, using a lot of outdoor location shooting and even colour (though this development bypassed most 60s viewers who had black and white TV sets).
Confusing, erudite, self consciously absurd and pretentious, "The corridor people" can be easily dismissed as the most extreme example there was of arch 60s TV tosh, injecting Kafka and Alfred Jarry (and maybe Karl Marx too) into the 60s spy/crime show, something done better (and with a much bigger budget) a year later by Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner". However, for some this unhinged little series will provide a few hours of brain twisting pleasure. As you watch, bemused by the eccentric dialogue, narrative oddity and sights like a midget hit man assassinating someone from a pram (the kind of flummery you might also see on "The Avengers" and "Get Smart") you may discern that the world of "The corridor people" is, uniquely for a 60s crime drama, utterly bleak. This is severely cynical stuff. Even if given 35mm film and a lavish budget "The corridor people" could never have been "The Avengers". The latter was utterly conventional in portraying a dominant ethically run society, but one threatened at times by various evil forces who must be vanquished by feats of derring-do in order to reassert a benign status quo. This basic narrative was often (especially in the later filmed episodes of "The Avengers") spiced up with nods to pop art and surrealism; the makers using 60s "kookiness" while at the same time mining a rich vein of good old English eccentricity. But there is no benign status quo in "The corridor people"; the "villains" are morally indistinguishable from the principals (you could not call them "heroes"). Evil is not some external threat, but is a key element within the established order, an order which naturally makes (clandestine) use of the immoral and amoral (Scrotty, Syrie) in exercising its control and authority.
"Nothing odd will last" said Dr Samuel Johnson, a maxim which proved all too true for "The corridor people", which ran for a mere 4 episodes. Whether this was what was intended all along, or the "plug" was pulled on it due to poor ratings, I don't know. But it's hard to see something like this series going on for years. The show was produced by Granada, the same ITV company who made the prosaic eternal kitchen sink soap opera "Coronation street". One wonders what "Corrie" viewers at the time made of "The corridor people"-the two shows don't seem to be from the same planet, never mind being shot at the same time by the same studio.
I have no recollection of seeing this show in 1966. For long it remained something of a legend among TV cultist, many probably fearing it had been wiped along with so much else from the 50s and 60s. However the magic of DVD has unearthed "The corridor people" and made all of it available to view today.
This show only makes sense when you watch it after midnight.
vonnoosh24 September 2021
That's the best way I can sum up The Corridor People. Everything about it had me saying "huh?" to myself. Elizabeth Shepherd plays a deliberately over the top (her name is Syrie Van Epp, how comic is that?) seductress/femme fatale, John Sharp is a M from James Bond type character named Kronk. He has two detectives working for him literally named Blood and Hound. His assassin is his secretary Miss Dunner played by June Watson. Inexplicably, there is also a Bogart obsessed American private eye named Scrotty who unlike the description implies, is willing to work for anyone for the money regardless of their motives, not just Kronk working against Syrie Van Epp. His motif is his goofy hat and setting up trash cans to fall over whenever someone enters the building where his office is located.
The stories involve birdwatchers, chain smoking assassins in babycribs, and some deeply, almost disturbing surrealist storylines about mind controlling perfumes and resurrecting the dead. Amazing what they accomplish atmosphere wise with an obviously small budget.
This show was too weird even for the era that produced the Avengers and the Prisoner. It is incredible that any of the 4 episodes made have survived, much less all of them and that they are now commercially released.
Having seen Shepherd in the role, I can understand why she was the first choice for Emma Peel. She has a kind of coarse beauty in this role which makes me think of a slightly more femine Cathy Gale. Diana Rigg spent much of the first season doing scripts which were originally intended for Honor Blackman's character to say so Emma Peel was going to start out semi tied to Gale anyway.
I didn't start watching this because I was an Avengers fan, I wanted to see just how far out there this gets and it didn't disappoint. Some liken it to Monty Python but I don't see the connection because I don't get the sense that any of the actors playing these characters are trying to be funny or are deliberately doing a comic turn for laughs. The characters seem genuinely weird. The recurring old guy on the park bench in the second or third episode did give me nightmares. In it, I was sitting on the bench and kept looking over my shoulder at bushes that kept moving with no wind and no one inside them while he continued to speak open ended gibberish at me while sitting next to me. I kept expecting something quick to happen and it did without me noticing before it was too late and I'd wake up when the flash hit and I was in shock for a few moments. So vivid.
The stories involve birdwatchers, chain smoking assassins in babycribs, and some deeply, almost disturbing surrealist storylines about mind controlling perfumes and resurrecting the dead. Amazing what they accomplish atmosphere wise with an obviously small budget.
This show was too weird even for the era that produced the Avengers and the Prisoner. It is incredible that any of the 4 episodes made have survived, much less all of them and that they are now commercially released.
Having seen Shepherd in the role, I can understand why she was the first choice for Emma Peel. She has a kind of coarse beauty in this role which makes me think of a slightly more femine Cathy Gale. Diana Rigg spent much of the first season doing scripts which were originally intended for Honor Blackman's character to say so Emma Peel was going to start out semi tied to Gale anyway.
