''My Cousin Rachel'' is a British

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

adapted from the novel of the same title by

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

.Baskin p.196 It first aired on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in four parts between 7 and 28 March 1983.

Plot synopsis

Philip Ashley’s cousin and guardian Ambrose has mysteriously died in Italy. Philip distrusts the diagnosis of a brain tumor due to letters from Ambrose describing suspicions that Rachel and her attorney Rainalidi are trying to poison him. Ambrose had not made a new will upon his marriage to Rachel, leaving Philip the heir to the large estate. When Rachel arrives in Cornwall, Philip becomes enamored with her despite his misgivings. He makes preparations to transfer the estate to Rachel and, encouraged by her behavior, assumes they will be married. Rachel rejects this, claiming he has misunderstood, and Philip falls ill. Rachel nurses him back to health and when recovered, Philip suspects that she poisoned him. He searches her room looking for evidence. Finding none, he realizes he has misjudged Rachel and also realizes he has failed to warn her of a dangerous bridge in the garden. He finds her broken body under the collapsed bridge.

Cast

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

as Contessa Rachel Sangalletti *

Christopher Guard Christopher Guard (born 5 December 1953) is an English actor, musician and artist. He is known for roles such as Jim Hawkins in '' Return to Treasure Island'' (1986), Bellboy in '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'' (1988 ...

as Philip Ashley *

Charles Kay Charles Kay (born Charles Piff, 31 August 1930) is an English actor. Early life Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham Piff. Originally educated at Warwick School, Kay went on to study me ...

as Rainaldi * Amanda Kirby as Louise Kendall *

Bert Parnaby James Bertram "Bert" Parnaby (4 March 1924 – 30 July 1992) was a British actor who was notable for a string of TV and Film roles from the 1960s through the 1980s. His TV roles included performances in ''Blackadder'', ''By the Sword Divided' ...

as Seecombe *

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. O ...

as Ambrose Ashley * John Stratton as Nick Kendall *

Keith Marsh Keith Marsh (1926 – 28 January 2013) was an English actor who appeared in numerous television productions over a 50-year period. Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, he is perhaps best known for playing Jacko in the Thames Television sitcom ' ...

as Rev. Pascoe *

Michael Mellinger Michael Andreas Mellinger (30 May 1929 – 17 March 2004) was a German actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He was best known for his appearances on the West End and supporting role in the film '' Goldfinger'' (1964). Biography Born ...

as Giuseppe *

John Bryans John Bryans (died March 2, 1989) was a British actor, who appeared frequently on television. He is possibly best known for his recurring role as Bercol during the first two series of ''Blake's 7''. He also appeared in the third series as the tor ...

as Mr. Couch *

Esmond Knight Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor. He had a successful stage and film career before World War II. For much of his later career Knight was half-blind. He had been badly wounded in 1941 while on active ...

as Sam Bates

Reception

In a 1985 review, John J. O'Connor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commended the script and Chaplin's performance and the direction, noting it "captures the special Cornish atmosphere of the piece perfectly." O’Connor wrote "The problem with this psychological study is that dramatically it has no clearly defined resolution." He summarized the series as "a fairly absorbing treatment" but warned those looking for a "tidy" ending would be disappointed.

References

Bibliography

*Baskin, Ellen. ''Serials on British Television, 1950-1994''. Scolar Press, 1996.

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0085061 BBC television dramas 1983 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television shows based on British novels Adaptations of works by Daphne du Maurier