RUMPOLE'S RETURN {RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY} (TV)
Summary
This two-hour, made-for-television special is based on the series of legal dramas about eccentric, kind-hearted barrister, Horace Rumpole, who defends seemingly hopeless cases in London's main criminal court, the Old Bailey.
In this two-hour special, Rumpole has retired from the Old Bailey after losing a string of cases under Judge Bullingham, and he and Hilda have gone to stay with their son Nick in Florida. Hilda is enjoying the sun and relaxation, but Rumpole has trouble adjusting to the U.S., and thinks constantly of his glory days in England. In fact, he has been following a strange murder case in the British news, and coincidentally the case has been assigned to Ken Cracknell, his replacement in chambers. Meanwhile, at the Old Bailey, everyone is happy about Rumpole's absence, except Phyllida Erskine-Brown, who writes to ask for Rumpole's advice when Cracknell gets frustrated with the murder case. Rumpole takes Phyllida's letter as an excuse to rush back to London and re-establish himself in chambers, much to everyone's dismay. He immediately takes on and loses a case defending the owner of an "adult bookshop." Encouraged by his loss, Cracknell invites him on the murder case, hoping the frustration will send him back to Florida. However, Rumpole quickly takes the evidence against the defendant, Hubert Simpson, and turns it to his advantage. He realizes that both Simpson and the deceased victim belonged to a religious cult that reminds him of a similar group he had run across in the U.S. With the help of his son and a little research on the properties of blood, Rumpole unearths the truth about the cult, and places the blame where it belongs. After his triumph, Rumpole gives up any ideas of leaving his true home, the Old Bailey.
(This special program is based on the series, "Rumpole of the Bailey," which was telecast on Thames in England and on the series "Mystery!" on PBS. This special program aired on PBS on October 11, 1984.)
Details
- NETWORK: Thames (United Kingdom)
- DATE: November 30, 1979
- RUNNING TIME: 1:44:49
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T86:1040
- GENRE: Drama, legal; Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Drama, legal; International Collection - United Kingdom
- SERIES RUN: Thames (United Kingdom) - TV series, 1978-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- John Frankau … Executive Producer
- Jacqueline Davis … Producer
- John Glenister … Director
- John Mortimer … Writer, Based on the novel by
- Joseph Horovitz … Music composed and directed by
- Leo McKern … Cast, Horace Rumpole
- Peggy Thorpe-Bates … Cast, Hilda Rumpole
- Albert Welling … Cast, Hubert Simpson
- Robin Halstead … Cast, Rory Canter
- Shelagh Stephenson … Cast, 'Smokey' Revere
- Carl Andrews … Cast, Benjamin Dole
- Patsy Smart … Cast, the Landlady
- Gordon Salkilld … Cast, D. L. Wargrave
- James Smith … Cast, D.C. Jarwood
- Peter Bowles … Cast, Guthrie Featherstone, Q.C., MP
- Patricia Hodge … Cast, Phyllida Erskine-Brown, Q.C.
- John Price … Cast, Ken Cracknell
- Julian Curry … Cast, Claude Erskine-Brown
- Richard Murdoch … Cast, Uncle Tom
- Grafton Radcliffe … Cast, Owen Glendour Owen
- Moray Watson … Cast, George Frobisher
- Jonathan Coy … Cast, Henry
- Maureen Darbyshire … Cast, Dianne
- Ian Gelder … Cast, Nick
- Deborah Fallender … Cast, Erica
- Maxine Johnson … Cast, Tiffany Jones
- Phil Marquis … Cast, Paul Hayes
- Dick Sterling … Cast, Prof. Nathan Blowfield
- Ken Rahgers … Cast, William
- Jorge Gill … Cast, the Young Man at Farm
- Christine Page … Cast, the Post Girl
- Leonard Maguire … Cast, Dr. McClintock
- Alan Lake … Cast, Meacher
- Derek Benfield … Cast, Albert Handyside
- Roger Booth … Cast, Alderman Pertwee
- Robert Hartley … Cast, Judge Matthew
- John Humphry … Cast, the Prosecuting Counsel
- Bill Fraser … Cast, Judge Bullingham
- Gerald Cross … Cast, Moreton Colefax, Q.C.
- John Alkin … Cast, Mike Mowbray
- Peter Hughes … Cast, Prof. Ackmeran
- Trevor Bowen … Cast, Lord Freith