''The Massingham Affair'' is a British

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

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 ...

which originally 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 six episodes from 12 September to 17 October 1964.Baskin p.69 It is an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same title by

Edward Grierson Edward Grierson (9 March 1914 - 24 May 1975) was a Northumberland barrister and a writer of crime novels. His debut crime novel is the outstanding ''Reputation for a Song'', a classic inverted detective story. Grierson also wrote five novels, six ...

. Unlike many BBC series of this era, it is believed all six episodes survive intact, but remain unreleased since their original broadcast.

Synopsis

In the late

nineteenth century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolish ...

, the violent robbery of a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

and his daughter leads to two men being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, a young

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Justin Derry is unconvinced of the verdict and sets out to exonerate them.

Cast

Lyndon Brook Lyndon Brook (10 April 1926 – 9 January 2004) was a British actor, on film and television. Family and early life Lyndon Brook was born on 10 April 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to British parents. He came from an established acting fami ...

as Justin Derry *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

as Superintendent Blair *

Renny Lister Renny Lister (born 24 May 1934) is a British retired film and television actress. Personal life Lister was born on 24 May 1934 in Manchester. She married Eric Lister in 1953, the marriage later ended in divorce although she retained her first h ...

as Jean Kelly *

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy A ...

as Charlotte Verney *

George Cormack George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

as Reverend Verney *

Geoffrey Bayldon Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series ''C ...

as Mr. Lumley *

Bernard Kay Bernard Frederic Bemrose Kay (23 February 1928 – 25 December 2014) was an English actor with an extensive theatre, television, and film repertoire. Career Kay began his working life as a reporter for the ''Bolton Evening News'', and a str ...

as Jim Longford *

Robert Cawdron Robert Cawdron (29 December 1921 – 14 September 1997) was a French-born British film and television actor. Often cast as police officers, he had a long-running role on ''Dixon of Dock Green'' as Detective Inspector Cherry.The Guinness Book of ...

as PC Hugh *

Patsy Rowlands Patricia Amy Rowlands (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005) was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom '' Bless This House'', and as Alice Meredit ...

as Georgina Deverel * Barry Wilsher as Mick Kelly * John Wentworth as Colonel Deverel *

Norman Rodway Norman John Frank Rodway (7 February 1929 – 13 March 2001) was an Anglo-Irish actor. Early life Rodway was born at the family home, Elsinore (named after the castle where Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' is set), on Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Dublin, ...

as Mr. Gilmore * John Barrett as George Sugden *

John Cazabon John Forde Cazabon (3 August 1914 – 22 June 1983) was an English actor and stage writer whose career began in Sydney, Australia. History Cazabon was born in Hertford, Hertfordshire, to violinist and composer Albert Cazabon (1883–1970) and No ...

as Mr. Harris * George Little as Pat Milligan *

Harry Littlewood Harry Littlewood (23 May 1921 – 26 December 2003) was an English actor who has appeared in ''Coronation Street'', ''George and Mildred'', ''Z-Cars'', '' Softly, Softly'', '' The Saint'', ''Never the Twain'', '' Families'', ''The Bill'', '' Ca ...

as Joe Henderson * Cynthia Etherington as Mrs. Sugden *

William Mervyn William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in ''The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose i ...

as Mr. Jessop * Frieda Knorr as Amy Dodds * John Rae as The Judge * Mary Webster as Maggie Binns * William Gordon as Court Usher *

Joby Blanshard John Henry "Joby" Blanshard (7 November 1919 – 26 November 1992) was an English film and television actor, most famous for playing Colin Bradley in 32 episodes of the early 1970s "science-fact" series, ''Doomwatch''. Filmography * ''The Pas ...

as PC Luke * John Wilding as Warder *

Gladys Dawson Gladys Dawson, later Gladys Woodruff, (1909-1993) was a British artist known as a painter and illustrator of children's books. Biography Dawson was born in Castleton in Rochdale and, after a private school education, she attended Heatherley' ...

as Grannie Binns *

Benn Simons Benn is a surname and given name. It may refer to: Surname * A. W. Benn (1843–1915), British rationalist/humanist writer * Aluf Benn (born 1965), Israeli journalist, author and editor-in-chief of the Israeli national daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' ...

as PC Moffatt * Robert Gregory as Urchin * Elizabeth Digby-Smith as Lucy * Morris Parsons as A Man *

Erik Chitty Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover, Kent – 22 July 1977 Brent, Middlesex), was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Fr ...

as Mr. Rees *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Mr. Paget * Philip Howard as Mr. Fortescue *

A.J. Brown Arthur Juan Brown Sr. (born June 30, 1997), nicknamed "Always Open", is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and was drafted by the Tenness ...

as Judge * Denis Cleary as Servant * George Betton as Clerk of the Court *

Ian Cunningham Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

as Foreman of the Jury

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massingham Affair, The BBC television dramas 1964 British television series debuts 1964 British television series endings 1960s British drama television series 1960s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television shows based on British novels