Arnold Haithwaite is seventeen. In addition to work as a fisherman and helping in his elderly father's shop he works as a sand pilot in the remote village of Skirlston, helping locals and visitors across the treacherous sands. One day he is helping a strange visitor called Sonny through the waters. Sonny asks his name and Arnold tells him - Sonny is incredulous and says it's impossible because his own name in Arnold Haithwaite. Soon after comes a terrifying incident which starts a chain of events that leaves Arnold fearing not just for his future but also his whole identity - and even his life...
The Intruder was a remarkable serial produced by Granada and broadcast on ITV in early 1972. It is a gripping story with a "cuckoo in the nest" theme. Sonny - brilliantly played by Milton Johns - soon gains the trust of Arnold's elderly adoptive father Ernest and makes him believe that he is his nephew and a real relative unlike Arnold. Sonny says he plans to not just take over the shop but also live in the house and Arnold fears that while he is tolerated for now he will later be thrown out - that he will be seen as "the intruder" rather than Sonny. In addition Sonny has ludicrous plans to redevelop Skirlston and turn it into a resort with a marina and casino. Sonny is a deceptive man in all senses of the word. Little is known about him or his past and he makes sure it stays that way. Although not physically imposing he is able to make others do things just through sheer force of personality (certainly not charm) but he is not above either threatening or using force and he is unexpectedly strong. How far is he prepared to go?
Arnold has two allies in the form of two other visitors to the village - fellow teenagers Jane and her younger brother Peter. Peter is without question the more reliable and greater ally. He is a perceptive and brave youngster who often guides Arnold in the right direction. Jane can also be very supportive and it is also clear that she is very attracted to Arnold. However she is also unreliable and sometimes manipulative, seeming to use Arnold to make her boyfriend Jeremy jealous. They are from a very affluent middle class family and this injects a class contrast and sometimes tension. Jane's mother seems disapproving of Arnold and far happier that she spends time with the fellow middle class Jeremy. Jane is herself not above snobbery, not least towards local girl and family maid Norma. Norma is also attracted to Arnold and clearly sees Jane as a rival who she feels will take him away from her.
The Intruder has sometimes been labelled as a "children's series". In part this is because it was based on a contemporary novel of the same name for children / teenagers by John Rowe Townsend but the TV series is more "adult" in all regards than the book (that is no criticism of the book which is an excellent work and well-worth reading). It also had an article in the children's TV magazine Look-In but if it really were considered a children's show it must be one of the most "adult" children's series ever produced. It was actually broadcast in the Sunday teatime "family" slot which was for shows which certainly could appeal to children but also to adults as well and which could be seen by parents and children together. For all that, the content of these shows would generally tend towards catering for children and teenagers but The Intruder was very different. It is likely its languid pace and often "arty" or avant garde direction would go over the heads of younger children and they would find it relatively hard-going.
However it is the casting and content that makes the show radically different and distinctly "adult". Actors well into their twenties were used to play the teenage characters with the exception of the youngest one Peter. Not much emphasis is given to the age of the characters and they come across very much as young adults rather than teenagers. There are sexual undercurrents with both Jane (particularly) and Norma often rather flirtatious and even provocative. There is a lot flesh on show, most notably from Jane and Norma but even Arnold is usually seen in shorts (necessary for his job, wading through waters) and occasionally bare-chested. There is also an unusual level of violence and threat including an attempted drowning, fights and one character being threatened with a cord being pulled round his neck and a knife pointed at him. The first episode even includes quote a strong swear word, justifiable given what had just happened but still muffled or edited on original broadcast although now clearly audible.
Although there are scenes that would rarely have been seen in a "family" show (the production team's previous show The Owl Service a noted exception) the content never strayed into obviously "adults-only" territory. There are no passionate kisses, no couples in bed together, no sexual innuendoes or references, no characters are murdered and there is no regular use of "strong language". All the same the content even now has led the new blu-ray release to have a "12" certificate unlike the "U" or "PG" categories almost always used for "family" shows.
The serial was shot all on location on 16mm film and this definitely gives it a very different feel from many shows of that era which were mainly or wholly studio-bound. Indeed it would have been pretty much impossible to have done this show any other way. The direction by Peter Plummer is - as it was on The Owl Service - remarkably bold and imaginative and strikingly different from the more straightforward styles employed on TV shows of the time. As on The Owl Service he also composed (uncredited) for flute and harp all the incidental music heard on the show and on this occasion the title music. These sounds are haunting and melancholy and complement the mood perfectly.
Along with other works of great depth and imagination there is lots of room to speculate about what is seen on screen such as the motivations of the characters. Not least is this true of the very last scene. This follows extremely dramatic - indeed traumatic events - and leaves open so many possible interpretations. It rounds off a quite superb serial and its release on blu-ray now allows a wider audience to appreciate its qualities.
