Tomorrow at Ten at last

I have seen Tomorrow at Ten, the film at which a kidnapped small boy is locked in a room with an exploding golliwog. It is certainly not a lost gem, though there are a few things of interest about it.

Because the child is menaced in this way, the kidnapper is free to talk openly to his father and even to the police. He holds all the cards until... But that would give the plot away.

There are a couple of interesting points in the casting. The villain is effectively played by Robert Shaw, 11 years before he starred in Jaws. And his father is played in a sharp cameo by William Hartnell.

Not so long before, Hartnell had been playing far more substantial roles, but by 1964 his career was in decline. He did not see playing the lead in a new children's serial called Dr Who was as much of a consolation.

Hartnell and his wife own The Golliwog Club. And there is some significance to the toy chosen to house the bomb.

One final question. Is the Piers Bishop who played the boy the same Piers Bishop who became a television announcer, the Piers Bishop who is a psychotherapist involved with Mindfields College, both or neither?