The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House (TV 2011)

Based on true events, a Scotland Yard Detective Inspector investigates the horrific murder of a three-year-old boy.

Director:

James Hawes

Writers:

Kate Summerscale (book), Neil McKay

Stars:

Paddy Considine, Peter Capaldi, Tom Georgeson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paddy Considine	...	Detective Whicher
Peter Capaldi	...	Samuel Kent
Tom Georgeson	...	Superintendent Foley
William Beck	...	Dolly Williamson
Emma Fielding	...	Mary Kent
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Commissioner Mayne
Kate O'Flynn	...	Elizabeth Gough
Donald Sumpter	...	Peter Edlin QC
Ben Miles	...	Dr. Stapleton
Alexandra Roach	...	Constance Kent
Jay Simpson	...	George Redman
Peter Gordon	...	Holcombe
Charlie Hiett	...	William Kent
Sarah Ridgeway	...	Sarah Cox
Ben Crompton	...	William Nutt

Storyline

In 1860 Scotland Yard's 'Prince of Sleuths' Jack Whicher is sent to rural Wiltshire to investigate the murder of three-year-old Saville Kent,snatched from his bed at night and killed.Saville's nurse Elizabeth Gough is a prime suspect but released for want of evidence though local Superintendant Foley is convinced it is an inside job. Foley gives his help grudgingly,disdainful of 'modern' methods,speculating that Saville woke to see Elizabeth with a lover,possibly Saville's father,an unpopular man. Part of a woman's torn garment is found,stained in blood,and Constance,Kent's sixteen-year-old daughter from his first marriage, claims she lost a night-gown. Dr. Stapleton,the family physician,tells Whicher that Constance,like her mother,is dangerously unstable and jealous of Saville. Both she and younger brother William hate their stepmother Mary,their former nanny,with whom Kent cuckolded their mother. Whicher arrests Constance but fails to get a confession from her and,at her trial,a ...

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Plot Keywords:

1860s | based on fact | year 1860 | victorian era | murder of child | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Ett fall för Mr Whicher

Filming Locations:

Bampton, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hat Trick Productions, Tinamus Productions, Lorius Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Crime Connections: Episode #1.6 (2012)

User Reviews

Flat

'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher', a crime drama based on a true case in Victorion England, has a great cast; but falls flat. It's a mannered, gentle affair, wholly devoid of tension. Mr Witcher investigates a crime, forms suspicions in the absence of cooperation from the local police, but comes under political and popular pressure and is unable to conclude his case successfully; years later, some evidence emerges that supports his theory; but that's it. We're never given particular reason to care about the crime; and while we naturally sympathise with the protagonist, he isn't the crime's victim, and is powerless in the face of the machinations around him. Perhaps we're so used to crime dramas that are improbably dramatic that it's hard for a more naturalistic story to succeed; but it's also fair to say that Victorian England never really comes to life in this tale.