Mute of Malice (3 Mar. 1997)

Kavanagh's defence of an army chaplain accused of killing his brother is made all the more difficult by the fact that his client refuses to speak. Is he simply being uncooperative, or has ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Gold

Writer:

Charles Wood (teleplay)

Stars:

John Thaw, Mac Andrews, Robert Ashby

Cast

Episode credited cast:
John Thaw	...	James Kavanagh QC
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mac Andrews	...	RSM Brown
Robert Ashby	...	Waiter
Linda Bassett	...	Miss Haddon QC
Anthony Calf	...	Miles Beddoes
David Cavendish	...	Mr. Justice Carteris
Oz Clarke	...	Sommelier
Angela Down	...	Angela Beddoes
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Peter Foxcott QC
Roger Hammond	...	Dartwood
David Harewood	...	David Adams
Lisa Harrow	...	Lizzie Kavanagh
Sarah Howe	...	Sarah
Nicholas Jones	...	Jeremy Aldermarten QC
Jenny Jules	...	Alex Wilson

Storyline

Kavanagh's defence of an army chaplain accused of killing his brother is made all the more difficult by the fact that his client refuses to speak. Is he simply being uncooperative, or has the trauma of service in Bosnia rendered him mute? Meanwhile, Aldermarten faces traumas of his own when the judge involved in his case has a nervous breakdown.

---

Plot Keywords:

refusing to speak

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1997 (UK)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Edgar Beddoes (played by Andrew Woodall) reads the novel "Regeneration" by Pat Barker. Several months after this episode premiered in 1997, Woodall appeared in Behind the Lines (also known as Behind the Lines), the film adaptation of the same novel by Barker.

User Reviews

Fine episode, with some very harrowing scenes

Mute of Malice was a very interesting episode. The story here concerns an army chaplain accused of killing his brother, coupled with some very harrowing scenes featuring dead bodies, the story here is well constructed as is the script. The episode begins with a pleasant interlude with Kavanagh and his wife and it was a nice beginning to an episode that got intense at times. The catch here is that the accused either refuses to speak or can't, the episode is dedicated to not only whether he killed his brother but also if he is really mute. The script is also good, and the characters are some of the better developed characters in the series. John Thaw is outstanding once again as Kavanagh, while the man playing the defendant has a very haunting intensity in his face even though he doesn't speak for a majority of the episode. Then there is Robert Calf as the victim and Richard Pasco(who I last saw in the poignant Inspector Morse episode Dead on Time) who do well with what they have. The direction from Jack Gold is also very good, and the production values are first rate. Overall, intense and harrowing, but also well played. 10/10 Bethany Cox