Do you ever feel that creepy landlord put there in the story because the writer is secretly trying to tell that there are some pervert in real life working for BBC at that time like Jimmy Savile.
shareAs someone said, clearly he is there as a misdirection by the director. At the time the film was made it wasn't yet such a cliche to misdirect the viewers suspicions from the real perpetrator to someone who might be suspicious but harmless. It is also a play on the viewers' prejudices because the landlord is weird and strange. But something like that does not, and shouldn't in real life , be a good reason to suspect and accuse someone. So in some way it is a clever misdirection.
I personally think that in 1960s England it makes unique sense because of the prejudices toward homosexuals and the laws that criminalized homosexuality and other "deviant" behaviors. The landlord looks like he might appear as such, but finding that the suspicions that the viewers may have had about him are not materialized makes it a clever play.
It is clever. If I were Ann I would avoid going back to living in his building, if at all possible. I don't care about his sexuality. He's too intrusive. Maybe Newhouse has a spare room or two ;)
Mag, Darling, you're being a bore.
If I had been Ann, I would have asked him if he would remove those creepy African (?) masks while I was renting the flat.
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