Vincent Price’s The Price of Fear (BBC Radio) - BBC, Vincent Price

Category: General Fiction, Horror
Language: EnglishKeywords: BBC BBC Radio Dramatization dramatized Dramtisation Full Cast Horror vincent price
Written by BBC, Vincent Price
Read by Vincent Price
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Volume normalized and cleaning of low and high frequency muffling and sharpness on each episode. EXCELLENT QUALITY FOR EACH EPISODE
Having carved out a career as the master of the macabre and cinema’s leading scare merchant in a series of 1960s-lensed Gothic chillers, and having played a rogues gallery of villains, scoundrels and madmen on the big screen in the 1940s and 1950s, Vincent Price was ripe to get his own horror series in the 1970s – especially on radio, which had always been the perfect medium for the veteran actor’s magnificent, mellifluous voice.
A foreboding music theme, a blood-curdling scream, and Price intoning ‘Hello, there…’ welcomed listeners to The Price of Fear, BBC Radio’s late-night serial in which he brought his own elegant eeriness to a series of dramatizations that were sometimes horrific, sometimes with a macabre sense of humor, but always with an inescapable element of fear. They were guaranteed to send a shiver down the spine of the listener just before they turned out the lights.
A detached brain, medieval torture, high-street cannibalism and a bad night in a chamber of horrors were just some of the many curious incidents told by Price, and all were drawn from talented writers – both well-known and new. But just as each story had a deliciously wicked twist, so did the series, as each tale was re-written as though Price had actually experienced the chilling adventure himself. So, let us now turn the light down low, relax and enjoy every moment of it.
A break in rehearsals for the cast: left to right, Mervyn Johns, writer William Ingram, Diana Bishop, Robin Browne, Avril Angers, Vincent Price, Clive Swift and Michael Gwynne
BROADCAST HISTORY
Three series were made in 1973, 1975 and 1983. Initially, the BBC World Service ordered five stories, which aired nightly in the first week of July 1973. These were repeated, along with five new stories, from 1 September to 17 November. In December, the original five got a further airing on BBC Radio 4. The following year, six new stories were broadcast weekly from 6 April to 11 May 1974, before being repeated on BBC Radio 4 in the summer of 1975, along with a handful of series one episodes. Nine years later, the series was resurrected for six episodes, again going out weekly from 30 May to 4 July 1983.
According to his personal agendas, Price recorded the first series over four mornings at Broadcasting House in April 1973, while also working on his final contracted horror picture, Madhouse, which was filmed over 13 weekends, starting 15 April. Whilst staying in London, Price joined the cast and crew of Theatre of Blood for the film’s Leicester Square premiere on 24 May. Price’s diaries suggest he recorded the second half of the first series over three days in the first week of July 1973 (when the first five debuted), and it’s probable he worked on the second series over three days in mid-November 1973. For the third series, Price recorded his part in either late February 1983 or, more likely, in June the previous year, whilst filming Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Ruddigore (14 June) and appearing on Wogan (21 June).
The Price of Fear was one of the most unique series of its era and has become much sought after by radio serial fans over the years since its original run, with many episodes ending up on numerous fansites. A novelisation, edited by Richard Davis, was produced in 1976, featuring eight stories from the first and second series: Fish (Rene Basilico), William and Mary (Roald Dahl), Speciality of the House (Stanley Ellin), The Squaw (Bram Stoker), The Waxwork (AM Burrage), Lot 132 (Elizabeth Morgan), Blind Man’s Buff (William Ingram) and Guy Fawkes Night (Richard Davis). Four episodes were also released on cassette in 1990, as part of the BBC’s Radio Collection. These were the first series tale, Cat‘s Cradle, and the second series stories, The Specialty of the House, Come As You Are (William Ingram) and The Ninth Removal (R Chetwynd-Hayes).
Twenty of the 22 episodes began re-transmitting in the UK on BBC Radio 7 in 2004, and again in 2011 on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Owing to rights issues, the Roald Dahl story, William and Mary, has not been aired since its 1973 debut. The first series episode, Guy Fawkes Night, was not repeated until 2013 when it debuted on BBC Radio 4 Extra with a handful of selected episodes. Missing, however, is the sixth 1974 episode, Never Gamble With A Loser, about which there is no information. It is probable this episode was never recorded.
