The hour-long pilot episode that aired on BBC1 in 1975 introducing the irrepressible Old Bailey defence lawyer, Horace Rumpole. Features specially filmed interview with writer, John Mortimer.
In 1985, I started driving all over the US for work. At this time, I started looking for recorded books, old time radio shows and the like. It’s what kept me up when driving long distances. Rumpole of the Bailey was the first recorded book I bought and it was read by Leo McKern. I had not seen the show, so this meant that my introduction to Rumpole was a three fold delight: 1. McKern as Rumpole of course, 2. Then more McKern as the narrator and the many, varied voices of all the other characters and 3. The delightful prose of John Mortimer. I have read or listened to all the books and watched the show. It became a lifelong love of the character, the stories and Leo McKern. And yet, it has been many years since I have given thought to it all. Until today. So grateful for the reawakening of fond memories.
McKern's monologues, his sonorous tones, the melancholy and sheer beauty of his expositions make this a joy forever. What a great, powerful and awesome presence guided with such warmth and humility.
This reveals the magic mix - a superb star like LM + these superb scripts + Sublime drama! Writers deserve HUGE respect. The biggest star will fail with a weak script.
@Dr Moriarty Yes, traditionally writers have always been underrated and gained little recognition for the magic they weave. But I am optimistic for their future status, for increasingly the profile of successful scriptwriters is rising and the public has greater awareness and more curiosity about the men who women who pen their favourite dramas. And good scripts will forever be the lifeblood of all TV and big screen entertainment. I guess I would say that, as a writer myself! Incidentally - your ditty 'writers are like wives and salesmen...' could equally apply to husbands. Just sayin'!
This episode is one of the best of British creativity and legal artistry. The clever use of words and the adversarial calm way in which Rumpole fended off the judge is truly poetic.
It seemed to me that Rumpole reversed his persona in this episode. When he goes to see Ozzie the first time, he is full of righteousness at the way society has bred a bunch of conscienceless, sociopathic youth who, but for Rumpole's defense, would get his just desserts--a very conservative, law and order stance. Midway through the second interview with Ozzie, he is suddenly full of righteousness at the thought that Ozzie DIDN'T deserve to go to prison--A very liberal, "all of us are guilty of something" stance. I too have to question "who is he, indeed, this Rumpole?" Did the playwright even know?
Rumpole didn't "reverse" his position as such, he just didn't have all the facts to be going on with at the start. It goes to show that confirmation bias has always been the worst enemy of justice, and not even Rumpole was immune.
Brilliant and profound. "Who am I really?" Pause. A moment of reflection, then immediate business and distraction. A character brought to life with such manner of self-doubt and hope.
Kind of amazing. All the elements are here in the pilot, from "She who must be obeyed" to the cigar to Wordsworth, etc, etc, etc. And Leo McKern wears Rumpole like an old suit. What a pro.
John Mortimer created Rumpole in print but it was Leo McKern who brought him to life, and what a life! Leo McKern was a national treasure and as Rumpole he rose to pure gold and beyond. Thanks Rumpole!
What a gem of a drama! As a one-off original it is much harder edged than the series which followed. The relationship between wife and husband is subtly, exquisitely drawn - the actress is wonderful. I love the more lighthearted series, but this stands apart.. Thanks so much for posting - didn't know it existed. It stands in its own right!
This was a standalone 1975 'Play for Today' by the BBC. These were high quality weekly dramas often written to illuminate some serious problem in British society - with superb writing, casts and acting. A genre sadly missed today, generally. Oddly, it was left to a competing network broadcaster, Thames Television, to turn it into a popular success that ran to 44 episodes in 7 series between 1978 and 1992
One of Rumpole's (and Mortimer's) best lines:, describing the judge: "Giving me a look of vague disgust, like Queen Victoria with a bad period". Classic!
