"The Beiderbecke Affair" (1985) TV series

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Directors:

David Reynolds
Frank W. Smith

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

6 January 1985 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English and wants to help save the planet...

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Corruption | Police | School Teacher | Leeds

Cast

James Bolam	...	Trevor Chaplin (6 episodes, 1985)
Barbara Flynn	...	Jill Swinburne (6 episodes, 1985)
Dominic Jephcott	...	Det. Sgt. Hobson (6 episodes, 1985)
Terence Rigby	...	Big Al (6 episodes, 1985)
Dudley Sutton	...	Mr. Carter (6 episodes, 1985)
Keith Smith	...	Mr. Wheeler (6 episodes, 1985)
Danny Schiller	...	Little Norm (5 episodes, 1985)
Colin Blakely	...	Chief Supt. Forrest (4 episodes, 1985)
Keith Marsh	...	Harry (4 episodes, 1985)
Alison Skilbeck	...	Helen / ... (3 episodes, 1985)
Sue Jenkins	...	Janey (3 episodes, 1985)

Runtime:

320 min (6 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Belmont level crossing, Forest Lane, Starbeck, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Trivia:

The episode titles "What I don't understand is this...", "Can anybody join in?", "We call it the white economy", "Um... I know what you're thinking", "That was a very funny evening" and "We are on the brink of a new era, if only..." are the opening lines of each episode.

Quotes:

[Sergeant Hobson has warned Big Al that using the church crypt as a warehouse contravenes planning regulations]
Big Al: The town planners have moved in like a wolf on the fold.
Trevor Chaplin: I believe they tend to do that.
Big Al: If we don't get all that gear out of the church basement by the weekend, we're all pencilled-in for deportation, solitary confinement, loss of privileges, discharge with ignominy, boiling in oil... or a small fine.
Trevor Chaplin: All that for breaking the town planning regulations?
Big Al: I think you get a choice - I haven't studied the small-print.

Movie Connections:

References Some Like It Hot (1959)

Soundtrack:

Cryin' All Day

Splendily entertaining and disturbingly prescient

This was not the first outing for Alan Plater's schoolteacher detectives, who in 1981's Get Lost had been played admirably by Alun Armstrong and Frances Tomelty. However no-one could quibble with the re-casting. James Bolam effortlessly nails each line of the arch dialogue, while the talented Barbara Flynn has that rare quality of looking both believably ordinary and incredibly fanciable. Some wonderful British character actors also get plenty of screen time in what is effectively an ensemble piece. Colin Blakely, Keith Marsh, Danny Schiller, Robert Longden and Keith Clarke all do sterling work, but special mention must be made of Dudley Sutton's tweedy schoolmaster and Terence Rigby's saturnine Big Al, while Dominic Jephcott was a real find as the callow university educated detective. A beautifully constructed series, that remains as pertinent as ever in a society increasingly disrespectful of privacy and intolerant of eccentricity.