ABOUT THE SHOW
From the 1970s to the mid-1990s, William Ingram was a prolific writer of BBC radio plays, and he was responsible for 11 of the stories that appeared in the serial, backed up by notable works from Bram Stoker, Roald Dahl, Stanley Ellin and R Chetwynd-Hayes, whose horror collection, The Monster Club, had an ill-fated screen adaptation in 1980 (with Price playing his first vampire on screen) by Amicus horror anthology maestro Milton Subotsky.
John Dyas, who also came up with the title, produced the Price of Fear. ‘It is the greatest fun producing these stories for radio, ‘ wrote Dyas in the foreword to the 1976 novelisation. The producer was also good friends with Price and Coral Browne (Price’s third wife), who features in the series one story, Soul Music, playing the wife of a famous violinist who discovers his hands have a life of their own. In 1975, Browne and Price also teamed up for the three-part BBC Radio 4 play, Night of the Wolf, written by Doctor Who scribe Victor Pemberton.
On working with Price, producer Dyas said: ‘I count myself extremely privileged to be working with someone so kind and unselfish as an individual and, in his constant search for the unattainable goal – perfection, so professional as an actor.’
PRICE ON RADIO
The anthology series gave Vincent Price the opportunity to return to his favorite medium – radio. Beginning as early as 1936 (on Rudy Vallee’s Fleishmann’s Yeast Hour), Price made over 1000 appearances on radio spanning nearly five decades – either as a guest star in a host of variety programmes or in dramatic roles in nearly every kind of genre, from adaptations of major Hollywood films like Laura (1945) and Dragonwyck (1946), playing Simon Templar in The Saint (1947-1951), or acclaimed turns on the likes of Escape and Suspense.
‘I’ve had a go at most of the others: stage, cinema, television – even musical-comedy – and the lecture platform,’ says Price. ‘But all of us who have worked in radio are devoted to it for so many reasons that it’s hard to list them all,’ he said. ‘But what makes radio really exciting is the all-around creativity of it’. And what better way to bring that creativity to the fore, than by infusing it with a taste for fear, ‘for being afraid ourselves and for frightening others’, continues Price, which is at the heart of his horror anthology radio series.
On this, Price said: ‘Man can deal with the big things; but a noise in the night, the feel of something unknown coming from nowhere, the ominous presence, the unexplained. These really get through his defenses and make him vulnerable: these are assailants he can’t withstand. And yet, somehow perversely, he enjoys being attacked. We seek out and welcome those who come at us armed with the weapons of make-believe terror!’
THE FORMAT
It was producer Dyas who came up with the ingenious idea of interweaving Vincent Price’s own ‘fictional’ history into each tale. ‘Merely to cast Vincent as narrator would have been all too easy, ‘ says Dyas. ‘My intention was to make the series far more personalized, to involve Vincent in the action, to make him a participant, even a helpless onlooker of the dreadful events we would concoct for him.’
As the globe-trotting star of ‘fantasies’ (which was how Price preferred to describe his ‘horror’ pictures), the veteran actor was in an ideal position to spin such tales. Recognised wherever and whenever he traveled, and being accosted by strangers who’d regale him with their own weird and incredible stories was the ‘price’ he had to pay for his fame.
Anyone who met Price on his travels will tell he was a patient listener – a little too patient, according to Dyas: ‘Vincent had a compassion for his fellow man and a deep understanding of the frailties of human nature, yet even he cannot always tell whether these unsolicited and nearly always confidential confessions are wholly or partly true or even totally imagined.’
Whatever the case may be, Dyas effectively utilized Price’s capacity as a good listener in The Price of Fear, and while the connection with the horror star was contrived for the series, his well-known interests in the visual arts and in being a bit of a gourmet foodie were drawn upon (the stories Lot 132 and Speciality of the House being prime examples). In doing this, Price ‘the horror star’ and Price ‘the person’ were merged into one persona: creating the iconic ‘scary uncle Vincent’ persona that he ‘played on’ in his many TV guest roles and talk show appearances – even in cartoons like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo (1985).
