Although only having seen three (in a total of thirteen) very average episodes of "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" thus far, I think it's fair to state I know what the series' main and overall shortcoming is. The episodes are far too long for the very thin storylines they are showcasing. Every short film in this series has a running time of approximately 70-75 minutes. That's as long as the made-for-TV horror & suspense movies of the 1970s (the famous "ABC Movies of the Week") but with only half - or even less, sometimes - of the thrills and subject matter covered.
"The Late Nancy Irving" felt even more like a sore disappointment than the previous two episodes I watched, because the plot holds so much awesome potential and yet so very little is done with it. Nancy Irving is a famous female golf player who has an extremely rare blood type in addition to a condition of diabetes. After fainting at the golf course, she receives the medical advice to take it slow for a while. When her husband is away for business, Nancy is lured into a fake road accident and taken to a sinister private hospital in the countryside... but not for the treatment she thinks! The story reminded me of those glorious mad-scientist movies of the late 50s and early 60s, in which innocent and defenseless women are kidnapped and used as organ, brain or skin donors for the disfigured wives/daughters of the desperate scientist. You know, classics such as "Eyes without a Face", "The Awful Dr. Orloff" or "Circus of Horrors". Unfortunately, only the plot is vaguely similar, and this short film can't hold a candle to any of the aforementioned titles.
Most upsetting about "The Late Nancy Irving" is how awfully long it takes before the obvious (since the start) plot-twist gets revealed, and how dreadfully tame the big finale is. More than an hour is wasted on unnecessary mystery-building, but in the end none of the 'villains' puts up a half-decent fight. There's only one true highlight in the film, and that's the cynically spoken final line by the lead heroine.