I used to watch with my nan... who has been gone a long time too. Also developed a love of Peter Ustinov at the same time. Wonderful inter connected memories. And awesome wonderful Rumpole. Penge bungalow.. Portia... she who must be obeyed .. chateau embankment.... truly love it all.
I’m a California attorney. I’ve had the privilege of representing criminal defense clients. At times, I felt the cynicism inherent in the system waft over me. But then I see Mortimer’s Rumpole. It’s humbling. If I could only have a tenth of this barrister’s wit I’d consider myself well armed against a jaded prosecution, ready to hammer down that “golden thread” of British justice that we Americans so readily adopted: all are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I cannot describe how inspiring it is to see a lawyer - even if but an idealized character - maintain this principle as his guiding star. I’m going to learn a lot to-watching these.
Jonathan, the writer of this drama, John Mortimer, was a barrister himself. He was the defender in many famous cases. You should read about his life. Very inspiring.
Wonderful comment. If I could reccomend a couple of texts. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. EPJ Corbett. Also the more light hearted The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth.
Fantastic stuff. I haven't seen this for years, and it's lost none of its humour and dramatic effect. The dialogue is just delicious, Rumpole delighting in upsetting the judge and tripping up his opposition by quoting Wordsworth, and utilising his unique insouciance in his relentless and idiosyncratic pursuit of justice. Shakespeare would have been proud of such a sublime entertainment. John Mortimer was a genius, as was Leo McKern, and this has to rank as one of the best examples of British TV drama ever made. Many thanks for uploading this, old darling!
Watching Leo McKern's portrayal of Rumpole is every bit as entertaining as it is reading John Mortimer's Rumpole stories. On the whole, such an accurate symbiosis is rare when setting books to film. I find that the British are far more successful at remaining true to the source material. That's why I have enjoyed re-reading and re-watching Rumpole stories so much. There's a magic in both media; and it's truly splendid.
The Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett is another example of that. Those two shows along with Monty Python and Dr. Who represent my Golden Age of British telly on PBS. Who says "you can't go home again"?
@@brandonallen3289 I saw it, but Rumpole was truly his best work. I've seen him in movies and TV shows since the 1970's, but when it comes to Rumpole... that part was made for him.
@@MickPsyphon Yes, you are totally correct. When I was young, Basil Rathbone was my Sherlock. I changed my mind. Jeremy Brett was the perfect Holmes, once I saw him, and no one can compare. He defined the role. The same happened with David Suchet and Poirot. I had discovered the books decades before, yet, I can never see any other. Joan Hickson embodies Miss Marple. Bruno Cremer is the ultimate Maigret. I'd read so many of the books before ever seeing him, and knowing that he was perfect. Leo was the very best Rumpole imaginable. In lockdown, I reread all of the books, picturing Leo every step of the way. We are so fortunate to have so many excellent productions. I am so grateful. I've been such a huge mystery/justice fan all my life, since Nancy Drew, at age 9. And, I'm old. And, because of this thread, I'm about to watch "Help!" again. I remember going to my local theater to see it as a first run. What a trip!
back when they actually made proper television programs with something to say and not the absolute garbage reality Tv that passes for quality content today.
The UK is still churning out excellent fictional fare, including adaptations of novels (old and new), crime shows, and comedies, although the English sense of humor tends to baffle Americans. Thankfully, I got it at once while stumbling upon the “Flying Circus” when I was 7 or so. Anyway, businesses produce the crap Americans want, but I’ve never had any trouble finding something good to watch from the UK. Not only that, but the programs are always peopled with veteran actors of the stage, with several who’ve earned nominations for prestigious awards, such as the Olivier, so the acting is always amazing.
@@voraciousreader3341 The BBC is making decent stuff but then it always has, the other channels sitll pump out dross, Ive never had any trouble with British humour Im Australian we get it.
The lunch dialogue between Nick and Rumpole is painful to listen to, unless you’ve never been either an angry young man or a successful old one who has never really understood his son. Wow.