‘The usually difficult task of converting a story into dramatic terms was made considerably easier for us by Vincent’s wide range of interests, ‘ continues Dyas. ‘As an internationally known film actor and lecturer, he has traveled to practically every part of the world, so it has never been necessary to change the location of a story in order to make it believable – Speciality of the House (New York), Fish (Australia), The Squaw (Bavaria).’
The first two series began with a somber voiceover welcoming listeners to: ‘The Price -pause- of Fear. Brought to you by -pause- Vincent Price.’ To underscore the connection with the serial’s host and occasional star, the first use of Price’s name was given an intentional pause. It was a clever tongue-in-cheek touch. For the 1983 third series, however, this was dropped, as was Price’s connection to each story, where he reverted to narrator duties.
The Price of Fear is classic old-school horror with scary uncle Vincent playing the most ideal of hosts. United, they make perfect companions for curling up in front of the fire on a cold winter’s night to be scared witless. Here’s a look back at the episodes.
Episodes include:
73-09-01 Remains To Be Seen
Adapted by William Ingram from Jack Ritchie’s short story. Two emasculated husbands - one a lover of gardening, the other of chess, and both with nagging wives - plan to restore peace to their lives and enjoy their retirement at leisure…Starring Mervyns Johns, Michael Gwyn, Clive Swift, Avril Angers, Diana Bishop and Robin Browne. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-09-08 William and Mary
Adapted by Barry Campbell from the story by Roald Dahl. Owing to rights issues with the Roald Dahl estate, this episode has not been aired since its 1973 debut. In it, Price recalls the bequest he received on the death of William, the tyrannical husband of his former university friend Mary, in which he had his brain, and one of his eyes kept alive in a basin by an enterprising surgeon. The cast included John Barron (Doomwatch) and Garard Green (The Trollenberg Terror). On Dahl, one of his favorite writers, Price wrote in his introduction to the 1976 novelisation: ‘His leaping imagination, glittering with and dressed impeccably in a master writer’s style, makes him perfect for radio. He listens as well as he reads, and I find myself reading his stories aloud and relishing them. His characters in this story are typically strange and fascinating – a brain and its one-time wife. The frustration of being solely cerebral, especially if your wife has been frustrated physically, is beautifully conveyed in a wry little fable.’Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-09-15 Cat’s Cradle
Adapted by Richard Davis from Bram Stoker’s story ‘The Squaw.’ A small party of tourists visit an old castle in Bavaria – unaware of a horrifying series of events awaiting them in a dank and dismal torture chamber… Starring Kenneth J Warren, Frederick Schrecker, John Samson and Bonnie Hurren. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-09-22 Meeting in Athens
Adapted by Charles Birkin from Maurice Travers’ story ‘So Cold, So Pale, So Fair’ A young film director mysteriously disappears while holidaying in Greece. But when his girlfriend enlists Vincent Price to help her find him, they only succeed in uncovering the latest commodity on the black market - death…Starring Kate Coleridge, Steve Plytas, Robin Browne, Michael Deacon and Charles Birkin. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-09-29 The Man Who Hated Scenes
Adapted by William Ingram from Robert Arthur’s story. On a train journey across the USA, Vincent Price orders breakfast in the deserted restaurant car. But then he encounters a meek millionaire with an alarming tale to share… Vincent Price introduces another tale of horror starring Peter Cushing as Harry, Diana Olsson as Marilyn and Steve Preston as Chuck. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-10-06 Lot 132
Written by Elizabeth Morgan. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the artistically horrifying tale of a painting. With Douglas Blackwell, Alexander John, Elizabeth Morgan and Vincent Price.Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-10-13 The Waxwork
Adapted by Barry Campbell from AM Burrage’s story. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the mortifying tale of a man who spends the night among wax dummies. Starring Peter Barkworth, Joan Cooper, Cyril Shaps and Christopher Bidmead. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-10-20 Fish
