Name: Thark
Director: Donald McWhinnie
Genre: Comedy, Horror, TV Movie
Released: 1968-11-05
Cast: Philippa Gail, Sarah-Jane Gwillim, Monica Grey, Ronald Hines, Terence Edmond

A haunted house farce where the ghosts might be the least chaotic thing in the room.

Posh British mayhemDrawing room disasterHaunted house hijinks

Overview

Comedy Horror TV Movie

Farce in which the nouveau riche Mrs Frush buys Thark, a large country house, from Sir Hector Benbow but then complains that the house is haunted. An assortment of characters go to the house to investigate.

Class pretensionSocial climbingMarriage as battlefield

Standout Aspects

Acting

Philippa Gail's chaotic energy as Cherry steals every scene.

Writing

Ben Travers' farce structure — doors slam, identities confuse.

Best for:Streaming·Friends

Director

Donald McWhinnie

ReleasedNov 5, 1968

StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast

Intensitymedium

Tonelight

Feellight

Top Cast

Ronald Hines

Sir Hector Benbow

Terence Edmond

Lionel Frush

David Battley

Hook

Jimmy Gardner

Jones

Ask about Thark

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

Thark adapts Ben Travers' 1927 Aldwych farce, a genre of British theatre where respectable middle-class people behave like lunatics behind closed doors.

Trivia

Donald McWhinnie directed this BBC adaptation after cutting his teeth on Beckett radio plays — quite the tonal whiplash.