David Duncan

After Ben Garvey foolishly turned back to crime, he thought his life was over when he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. But his death sentence isn't quite what it seems, as Ben regains consciousness near an eerie psychiatric ward, where he's told he's been hired as the groundskeeper. With the state of his soul in question, and the love for his wife and daughter all the more real and powerful, Ben must figure out if he's truly cheated death, or if he's become part of something far more sinister.

The first BBC TV version was presented as an 8 part x 30mins. serial between 6 Feb 1951 and 27 Mar 1951. The original production was broadcast live from the Children's TV studio at Lime Grove. There was one transmission during the week with a live repeat, often with a totally different crew, on Sundays. In those days, the amount of telecine (film inserts) was relatively small, so there was great pressure on the actors and the camera crews.