Written by Rene Basilico. Movie legend Vincent Price takes the bait, and tells a tale of horror from Down Under. Shark and chips, anyone? Starring Bill Kerr, Bruce Beeby, Amanda Murray and Lewis Fiander. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-10-27 Soul Music
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the chilling tale of a violinist with very special hands. Starring John Graham, Coral Browne, Roger Snowdon and Michael Burlington. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
73-11-17 Guy Fawkes Night
Dramatized by Richard Davis from his own story. Unaware at first that a crime had been committed, Vincent Price remembers a bonfire party when a bullying father disappeared… Starring Adrienne Corri, Alexander John, Derek Lamden and Peter Craze. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
74-04-06 Come as You Are
Written by William Ingram. Vincent Price receives a chilling invitation to a very special costume party. Starring Morris Perry, Betty Huntley-Wright and Peter Williams. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
74-04-13 The Speciality of the House
Adapted by Barry Campbell from Stanley Ellin’s story. Vincent Price recounts a culinary tale which leaves a bitter taste. Starring Hugh Burden, Francis de Wolfe, William Sleigh and Vernon Joyner. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
74-04-20 The Ninth Removal
Adapted by Barry Campbell from R. Chetwynd-Hayes’s story. Vincent Price shares an unnerving tale of a secretary’s murderous revenge. Starring Freda Jackson, Richard Pearson, Clare Sutcliffe, Michael Segal and Alan Rowe. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
74-04-27 An Eye for an Eye
Written by William Ingram. Even Vincent Price can’t face the meal that is placed before him. Starring Christopher Bidmead, Anne Jameson and Roger Snowdon. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
74-05-04 Blind Man’s Bluff
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price’s chilling tale of an eerie passenger who joins him on a train heading west. Co-starring Freddie Jones and Geoffrey Collins. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-05-30 Goody Two Shoes
Written by William Ingram. Married for five years, David and Anne Fordyce escape the London rat race by buying a deserted cottage in Devon. But their idyllic life is shattered by the intrusion of a previous tenant - from another century… Starring Michael Jayston, Sandra Clark, Daphne Heard, Frances Jeater and Nigel Graham. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-06-06 To My Dear, Dear Saladin
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of a cat - and its unusual inheritance. To Emily, Great Aunt Hesta leaves her entire fortune, including her home, Longbridge Manor. To her beloved cat, Saladin, she bequeaths continuing life on the estate. But Emily’s husband, Freddie has other ideas and dearly pays the price… Starring Edward Woodward as Freddie, Annette Crosbie as Emily, Steve Hodson as Smiley and Lewis Stringer as the Solicitor. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-06-13 The Family Album
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of faceless commuter Arthur, who proves to be a formidable adversary as danger strikes. Stars Maurice Denham as Arthur Goodby, Liz Fraser as Rose Goodby, James Kerry as Harry, Aubrey Morris as Mr Martin and Anthony Newlands as The Coroner. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-06-20 Out of the Mouths
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale about unforeseen danger as a scientist tries out advanced theories on his newborn son. Stars Hywel Bennett as Richard, Elizabeth Proud as Rachel and John Quail as David. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-06-27 Not Wanted on the Voyage
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of the despotic Henrietta Forsythe’s sway over her secretary and new husband. Stars Margaret Courtenay as Henriette Forsythe, Sandor Eles as Carlos Mendoza, Henry Stamper as The Captain and Sheila Grant as Evelyn. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
83-07-04 Is There Anybody There?
Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale set in discrete suburbia - home to medium and clairvoyant, Griselda Thorpe and her older sister Edie. And it is to their genteel house that Henry Jollit comes in search of a preview of eternity… Starring Dilys Laye, Sylvia Coleridge and Norman Bird. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.
Volume normalized and cleaning of low and high frequency muffling and sharpness on each episode. EXCELLENT QUALITY FOR EACH EPISODE

