Dead Man's Eleven (12 Sep. 1999)

Fletchers Cross is preparing itself for their annual cricket match against neighboring village, Midsomer Worthy. Troy has also been selected to open the batting for the Midsomer team. However, tragedy strikes when the wife of local landowner and cricket captain, Robert Cavendish, is discovered murdered after taking their dog for a walk.

Director:

Jeremy Silberston

Writers:

Anthony Horowitz (screenplay), Caroline Graham (characters)

Stars:

John Nettles, Daniel Casey, Jane Wymark

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	DCI Tom Barnaby
Daniel Casey	...	Sgt. Gavin Troy
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Laura Howard	...	Cully Barnaby
Robert Hardy	...	Robert Cavendish
Anthony Calf	...	Stephen Cavendish
Annabelle Apsion	...	Jane Cavendish
Felicity Dean	...	Tara Cavendish
Penelope Beaumont	...	Mrs. Wilson
Duncan Preston	...	Colin Cooper
Imelda Staunton	...	Christine Cooper
Terence Rigby	...	Ian Frasier
Delia Lindsay	...	Zelda Frasier
Zoë Hart	...	Patricia Smith (as Zoe Hart)
Terence Corrigan	...	Charles Jennings

Storyline

Barnaby and Troy investigate the murder of Tara Cavendish, who is beaten to death with a cricket bat near a quarry on her husband's estate. She is the young wife of Robert Cavendish, a local landowner who is also captain of the Fletcher's Cross cricket team. He is disliked by many: his son, Stephen, who resents his father and is having an affair with a local barmaid; Charles Jennings, whom Cavendish recently dismissed from the cricket team; and a group of locals who resent that Cavendish has closed a public footpath that ran across his estate. The mystery deepens when it turns out Cavendish's housekeeper, Emily Beavis, died in a fall at the quarry site some 18 months previously. With that information, Barnaby is convinced that the two deaths are connected.

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Plot Keywords:

midsomer | quarry | housekeeper | murder | footpath | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1999 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 99 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Cavendish is showing the detectives his collection of German military memorabilia, he produces a medal which he refers to as the 'Iron Cross First Class'. As can be seen from the ribbon, it is in fact an even higher award, the Knight's Cross, with the further distinction of oak leaves. No serious collector (as Cavendish is apparently supposed to be) would make such an elementary mistake - it would be almost as bad as getting the denomination wrong on a coin or a stamp.

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Quotes

DCI Tom Barnaby: Every time I go into any Midsomer village it's always the same thing: blackmail, sexual deviances, suicide, and murder. How could you possibly expect me to go and live in one of them?

User Reviews

"Nobody's interested in you or your bloody footpath's." More classic Midsomer Murders.

Midsomer Murders: Dead Man's 11, the on screen title is actually Dead Man's 'Eleven' as opposed to '11' not that it makes any difference though, is set in the Midsomer village of Fletcher's Cross where rich businessman Robert Cavendish (Robert Hardy) is celebrating his 60th birthday with his family when he announces he is selling his huge estate & moving to Orlando with his younger wife Tara (Felicity Dean), a decision which doesn't go down well with his gold-digging son Stephen (Anthony Calf) & his wife Jane (Annabelle Apsion). The next morning & Tara decides to take the dog for a walk, it's a decision she won't live to regret as she is brutally murdered by someone who beats her to death with a cricket bat. The body is quickly discovered & DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) & Sgt. Troy (Daniel Casey) are on the case, unusually there doesn't seem to be any suspects or motive behind the murder but as Barnaby investigates he finds the key lies in past events from many years ago...

Episode 3 from season 2 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Jeremy Silberston & is another great whodunit set in rural England. The well written script by Anthony Horowitz has all the usual ingredient's that makes this show normally so good, it has the usual array of rich character's with plenty of motives, it's very well thought out with a plot that while somewhat far fetched comes together brilliantly at the end in a terrific climax which I'm positive will surprise most viewers & it also has it's usual complex multi layered plot with various things going on, past & present, to keep you both interested & guessing. The superb writing means there are plenty of subtle red herrings which divert our attention from the real killer & are woven into the fabric of the story without standing out too much, I also loved the way this story opens with a fairy tale being read to a young girl brilliantly mirroring a real life tragic event happening at the same time in a cool piece of storytelling. Again I think the final revelation & how all the pieces of the puzzle come together is excellent & joy to watch unfold, these are top quality murder mysteries that obviously had a lot of time spent on them. If your looking for an intriguing, engaging, complex brilliantly made crime drama then you could do a lot worse than Dead Man's Eleven (a title which refers to a cricket team if you didn't know). There's not much else to say other than if your a fan of the series then this is a must.

Troy gets to play cricket in this one & the story revolves around the game. The locations are again very pleasing on the eye, the real life Littlewick Green in Berkshire was used for the cricket & Fletcher's Cross village scenes & Bledlow in Buckinghamshire was the location for The Queen's Arms pub. The murders here aren't too graphic, there's a bit of blood, a couple of dead bodies & someone is stabbed, this episode also features a few swear words. There are some references to earlier stories including cricket teams from Badger's drift & Midsomer Worthy along with Charles Jennings a character who appeared in Death's Shadow. This has high production values & looks like a proper film as opposed to a TV show, the acting is spot on as usual.

Dead Man's Eleven is a great Midsomer Murders, if you like the series then this story is a must & if you don't then why are you reading this? A quality episode from a quality series, all you armchair detectives out there should enjoy this one.