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Der singende Detektiv

Original title: The Singing Detective
  • TV Mini Series
  • 1986
  • 1h 10m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Der singende Detektiv (1986)
DramaMusicalMystery

Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.

  • Stars
    • Michael Gambon
    • Patrick Malahide
    • Joanne Whalley
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.6/10
    4.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • Michael Gambon
      • Patrick Malahide
      • Joanne Whalley
    • 57User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 BAFTA Awards
      • 6 wins & 8 nominations total

    Episodes6

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 Season1986

    Photos25

    Carla Gugino at an event for Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Joanne Whalley in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Joanne Whalley and Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Michael Gambon in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Alison Steadman in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Patrick Malahide and Janet Suzman in Der singende Detektiv (1986)
    Joanne Whalley in Der singende Detektiv (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Gambon
    Michael Gambon
    • Philip Marlow
    Patrick Malahide
    Patrick Malahide
    • Mark Binney…
    Joanne Whalley
    Joanne Whalley
    • Nurse Mills
    David Ryall
    David Ryall
    • Mr. Hall
    Gerard Horan
    Gerard Horan
    • Reginald
    Leslie French
    • Mr. Tomkey…
    Ron Cook
    Ron Cook
    • First Mysterious Man
    George Rossi
    • Second Mysterious Man
    Sharon D Clarke
    Sharon D Clarke
    • Night Nurse
    Lyndon Davies
    Lyndon Davies
    • Philip (aged 10)
    Geff Francis
    Geff Francis
    • Porter
    Janet Suzman
    Janet Suzman
    • Nicola
    Alison Steadman
    Alison Steadman
    • Mrs. Marlow…
    Jim Carter
    Jim Carter
    • Mr. Marlow
    Imelda Staunton
    Imelda Staunton
    • Staff Nurse White
    Janet Henfrey
    Janet Henfrey
    • Schoolteacher
    Bill Paterson
    Bill Paterson
    • Dr. Gibbon
    William Speakman
    • Mark Binney (aged 10)…
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The first time Sir Michael Gambon was wheeled onto set in his full make-up, all the cast and crew were reduced to a stunned silence. Gambon broke the ice by saying "What's all this fuss about Chernobyl then? I went there for a holiday and it didn't do me any harm."
    • Quotes

      Philip Marlow: I used to think that all I wanted was the good opinion of honorable men and the ungrudging love of beautiful women. Now I know for sure that all I really want is a cigarette.

    • Connections
      Featured in Arena: Dennis Potter (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Peg o' My Heart
      (uncredited)

      Music by Fred Fisher

      Performed by Max Harris & His Novelty Trio during the credits

    User reviews57

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    For the sake of the song
    About to watch the 'The Singing Detective' in its entirity for the first time in 18 years, one is filled with anticipation but also anxiety. Supposing it's dated, or that its once revolutionary nature has been so widely copied (one thinks here of its multi-layered structure, or the scene where Michael Gambon tries to avoid having an erection) that it will be impossible to remember quite how fresh it seemed on first viewing. Worst of all, perhaps it's simply not as good as remembered? When the piece started slowly, I feared that disappointment indeed awaited. But soon I fell again into its magical rhythmns, and, mesmerised, have just (with the aid of DVD) consumed the final five hours in a single weekend. Mesmerised but not surprised - the power of the piece is such that almost every scene, almost every line of dialogue seemed familiar. The last film I saw I had in fact seen previously, and much less than 18 years before, but I had forgotten it entirely and would not have even realised except for a one memorable detail. By contrast, in Dennis Potter's masterpiece, when a single scene failed to trigger recognition, it seemed horribly wrong, as every other incident was written on my brain.

    For those who don't know, 'The Singing Detective' is an offbeat musical about a writer in hospital, that weaves effortlessly his present experiences, his past fictions, his paranoid imaginings and, above all else, the memories of a childhood that to this day still dominates his life. Wildly imaginative, but grounded in Potter's own autobiography, it constitutes an enormously rich and vivid telling of a fundamentally very simple story. Potter celebrates life, but refuses to assign it any false dignity. The extent to which he strips away the cant that helps make life bearable is truly disturbing, and perhaps explains the reason the religious right wanted it banned. The cover of my DVD says 'moderate nudity; mild language; no violence' and by modern standards this is correct. Which only damns the moderns; but Potter knew truly how to shock.

    Put simply, everything is right about this series. The dialogue is caustic and hilarious; the direction spot on; the acting brilliant. The song and dance routines are coreographed precisely, economically, but to devastating effect. In fact, the construction of the whole work has the feel of jazz to it, the same themes repeated with minor variation, building to a whole that exceeds the mere parts. And the faces in this drama are the most wonderfully expressive faces you will ever see. I was going to call their expressiveness stylised, in that no-one's real face ever really gives away so much. But these, of course, are the faces of the memory, a lifetime's trauma captured in a single tearful eye.

    The cast clearly rose to the material. Gambon gives a virtuoso acting masterclass, supreme in both his roles (he plays both the writer and his creation); and though the writer undergoes a major personal journey during the course of this story, Gambon is as good at the end as at the start. While Joanne Whalley, Bill Paterson (with his beard and accent, he makes me think of Robin Cook!) and (in a virtually silent role) Jim Carter have never done anything better. Often overlooked, meanwhile, is the stunning performance from (the subsequently obscure) Lyndon Davies from as Gambon's younger self.

    Potter spent his entire career trying new ways of writing screenplays. It didn't always come off and after this work, little he produced was of merit. But 'The Singing Detective' hits no false notes. If there's been a better series made for television, I haven't seen it.
    helpful•85
    2
    • paul2001sw-1
    • Mar 14, 2004

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 18, 1991 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Singing Detective
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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