Having carved out a career as the master of the macabre and cinema’s leading scare merchant in a series of 1960s-lensed Gothic chillers, and having played a rogues gallery of villains, scoundrels and madmen on the big screen in the 1940s and 1950s, Vincent Price was ripe to get his own horror series in the 1970s – especially on radio, which had always been the perfect medium for the veteran actor’s magnificent, mellifluous voice.

A foreboding music theme, a blood-curdling scream, and Price intoning ‘Hello, there…’ welcomed listeners to The Price of Fear, BBC Radio’s late-night serial in which he brought his own elegant eeriness to a series of dramatizations that were sometimes horrific, sometimes with a macabre sense of humor, but always with an inescapable element of fear. They were guaranteed to send a shiver down the spine of the listener just before they turned out the lights.

A detached brain, medieval torture, high-street cannibalism and a bad night in a chamber of horrors were just some of the many curious incidents told by Price, and all were drawn from talented writers – both well-known and new. But just as each story had a deliciously wicked twist, so did the series, as each tale was re-written as though Price had actually experienced the chilling adventure himself. So, let us now turn the light down low, relax and enjoy every moment of it.

A break in rehearsals for the cast: left to right, Mervyn Johns, writer William Ingram, Diana Bishop, Robin Browne, Avril Angers, Vincent Price, Clive Swift and Michael Gwynne

BROADCAST HISTORY

Three series were made in 1973, 1975 and 1983. Initially, the BBC World Service ordered five stories, which aired nightly in the first week of July 1973. These were repeated, along with five new stories, from 1 September to 17 November. In December, the original five got a further airing on BBC Radio 4. The following year, six new stories were broadcast weekly from 6 April to 11 May 1974, before being repeated on BBC Radio 4 in the summer of 1975, along with a handful of series one episodes. Nine years later, the series was resurrected for six episodes, again going out weekly from 30 May to 4 July 1983.

According to his personal agendas, Price recorded the first series over four mornings at Broadcasting House in April 1973, while also working on his final contracted horror picture, Madhouse, which was filmed over 13 weekends, starting 15 April. Whilst staying in London, Price joined the cast and crew of Theatre of Blood for the film’s Leicester Square premiere on 24 May. Price’s diaries suggest he recorded the second half of the first series over three days in the first week of July 1973 (when the first five debuted), and it’s probable he worked on the second series over three days in mid-November 1973. For the third series, Price recorded his part in either late February 1983 or, more likely, in June the previous year, whilst filming Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Ruddigore (14 June) and appearing on Wogan (21 June).

The Price of Fear was one of the most unique series of its era and has become much sought after by radio serial fans over the years since its original run, with many episodes ending up on numerous fansites. A novelisation, edited by Richard Davis, was produced in 1976, featuring eight stories from the first and second series: Fish (Rene Basilico), William and Mary (Roald Dahl), Speciality of the House (Stanley Ellin), The Squaw (Bram Stoker), The Waxwork (AM Burrage), Lot 132 (Elizabeth Morgan), Blind Man’s Buff (William Ingram) and Guy Fawkes Night (Richard Davis). Four episodes were also released on cassette in 1990, as part of the BBC’s Radio Collection. These were the first series tale, Cat‘s Cradle, and the second series stories, The Specialty of the House, Come As You Are (William Ingram) and The Ninth Removal (R Chetwynd-Hayes).

Twenty of the 22 episodes began re-transmitting in the UK on BBC Radio 7 in 2004, and again in 2011 on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Owing to rights issues, the Roald Dahl story, William and Mary, has not been aired since its 1973 debut. The first series episode, Guy Fawkes Night, was not repeated until 2013 when it debuted on BBC Radio 4 Extra with a handful of selected episodes. Missing, however, is the sixth 1974 episode, Never Gamble With A Loser, about which there is no information. It is probable this episode was never recorded.

