Portugal's Carnation Revolution of April 1974 had a major effect on Grainer's second marriage. Son Damien was sent to boarding school and the family eventually followed him to England to wait until the political situation settled itself. Ron Grainer.org Biography
MOUSEY [9.3.1974]
Made for TV thriller about a mild mannered biology teacher who becomes obsessed with getting revenge on his ex wife because she remarried. Their previous domestic situation was complex. He was unable to father children and she was pregnant with another man's child but their marriage of convenience turned sour when he became convinced the child was actually his.
One of the most disturbing experiences of the film is watching big screen hero Kirk Douglas convincingly take on the role of a truly spiteful personality who plays vicious mind games with his targets even being willing to kill a kind hearted stranger for no better reason then to gain a psychological advantage.
Always one step ahead of his intended victims actions he manages to unsettle them in a way that makes the audience feels nervous as well. The incident where the source of a threatening phone call is found to be very close to home is a genuine shock. Yet despite all the mayhem the final scene manages to evoke sympathy for the psychological torments motivating the killers anger.
It is perhaps a fault in an otherwise taunt script that we never get to know the back story of “Mousey” as it is obvious the causes for his behaviour go far beyond just a student nickname.
Grainer's orchestration as usual avoids the obvious. A guitar played with a Spanish melodic approach, a rippling harp and a brief agitated organ rift is all he needs to evoke the waves of control and confusion felt by the central character and the people associated with him.
SOUTH RIDING [16.9.1974]
13 part mini-series based on a popular 1936 book about the efforts of a female school teacher to bring modern ideas and attitudes to a conservative girls school and community in Yorkshire.
The program has always attracted mixed opinions IMDb reviews "South Riding" and probably had most appeal to a British audience because of its slow paced plot and underlying political conflicts but it did win 1975 Bafta Awards for best drama series and best actress award [Dorothy Tutin] and the 1975 Broadcasting Press Guild award for best drama series so it must have done something right.
Some of its UK success could be due to Grainer's clarinet, strings and harp theme which although fairly nondescript with an archetypal British soap opera arrangement it works in the context of the programs physical setting as well as its characters and story lines.
