Have His Carcase: Episode One (15 Apr. 1987)

While on a walking tour of the West Country, Harriet stumbles on the body of a bearded man with his throat cut on a rocky outcropping near the sea.

Director:

Christopher Hodson

Writer:

Rosemary Anne Sisson (dramatisation)

Stars:

Harriet Walter, Edward Petherbridge, Richard Morant

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Harriet Walter	...	Harriet Vane
Edward Petherbridge	...	Lord Peter Wimsey
Richard Morant	...	Bunter
Rowena Cooper	...	Mrs. Weldon
Simon Cuff	...	Alexis
Peter Benson	...	Perkins
Romney Marsh	...	Haviland Martin
Ray Armstrong	...	Inspector Trethowan
Michael Troughton	...	P.C. Ormonde
Arthur Cox	...	Salcombe Hardy
Arthur Blake	...	News Editor
Michael Heath	...	Antoine
Trudie Goodwin	...	Cherie
Arthur Hewlett	...	Gaffer Trewin
Richard Caldicot	...	Colonel Belfridge

Storyline

After her acquittal on a murder charge, Harriet embarks on a walking tour of the West Country while working on her new novel. She spots a man lying on a rocky outcropping and tries to warn him that the tide will soon cut him off from the land. Approaching him, she finds his throat has been cut. She cooly collects evidence from the corpse before it is swept out to sea and walks to the nearest village to report the death. She shrewdly also calls the newspaper in order to cash in on the publicity of her discovery. Wimsey and Bunter volunteer their services to help her in her investigation. The dead man turns out to be a gigolo who worked as a professional dancer in aa local seaside resort and was engaged to a wealthy middle-aged widow who is convinced the death is murder and not homicide as the police believe.

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Plot Keywords:

west country | murder | investigation | seaside resort | corpse | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1987 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

The small amount of whiskey that the reporter pours in Bright's glass does not match the amount that he drinks.

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Quotes

Harriet Vane: I'm sorry, I know I'm being horribly ungrateful...
Lord Peter Wimsey: Oh, *hell*! Am I never to hear the end of that hateful adjective? I keep telling you, I don't want gratitude! I don't want kindness, I don't want sentimentality! I just want common honesty.
Harriet Vane: But that's all I ever wanted! I don't think it's to be had.
[silence]
Lord Peter Wimsey: Harriet, I do understand. I know you don't ever want to have to depend on another person for your happiness ever again.
Harriet Vane: That's true. That's the truest thing you've ever said.

User Reviews

Four Hours of Absorption in British Mystery - A Vacation!

I am not sure if I am watching the Petherbridge/Walter series in the correct order. Perhaps "Strong Poison" or "Gaudy Night" go first. I will be renting the bloody lot - and "...Carcase" was certainly bloody! Having watched Ian Carmichael's buoyant '70s series, I was rather brought up short by the less ebullient Wimsey of Petherbridge, not as jollifying and ingratiating as Carmichael's. But there's plenty of room for differences! Petherbridge's preoccupation with Harriet, his consuming passion, this is a switch. Carmichael bounded about with such satisfied zest and interest in other mysterious matters, houseman Bunter perfecting his Lord's environmental whimsies, and, when amour reared a merry tendril, Lord Peter would simply plop his elbows on a couch behind, say, Phyllida Law, and jauntily demand, "NOW what shall we do?" and Phyllida's eyes would POP! Not so Petherbridge's wooing of Harriet Vane. He is her love captive and she - for reasons I could not determine in this episode - does not wish to be dependent upon him or anyone and she resists him mightily, sending him off with limp spirits and dashed hopes on successive occasions. But his valiant repartee is so convivial and his banter so droll, Harriet succumbs to laughter if not kisses. Petherbridge has a marvelous mouth, sort of Cupid's bow, and an arch proboscis that marks his aristocracy. This is a great series for mystery lovers and I plan to see them all,from the archives. BBC knew how to present fabulous fare! I was compelled to view all four episodes in one heady sitting and then leapt into the car to drive, in rush hour traffic, to a friend's home, leaving the DVD with her, who sports an ankle cast from a recent accident, that she might, although deaf (and unfortunately, these older TV masterpieces are not captioned!), sit and lipread what she can and drink in the scenery and costuming and demeanor of the sterling cast! See them all. There are not enough of these, both Carmichael's and Petherbridge's. One of life's glories! Correction: my deaf friend did indeed have captions for this program! Good news. Her TV set was set to provide them and it worked! Even later addendum: Recently I have seen "Strong Poison" and "Gaudy Night." And now I can say that this Lord Peter Wimsey is irresistible and definitive. This series is seductive "Strong Poison!" "Gaudy Night" is cerebral - how will the captions capture all that rich pedantic dialogue? And to think, I have yet to read Dorothy L. Sayers! THAT will be remedied because one wants more, more, MORE!