ABOUT THE SHOW

From the 1970s to the mid-1990s, William Ingram was a prolific writer of BBC radio plays, and he was responsible for 11 of the stories that appeared in the serial, backed up by notable works from Bram Stoker, Roald Dahl, Stanley Ellin and R Chetwynd-Hayes, whose horror collection, The Monster Club, had an ill-fated screen adaptation in 1980 (with Price playing his first vampire on screen) by Amicus horror anthology maestro Milton Subotsky.

John Dyas, who also came up with the title, produced the Price of Fear. ‘It is the greatest fun producing these stories for radio, ‘ wrote Dyas in the foreword to the 1976 novelisation. The producer was also good friends with Price and Coral Browne (Price’s third wife), who features in the series one story, Soul Music, playing the wife of a famous violinist who discovers his hands have a life of their own. In 1975, Browne and Price also teamed up for the three-part BBC Radio 4 play, Night of the Wolf, written by Doctor Who scribe Victor Pemberton.

On working with Price, producer Dyas said: ‘I count myself extremely privileged to be working with someone so kind and unselfish as an individual and, in his constant search for the unattainable goal – perfection, so professional as an actor.’

PRICE ON RADIO

The anthology series gave Vincent Price the opportunity to return to his favorite medium – radio. Beginning as early as 1936 (on Rudy Vallee’s Fleishmann’s Yeast Hour), Price made over 1000 appearances on radio spanning nearly five decades – either as a guest star in a host of variety programmes or in dramatic roles in nearly every kind of genre, from adaptations of major Hollywood films like Laura (1945) and Dragonwyck (1946), playing Simon Templar in The Saint (1947-1951), or acclaimed turns on the likes of Escape and Suspense.

‘I’ve had a go at most of the others: stage, cinema, television – even musical-comedy – and the lecture platform,’ says Price. ‘But all of us who have worked in radio are devoted to it for so many reasons that it’s hard to list them all,’ he said. ‘But what makes radio really exciting is the all-around creativity of it’. And what better way to bring that creativity to the fore, than by infusing it with a taste for fear, ‘for being afraid ourselves and for frightening others’, continues Price, which is at the heart of his horror anthology radio series.

On this, Price said: ‘Man can deal with the big things; but a noise in the night, the feel of something unknown coming from nowhere, the ominous presence, the unexplained. These really get through his defenses and make him vulnerable: these are assailants he can’t withstand. And yet, somehow perversely, he enjoys being attacked. We seek out and welcome those who come at us armed with the weapons of make-believe terror!’

THE FORMAT

It was producer Dyas who came up with the ingenious idea of interweaving Vincent Price’s own ‘fictional’ history into each tale. ‘Merely to cast Vincent as narrator would have been all too easy, ‘ says Dyas. ‘My intention was to make the series far more personalized, to involve Vincent in the action, to make him a participant, even a helpless onlooker of the dreadful events we would concoct for him.’

As the globe-trotting star of ‘fantasies’ (which was how Price preferred to describe his ‘horror’ pictures), the veteran actor was in an ideal position to spin such tales. Recognised wherever and whenever he traveled, and being accosted by strangers who’d regale him with their own weird and incredible stories was the ‘price’ he had to pay for his fame.

Anyone who met Price on his travels will tell he was a patient listener – a little too patient, according to Dyas: ‘Vincent had a compassion for his fellow man and a deep understanding of the frailties of human nature, yet even he cannot always tell whether these unsolicited and nearly always confidential confessions are wholly or partly true or even totally imagined.’

Whatever the case may be, Dyas effectively utilized Price’s capacity as a good listener in The Price of Fear, and while the connection with the horror star was contrived for the series, his well-known interests in the visual arts and in being a bit of a gourmet foodie were drawn upon (the stories Lot 132 and Speciality of the House being prime examples). In doing this, Price ‘the horror star’ and Price ‘the person’ were merged into one persona: creating the iconic ‘scary uncle Vincent’ persona that he ‘played on’ in his many TV guest roles and talk show appearances – even in cartoons like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo (1985).

