Roald Dahl begins his spooky tale by showcasing Billy Weaver (Leonard Preston) as the innocent victim who single-handedly leads himself into a trap of despair. The book - as well as the movie – shows how Roald Dahl can easily make a simply sweet situation turn ludicrous. The movie starts off with a friendly and pleasant atmosphere, showing youthful Billy Weaver as the main character who heads from the train station to a large hotel. However, he immediately stops when he sees the three bold and capitalised words ‘BED AND BREAKFAST’. It takes him less than a second for him to press the doorbell and is now found inside the Landlady’s (Siobhan McKenna) three-story house. Siobhan McKenna plays the overwhelmingly generous Landlady who promptly
