Inspector Morse (TV Series) The Wolvercote Tongue (1987) User Reviews

I've Met These People

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 15 February 2018]

I've been on a couple of these tours and the characters are really true to form. There is always an elderly, know-it-all woman who can't keep her mouth shut. I found the actress quite convincing as an abrasive, self-centered creep. The story evolves around the intrigues caused by the murder of a woman and the theft of a priceless piece of jewelry which is to be donated to a museum. Soon, many of the figures are centered in a kind of conflict caused by secrets and avarice. There are also a couple of womanizers, one in particular who has really overstepped his bounds and pays a price for it. Morse continues to belittle Lewis at every turn. He is really impatient that his junior is yawning from beginning to end. Morse appears to be indefatigable when he is on a case. Pretty good work.

Morse at its best.

[bethwilliam · 9/10 · 24 August 2006]

A group of wealthy American tourists are on a cultural tour of Britain when one of them meets with a mysterious death. Morse is called to investigate the apparent murder of Laura Poindexter who is found dead in her motel room.

She had come to Oxford to donate a precious jewel to the Ashmolean Museum - The Wolvercote Tongue. Laura had inherited the priceless stone but it is now missing from the scene of the crime. Morse follows several leads including the beneficiary of the insurance policy - her husband. Only he is now missing.

More murders follow, including the curator of the museum, in a case that becomes totally fascinating.

This episode of Morse is one of the best. The opening tirade by Morse against the doctor, who tends Laura Poindexter is absolutely priceless. Kenneth Cranham as Cedric Downes is brilliant.

There are some wonderful lines. Including "Lewis! Never interrupt me when I am booking the opera. You never know what I might end up with."

Well Played.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 4 February 2011]

This is the fourth episode I've watched since seeing most of them twenty or so years ago and, well, I'm tickled pink. I could actually follow the story -- most of the time. The previous three episodes reminded me of the Humphrey Bogart version of Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep." The plot of the movie was so complicated that at one point the director, Howard Hawks, realized that the screenplay couldn't account for one of the murders. Neither could the screenwriters, who included William Faulkner. So Hawks called the novelist, Chandler, and asked him -- and he didn't know who killed the chauffeur either.

In this episode, though, I kvelled when Morse explains everything at the end -- who killed whom, who stole what, and why -- except for the explanation for one murder, during which I must have blinked or had a second's microsleep. I still don't know why the paraplegic wife was found dead of an overdose.

But, look, I at least know why Theodore Kemp was found with his head bashed in. And I know how Mrs. Pointdexter died and what happened to her fabulous artifact, the eponymous tongue, and -- umm -- no, wait. I don't know why the luscious blond wife of Cedric Downes died in that phone booth either, or how or why she was killed. Caught napping once again. Still, I suppose understanding two deaths out of four isn't a bad average. Actually it's pretty good compared to my grasp of the crimes in the previous three episodes, which gave me a batting average of zero.

I don't think I'll give away the ending. I'm not sure I COULD give away the ending. Except, I hope it doesn't take me beyond the bounds of medical confidentiality if I say that one death is unrelated in any way to the other three, which constitute in themselves what logicians call a "set." I'd like to be able to give the episode a higher grade because I enjoy the characters as much as I do and I love the location. But, man, these plots are complicated, made up of narrative threads that have nothing to do with one another. Not that it's immoral to bootleg in a random subplot or even two, or to run a herring across the trail, but the anfractuous explanations of these plots and subplots and (here, at least) the subplot OF a subplot, are handled so casually that if you're not taking notes -- well, good luck.

A first class outing for Morse and Lewis.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 29 January 2018]

It's very difficult to say an episode of Morse is one of the best, kind of like saying a ruby is nicer then an emerald, they're all fabulous, but The Wolvercote Tongue is a seriously good watch. One of the early offerings, so now Morse and Lewis are at their all time best, the dynamic between the pair is a joy to watch, a superb duo.

It's a cracking story, very intriguing, but it's the beautifully drawn and realised characters that make the episode, the likes of Kenneth Cranham, Simon Callow and Roberta Taylor are all wonderful, but each time I watch it I am bowled over by Peter Woodthorpe in this one, Max is in stupendous form here, extremely funny, but the way he cuts Morse to the quick is a joy. The group of Americans are terrific, headlined by the infuriating Mrs Roscoe, you can't help wondering why she wasn't first on the killers list, a cracking performance again.

A good musical score, wonderful scenery as always, in fairness they'd never fail to make Oxford look stunning. Overall The Wolvercote Tongue is a first class episode from one of the best TV series of all time.

The Wolvercote Tongue

[erh83 · 27 January 2006]

A first class episode from Morse's earlier years on television. A great intricate story well acted and directed. This story was based on an idea by Morse creator Colin Dexter before he turned it into a book a few years later entitled 'The Jewel That Was Ours'. Stand out performances by Kenneth Cranham and of course John Thaw and Kevin Whately make this one to watch out for. Though the story begins slowly (as always with Morse) it then moves quickly to an unforeseen and very exciting conclusion.