‘The usually difficult task of converting a story into dramatic terms was made considerably easier for us by Vincent’s wide range of interests, ‘ continues Dyas. ‘As an internationally known film actor and lecturer, he has traveled to practically every part of the world, so it has never been necessary to change the location of a story in order to make it believable – Speciality of the House (New York), Fish (Australia), The Squaw (Bavaria).’

The first two series began with a somber voiceover welcoming listeners to: ‘The Price -pause- of Fear. Brought to you by -pause- Vincent Price.’ To underscore the connection with the serial’s host and occasional star, the first use of Price’s name was given an intentional pause. It was a clever tongue-in-cheek touch. For the 1983 third series, however, this was dropped, as was Price’s connection to each story, where he reverted to narrator duties.

The Price of Fear is classic old-school horror with scary uncle Vincent playing the most ideal of hosts. United, they make perfect companions for curling up in front of the fire on a cold winter’s night to be scared witless. Here’s a look back at the episodes.

Episodes include:

73-09-01 Remains To Be Seen

Adapted by William Ingram from Jack Ritchie’s short story. Two emasculated husbands - one a lover of gardening, the other of chess, and both with nagging wives - plan to restore peace to their lives and enjoy their retirement at leisure…Starring Mervyns Johns, Michael Gwyn, Clive Swift, Avril Angers, Diana Bishop and Robin Browne. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-09-08 William and Mary

Adapted by Barry Campbell from the story by Roald Dahl. Owing to rights issues with the Roald Dahl estate, this episode has not been aired since its 1973 debut. In it, Price recalls the bequest he received on the death of William, the tyrannical husband of his former university friend Mary, in which he had his brain, and one of his eyes kept alive in a basin by an enterprising surgeon. The cast included John Barron (Doomwatch) and Garard Green (The Trollenberg Terror). On Dahl, one of his favorite writers, Price wrote in his introduction to the 1976 novelisation: ‘His leaping imagination, glittering with and dressed impeccably in a master writer’s style, makes him perfect for radio. He listens as well as he reads, and I find myself reading his stories aloud and relishing them. His characters in this story are typically strange and fascinating – a brain and its one-time wife. The frustration of being solely cerebral, especially if your wife has been frustrated physically, is beautifully conveyed in a wry little fable.’Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-09-15 Cat’s Cradle

Adapted by Richard Davis from Bram Stoker’s story ‘The Squaw.’ A small party of tourists visit an old castle in Bavaria – unaware of a horrifying series of events awaiting them in a dank and dismal torture chamber… Starring Kenneth J Warren, Frederick Schrecker, John Samson and Bonnie Hurren. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-09-22 Meeting in Athens

Adapted by Charles Birkin from Maurice Travers’ story ‘So Cold, So Pale, So Fair’ A young film director mysteriously disappears while holidaying in Greece. But when his girlfriend enlists Vincent Price to help her find him, they only succeed in uncovering the latest commodity on the black market - death…Starring Kate Coleridge, Steve Plytas, Robin Browne, Michael Deacon and Charles Birkin. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-09-29 The Man Who Hated Scenes

Adapted by William Ingram from Robert Arthur’s story. On a train journey across the USA, Vincent Price orders breakfast in the deserted restaurant car. But then he encounters a meek millionaire with an alarming tale to share… Vincent Price introduces another tale of horror starring Peter Cushing as Harry, Diana Olsson as Marilyn and Steve Preston as Chuck. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-10-06 Lot 132

Written by Elizabeth Morgan. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the artistically horrifying tale of a painting. With Douglas Blackwell, Alexander John, Elizabeth Morgan and Vincent Price.Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-10-13 The Waxwork

