Praying Mantis (1983)

Product Details

A twisting tale of deception, blackmail and an abominable crime of passion. BAFTA-winning writer Philip Mackie's 1982 adaptation of Hubert Monteilhet's little-known French novel, one of Channel 4's earliest commissioned dramas, is a smart and absorbing mystery with plenty of surprises. Vera Canova (Carmen Du Sautoy) is married to university professor Paul (Pinkas Braun), whose first wife and son died under suspicious circumstances. As an insurance company investigates Vera's possible role in their deaths, Paul draws up a new will making his wife beneficiary to his considerable fortune. Lurking in the shadows is Christian Magny (Jonathan Pryce), Paul's dedicated assistant, who falls in with Beatrice Manceau (Cherie Lunghi), a free-spirited young woman who is pregnant by a lover who has no wish to marry her or raise the child. Things go awry in the Canova household when a trusted secretary is accused by Vera of stealing jewellery and subsequently commits suicide. But is Vera as calculating as first impressions suggest? Does Beatrice's sunny nature mask dark intentions? And is Christian as loyal and emotionally uninvolved as he makes out? Deep rivalries and ravenous duplicity keep viewers guessing up to the moment the shocking crime passionel is revealed.