''Raffles'' is a 1977 television series adapted from the A. J. Raffles stories by

E. W. Hornung Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles (character), A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educa ...

. The stories were adapted by

Philip Mackie Philip Mackie (26 November 1918 – 23 December 1985) was a British film and television screenwriter. He was born in Salford in Lancashire, England. He graduated in 1939 from University College London and worked for the Ministry of Informat ...

. Set in Victorian era London, the series features the criminal adventures of

gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

A. J. Raffles Arthur J. Raffles (usually called A. J. Raffles) is a fictional character created in 1898 by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, an inversion of Holmeshe is a "gentle ...

, a renowned cricketer, and his friend, the eager but naive

Bunny Manders Harry Manders (almost exclusively known as Bunny Manders) is a fictional character in the popular series of Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. He is the companion of A. J. Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the r ...

, as they test their skills in relieving the wealthy of their valuables whilst avoiding detection, especially from Inspector Mackenzie. The episodes were largely faithful adaptations of the stories in the books, though occasionally two stories would be merged to create one episode, such as "The Gold Cup", which featured elements from two short stories, "A Jubilee Present" and "The Criminologist's Club". The series has been released on DVD.

Regular cast

Anthony Valentine Anthony Valentine (17 August 1939 – 2 December 2015) was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in ''Callan'' (1967–72), the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in ''Colditz'' (1972–74), Bob in Tales of the Un ...

, a clever and daring gentleman who is a well-known cricketer and also secretly an expert burglar *

Christopher Strauli Christopher Strauli (born 13 April 1946) is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is known for appearing as Norman Binns in the British Yorkshire Television sitcom '' Only When I Laugh''. Early life and education Strauli was born ...

, Raffles's loyal friend and accomplice, who is more idealistic and naive than Raffles *

Victor Carin Victor Carin (1 October 1933 – 2 January 1981) was a Scottish actor, director, and translator, who wrote for radio, television, film, and the stage.Corbett (2005), "Introduction", pp. xvii–xix. Carin was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Stoneh ...

as Inspector Mackenzie, a diligent Scottish detective from

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

who is suspicious of Raffles * Victor Brooks as the porter at the Albany, the prestigious address where Raffles lives

Production

The 1975 pilot was produced by Peter Willes, and the producer of the 1977 series was Jacky Stoller. The executive producer of the series was

David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He was Member of Parli ...

and the theme music was by Anthony Isaac. The production company was

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. Screenwriter

adapted the episodes from the A. J. Raffles stories of author

. Filming for the full series took place during the summer of 1976, which saw Britain experiencing a prolonged heatwave. Actors remembered how hot it was filming outdoor scenes, especially wearing their heavy Victorian costumes and stiff collars. The Albany refused to give Yorkshire Television permission to film on their grounds, so the production team instead built their own exterior. The television series took six months to film and was shot on a mixture of video and film. Some episodes were released on VHS. The series was later released on DVD.

Episodes

Reception

In his book ''Raffles and His Creator'', Peter Rowland praised the television series for its fidelity to Hornung's stories, stating that the adapter Philip Mackie kept as close as he could to the spirit and dialogue of the original stories. Rowland noted that, while the series simplified the Raffles saga by keeping A. J. Raffles a well-known cricketer living at the Albany (unlike in the original stories, in which Raffles's situation changes in the short story "The Gift of the Emperor"), the basic characters of Raffles and Bunny were brought more accurately to life than in any previous adaptation. Rowland also stated that Raffles had previously been portrayed with non-canonical features (for example, both

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

and

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

portrayed Raffles with a moustache). Compared to previous actors, Anthony Valentine portrayed Raffles with an appearance closer to the slim, dark-haired, clean-shaven description of the original character, with Bunny Manders (Christopher Strauli) being fair-haired and appearing a few years younger than Raffles, as in the stories. According to Rowland, the series was positively received by viewers and critics.

David Pryce-Jones David Eugene Henry Pryce-Jones (born 15 February 1936) is a British conservative author and commentator. Early life Pryce-Jones was born on 15 February 1936, in Vienna, Austria. He was educated at Eton and earned a degree in history at Magdale ...

wrote in '' The Listener'' (3 March 1977): "''Raffles'' has become a serial. In Anthony Valentine, what is more, Raffles has been splendidly personified, a lean, dark figure with a smile at once engaging and slightly saturnine. The eye is cold, the manner debonair. He looks as if he could well play cricket for England and would steal any tiara without compunction." The series was nominated in 1978 for the BAFTA TV Awards for Best Costume Design (Brian Castle), Make-up (Phillippa Haigh), and VTR Editor (the Yorkshire TV Team).

References

External links

* {{A. J. Raffles 1977 British television series debuts 1977 British television series endings ITV television dramas Period television series Television shows based on British novels Works based on A. J. Raffles Television series by Yorkshire Television English-language television shows 1970s British crime television series 1970s British drama television series