I didn't start watching this because I was an Avengers fan, I wanted to see just how far out there this gets and it didn't disappoint. Some liken it to Monty Python but I don't see the connection because I don't get the sense that any of the actors playing these characters are trying to be funny or are deliberately doing a comic turn for laughs. The characters seem genuinely weird. The recurring old guy on the park bench in the second or third episode did give me nightmares. In it, I was sitting on the bench and kept looking over my shoulder at bushes that kept moving with no wind and no one inside them while he continued to speak open ended gibberish at me while sitting next to me. I kept expecting something quick to happen and it did without me noticing before it was too late and I'd wake up when the flash hit and I was in shock for a few moments. So vivid.
Alienating misfire that is not as clever as it thinks it is
kmoh-12 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
It is interesting to see what this legendary series now looks like on DVD. The previous reviewer sums up its positives and negatives excellently, but however many points it gets for ambition, ultimately the series is a failure, presumably the reason for its being pulled after only 4 episodes.
It badly misses its target, unlike The Avengers or The Prisoner. Comparisons are obvious, because all three were arch, stylised and absurd. But whereas in The Avengers the viewer is charmed by Steed's impossibly suave overgrown schoolboy, the utterly compelling characters of Mrs Gale and Mrs Peel and the warmth of the relationship between them, and in The Prisoner the viewer is directly engaged by McGoohan's incredible performance as No.6, the Corridor People is all about alienation effects and distancing from the audience. It is impossible to care about these people, and in so far as one does, it is the villainess Syrie van Epp who engages and evolves through the series.
Without the resource of direct identification between viewer and characters, The Corridor People could only succeed by being extremely clever or witty or satirical, which it isn't. Given that it resolutely refuses to be cosy, it doesn't supply the viewer with any other reason to watch either.
Two further problems. First, the characters fail to enthuse. Scrotty is perhaps the most thumpable leading man in television history, while Inspector Blood and Sergeant Hound are merely silly. Kronk is bland - it could have done with a hammier performance like Willoughby Goddard's Sir Jason in The Mind of J.G. Reeder (or even Mother from The Avengers).
The most interesting character, June Watson's Miss Dunner, is idiotically killed off early, having been placed in a position where either she or Scrotty had to go. Choosing Scrotty's survival over that of Miss Dunner was a major strategic error.
Secondly, the casual moral relativism is shocking. Nothing wrong with disorienting the viewer, but to what end? Scrotty arranges the death of the pathetic Whitebait for no good reason beyond easing his affair with his wife in the second episode, but neither the crime nor the affair is referred to again. The programme is content to shock us, and then moves on. A harmless and innocent cinema usherette is assassinated on Kronk's orders thanks to a computer error in the final action of the series. Again, this is potentially a satirical point (especially relevant in our world of algorithms and big data), and the series ended before it could be built upon, but in isolation it leaves rather a nasty taste without any corresponding enlightenment for the viewer.
In short, a sophomoric production content to strike attitudes without deeper meaning. It quickly becomes tiresome, despite its undoubted intelligence and imagination.
It badly misses its target, unlike The Avengers or The Prisoner. Comparisons are obvious, because all three were arch, stylised and absurd. But whereas in The Avengers the viewer is charmed by Steed's impossibly suave overgrown schoolboy, the utterly compelling characters of Mrs Gale and Mrs Peel and the warmth of the relationship between them, and in The Prisoner the viewer is directly engaged by McGoohan's incredible performance as No.6, the Corridor People is all about alienation effects and distancing from the audience. It is impossible to care about these people, and in so far as one does, it is the villainess Syrie van Epp who engages and evolves through the series.
Without the resource of direct identification between viewer and characters, The Corridor People could only succeed by being extremely clever or witty or satirical, which it isn't. Given that it resolutely refuses to be cosy, it doesn't supply the viewer with any other reason to watch either.
Two further problems. First, the characters fail to enthuse. Scrotty is perhaps the most thumpable leading man in television history, while Inspector Blood and Sergeant Hound are merely silly. Kronk is bland - it could have done with a hammier performance like Willoughby Goddard's Sir Jason in The Mind of J.G. Reeder (or even Mother from The Avengers).
The most interesting character, June Watson's Miss Dunner, is idiotically killed off early, having been placed in a position where either she or Scrotty had to go. Choosing Scrotty's survival over that of Miss Dunner was a major strategic error.
Secondly, the casual moral relativism is shocking. Nothing wrong with disorienting the viewer, but to what end? Scrotty arranges the death of the pathetic Whitebait for no good reason beyond easing his affair with his wife in the second episode, but neither the crime nor the affair is referred to again. The programme is content to shock us, and then moves on. A harmless and innocent cinema usherette is assassinated on Kronk's orders thanks to a computer error in the final action of the series. Again, this is potentially a satirical point (especially relevant in our world of algorithms and big data), and the series ended before it could be built upon, but in isolation it leaves rather a nasty taste without any corresponding enlightenment for the viewer.
In short, a sophomoric production content to strike attitudes without deeper meaning. It quickly becomes tiresome, despite its undoubted intelligence and imagination.
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