Anthony Head Credits

Enemy at the Door

Television guest star appearance (UK)

Series summary: Set on the British Channel Island, Guernsey, during the German occupation of WWII. It focuses primarily on the Martel family.

Role: Clive Martel
Episodes: 1.04 - Steel Hand from the Sea and 1.05 - The Laws and Usages of War
Original air dates: February 11, 1978 and February 18, 1978
Note: Several sources erroneously list Anthony Head as a cast member for the second series. However, these are the only two episodes in which he appears.
Network: ITV
Availability: Currently available on DVD

Summary of Anthony Head's storyline: The series takes place on the British Channel Island, Guernsey, during the German occupation of World War II. When the series starts, Clive Martel has left the island to join the army and is stationed somewhere in Britain. His father, Dr. Martel, has joined a civilian committee designed to act as liaison between the German occupying army and the civilian population. Dr. Martel's daughter, Clare, is strongly and openly opposed to the Germans. Clare's boyfriend, Peter Porteous, has remained on the island to care for his ill mother, Helen (played by Anthony Head's mother, Helen Shingler – however, the two have no scenes together. They also appear in the same episode of Bergerac).

In Steel Hand from the Sea, Clive secretly returns by boat to the island on a recognizance mission. While on the boat, he has a chat with the captain, in which he talks about a garage he used to run with a chum of his. He also acknowledges that he volunteered for the army as he was eager to get into "the show". When the captain asks if he is afraid, Clive clearly lies and says no. The captain admits that he is. 

Once Clive has arrived on the island, he first seeks help from his business partner, only to discover that Teddy is involved in the black market, selling stolen items passed on to him by a German officer. Teddy refuses to help Clive. As he leaves the garage, Clive meets Oberleutnant Kluge who is there to investigate the theft of items from the German supplies. Clive leaves without any suspicion. However, once Kluge has discovered Teddy's stash of cigarettes, Teddy reveals Clive's identity.

Clive next goes to hide at the Porteous farm where Peter stumbles across him. He explains his mission to Peter who provides him with as much information as he can. Peter talks Clive into meeting with Clare. Meanwhile, Kluge and Major Richter arrive at the Martel home to question them about Clive's presence. Dr. Martel gives them his word that his son is not on Guernsey. Kluge recognizes a picture of Clive on the piano, but Richter believes that Dr. Martel has no knowledge of his son's presence. During the course of this, Peter has called Clare and arranged a meeting between her and Clive. They meet on the beach but the reunion is soon interrupted when Clare sees a German soldier, Kessler, watching them. Clare yells at Clive to kill Kessler, but when her brother hesitates, she picks up a rock and throws it at Kessler. This knocks the soldier off the cliff and into the sea. The episode ends with Clare and Clive watching Kessler's lifeless body floating in the sea.

The Laws and Usages of War opens with the British raid on Guernsey, led by Clive. It is however, a significant failure and most of the British forces are killed. Clive orders the remaining soldiers to leave in their boat while he stays behind to try and find survivors. He goes to hide out at a tea house once run by a woman he'd been in love with, but who was killed in an air raid on the mainland not long before. Meanwhile, Clare confesses the events of the previous episode to her mother, and then to her father who is furious because he'd given his word to Major Richter that his son was not on the island. Peter Porteous has discovered a wounded British soldier in his barn. He calls Dr. Martel for assistance. They eventually decide that they have to turn the soldier over to the Germans because he would die without hospital care. The soldier tells them where to find Clive before being taken away. Dr. Martel goes to see his son and Clive asks him to find Joe le Beq, who Clive believes can help him escape the island.

The British soldiers who had left the island are captured. The German officers realize that the successful landing was led by someone with firsthand knowledge of the local sea, while the departure was a disaster, indicating that the person who led the landing is still on the island. A local woman claims that Joe le Beq is the man they are looking for and le Beq is arrested. He confesses to leading the landing but Kluge does not believe his confession.

Dr. Martel discovers that le Beq has been arrested and meets with Richter. The Major informs him that any British soldiers who turn themselves in within three days will be treated as POWs. Any British soldiers found after that will be dealt with under the laws and usages of war - in other words, shot as enemy spies. Dr. Martel returns to Clive and informs him of le Beq's arrest and Richter's statements. Clive cannot allow an innocent man to be punished and turns himself in. Kluge, in the meantime, has cleared le Beq's name with his own investigation, but it is too late for Clive. Clive and the other surviving British soldiers board a ship to be taken to a POW camp in France, while Dr. Martel watches his son from the dock.

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