Adapted by Barry Campbell from AM Burrage’s story. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the mortifying tale of a man who spends the night among wax dummies. Starring Peter Barkworth, Joan Cooper, Cyril Shaps and Christopher Bidmead. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-10-20 Fish

Written by Rene Basilico. Movie legend Vincent Price takes the bait, and tells a tale of horror from Down Under. Shark and chips, anyone? Starring Bill Kerr, Bruce Beeby, Amanda Murray and Lewis Fiander. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-10-27 Soul Music

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price tells the chilling tale of a violinist with very special hands. Starring John Graham, Coral Browne, Roger Snowdon and Michael Burlington. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

73-11-17 Guy Fawkes Night

Dramatized by Richard Davis from his own story. Unaware at first that a crime had been committed, Vincent Price remembers a bonfire party when a bullying father disappeared… Starring Adrienne Corri, Alexander John, Derek Lamden and Peter Craze. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

74-04-06 Come as You Are

Written by William Ingram. Vincent Price receives a chilling invitation to a very special costume party. Starring Morris Perry, Betty Huntley-Wright and Peter Williams. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

74-04-13 The Speciality of the House

Adapted by Barry Campbell from Stanley Ellin’s story. Vincent Price recounts a culinary tale which leaves a bitter taste. Starring Hugh Burden, Francis de Wolfe, William Sleigh and Vernon Joyner. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

74-04-20 The Ninth Removal

Adapted by Barry Campbell from R. Chetwynd-Hayes’s story. Vincent Price shares an unnerving tale of a secretary’s murderous revenge. Starring Freda Jackson, Richard Pearson, Clare Sutcliffe, Michael Segal and Alan Rowe. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

74-04-27 An Eye for an Eye

Written by William Ingram. Even Vincent Price can’t face the meal that is placed before him. Starring Christopher Bidmead, Anne Jameson and Roger Snowdon. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

74-05-04 Blind Man’s Bluff

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price’s chilling tale of an eerie passenger who joins him on a train heading west. Co-starring Freddie Jones and Geoffrey Collins. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-05-30 Goody Two Shoes

Written by William Ingram. Married for five years, David and Anne Fordyce escape the London rat race by buying a deserted cottage in Devon. But their idyllic life is shattered by the intrusion of a previous tenant - from another century… Starring Michael Jayston, Sandra Clark, Daphne Heard, Frances Jeater and Nigel Graham. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-06-06 To My Dear, Dear Saladin

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of a cat - and its unusual inheritance. To Emily, Great Aunt Hesta leaves her entire fortune, including her home, Longbridge Manor. To her beloved cat, Saladin, she bequeaths continuing life on the estate. But Emily’s husband, Freddie has other ideas and dearly pays the price… Starring Edward Woodward as Freddie, Annette Crosbie as Emily, Steve Hodson as Smiley and Lewis Stringer as the Solicitor. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-06-13 The Family Album

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of faceless commuter Arthur, who proves to be a formidable adversary as danger strikes. Stars Maurice Denham as Arthur Goodby, Liz Fraser as Rose Goodby, James Kerry as Harry, Aubrey Morris as Mr Martin and Anthony Newlands as The Coroner. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-06-20 Out of the Mouths

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale about unforeseen danger as a scientist tries out advanced theories on his newborn son. Stars Hywel Bennett as Richard, Elizabeth Proud as Rachel and John Quail as David. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-06-27 Not Wanted on the Voyage

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of the despotic Henrietta Forsythe’s sway over her secretary and new husband. Stars Margaret Courtenay as Henriette Forsythe, Sandor Eles as Carlos Mendoza, Henry Stamper as The Captain and Sheila Grant as Evelyn. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.

83-07-04 Is There Anybody There?

Written by William Ingram. Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale set in discrete suburbia - home to medium and clairvoyant, Griselda Thorpe and her older sister Edie. And it is to their genteel house that Henry Jollit comes in search of a preview of eternity… Starring Dilys Laye, Sylvia Coleridge and Norman Bird. Produced by John Dyas. Music by Derek Price.