As one might expect with Morse, this is well worth your time with the beautiful views of Oxford matched with a calibre of drama which they simply don't produce anymore.

A jewel episode to possibly the best crime drama series ever!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 2 July 2009]

The Wolvercote Tongue is based on an idea by author of the Inspector Morse books Colin Dexter, and a few years after this episode first aired, a book was published entitled The Jewel That Was Ours. The book is certainly very good, though there is one chapter that is written as a letter, and because of the small print you can't read most of it. The episode The Wolvercote Tongue has a superb idea of an American woman dying suddenly whilst on a tour to Oxford, and the Wolvercote Tongue goes missing. The episode also has intriguing subplots like the murder of the museum owner, who is having an affair with the wife of one of the tour guides. It is carefully constructed, and while simply told, is held together by some strong acting, lovely camera-work showing the beauty of Oxford and a well-written script. As always, John Thaw is perfect as Morse, and I can't imagine anyone else playing the character. I loved the line "Lewis, never interrupt me when I am booking the opera", and I loved the exchange between the doctor and Morse when they're examining the victim in the hotel. Kevin Whately is his usual charming self, and there is some stellar support from Kenneth Cranham as Downes(though he looked exhausted), Roberta Taylor as Shiela and Simon Callow as Kemp. Not to mention a wonderful performance from Peter Woodthorpe as the pathologist Max, who brings a sense of humour to the proceedings. All in all, an excellent episode, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox.

A nicely academic feel to this epsiode

[Prichards12345 · 7/10 · 9 February 2020]

The Wovercote Tongue concerns Morse having to investigate a possible murder amongst a party of American tourists in Oxford.

This show has a good feel to it, with Simon Callow as a womanising academic, and a fine performance from Roberta Taylor as the drinking-too-much tour guide. It isn't quite top drawer Morse but it's still highly enjoyable. The disappearance of the tongue is slightly unconvincing but it's always a treat to watch Morse and Lewis go to work.

Very Hitchcockian

[jcgailb · 10/10 · 23 August 2014]

I am sure I have seen this episode before, but with the airings of Endeavor, my husband and I are watching all the Inspector Morse's again. I was amazed at how this episode was shot/directed. Very different from others in my view. The exchanges between Morse and Lewis are usually shot through a window or from some odd perspective (the cool couch scene for example) and there is all this other stuff going on in the background or foreground, maids, cleaners, barmaids...it is priceless. So of course I had to dig deeper into who the director was and my he seems like a gem. His idol was Hitchcock! I was not even surprised. I can't wait to tell my husband! It seems Alastair Reid directed one other episode and I look forward to seeing it again, although I do remember it better than this one and don't recall the uniqueness in it that this one has. A touch of Rear Window and North by Northwest.

Another great Morse episode

[Sulla-2 · 9/10 · 16 February 2022]

It's similiar to the book "The Jewel that was our" but allhugh the book features the missing the Wolvercate Tongue", the tongue is not the jewel refered to in the title.

Intriguing episode

[grantss · 9/10 · 27 August 2022]

One episode into Season 2 and you can already see that the series has evolved from Season 1. S1 was clumsy and tended to leave things unexplained (though the final episode was the exception). It also relied on red herrings and twists rather than a solid plot.

Season 2 already is more substantial, with a good, intriguing plot. Morse's character is being better drawn too - S1 gave him some odd, inconsistent characteristics. The banter between Morse and Lewis is also getting better.

Maybe still a bit too twisty for its own good. Plus the solving everything on hunches methodology makes for good melodrama but I keep hoping that good old fashioned policework - evidence, clues etc - will win the day.

Bad acting

[emmetlang-42622 · 3/10 · 8 April 2022]

It's hard to judge the acting in TV shows 35 years after they were produced, but I will never understand how the English could put up with Simon Callow for all those years. Every time I see him in a TV show or movie I can't enjoy it because his clownish over-acting is distracting, irritating and infuriating. Second point is that occasionally there are British actors who play Americans in American TV shows and movies and are fantastic--for instance Tim Roth, Damian Lewis, Laura Fraser, Kelly MacDonald etc. But in English productions, especially TV, the producers aren't too concerned with getting actors who can do even a passable American. I suppose they figured that only Brits are going to be watching it and thus nobody will be any of the wiser. But now that we Americans are getting to watch old (and new) English TV shows on streaming services, we are exposed to these actors playing "Americans" with ridiculous accents that sound nothing like an American. The old bag called Janet in this episode is particularly bad. There's also one of the oldsters in this episode who has an obvious and thick Australian accent. And they're supposed to be from Omaha or some such.