What fantastic writing, acting and production. I can watch this several times and pick up different things, inflections, even dialogue, each time. This was made in a time when there wasn't even VCR's available to re-watch if one wished. These days, nearly every tv episode is available on some form of media, or able to be streamed, ready to re-watch with high definition picture and sound, but the writing is so often dismal and formulaic, that there is no point in revisiting an episode despite the ease with which it's possible.
How fortunate we are! I just found that I could watch these tonight. What a joy! I've reread all his books in quarantine, and here the voice in my head gets to rear his ..... head. lol What a treat! I watched them all on first run, and then... This is awesome.
We live in a lazy society nowadays. It's just not the same in my eyes anymore. There is no novelty in what I what I want to watch, because every thing is at a touch of a button alas.
When you listen to, and closely watch, the details, one can see just how well done this is. The segments from 36:10 to 44:3 and 45:03 to 47:40 especially resonate with fine writing, dialogue, and acting. The closing segment also shows just how good the writers and actors are. Joyce Heron, who portrays Rumpole’s wife, is exceptionally good. Many thanks to the host for sharing. Much appreciated.
This is the first Rumpole TV adaptation I've seen after reading all the books. I was expecting to be disappointed, but this programme is an absolute knockout. Leo McKern is astonishingly good and it is a relief that they managed to fit in Rumpole's inner reflections.
I grew up watching Rumpole of the Bailey on ITV - when ITV had prope good drama made by franchise companies who cared such as Thames Television and Granada Television.
I think that I might have read all the books After having seen the first of the series, but, I'm old, and well, not as on point as I am about Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, George Simenon, Dashiell Hammet, Daphne du Maurier, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and so many others. Who knows when I read all of them? All my reading life, since Nancy Drew , mystery novels have given me that sense of security, that all will be solved and avenged. John Mortimer gave a particularly satisfying, solid, contemporary sense of justice. Leo McKern was just a gift to the world of mystery readers, seekers of "All will be set right." I hate knowing the truth: that it isn't true for so many, especially for women, poc, and the poor. That just breaks my heart. These have given me hope that it isn't all in vain.
@@jzthompson9598 A great group of writers there. To be fair, Rumpole didn't win all his cases, and you wonder if those who suffered at the hands of the Timson family, felt "all had been set right" by some Rumpole victories. Still, he tended to win the cases you cared about as a reader.
This used to be on the CBC on Sundays back in the 70s but I was 6 so it was right over my head. Wish it was still on now because now I would LOVE watching it.
Thank you, Mr. Rumpole! I frequently find myself uttering your razorblade tongue in cheek comments to my management who are stakeholders of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
"Never EVER plead guilty!" My favorite (and quite correct!) legal quote by Horace Rumpole (of the Old Bailey) Was my Saturday night Britcom and drama teevee Saturday night public broadcasting routing for many years back in the 90's. I never watched teevee on the Sabbath. That was reserved for the noon mass radio broadcast of St. Stanislaus Mass for shut-ins, followed up with afternoon Polka music until the 5 p.m. news hour. Then it was Jeff Piecynski's (sic) evening Polka Party show from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. then off to bed because i had to get up for work the next day. Really cool times, that are now gone forever except in the recesses of my mind and memory.
someone doing the history of the McKerns traces the Australian branch back to McKerns who fled the Irish famine in 1848 and before that they had links in Scotland , I am claiming him as Irish ha ha Brill actor. They sent their book and research to Leo McKern who sent back a grateful note.
Well Doctor Who was written by an Australian in the first episode, an Australian thought of the police box and an Australian wrote the iconic Dr Who theme tune so its not the first time we Aussies created an icon for the UK.
I have just been rewatching this episode, after seeing the rerun of the Rumpole ITV series on Talking Pictures T.V. - it is good to see how the series evolved, and to note the changes. But one thing remains beyond doubt, John Mortimer was a superb writer, and Leo McKern grew into the part - he, too, was superb. It would have been interesting to know how Hilda's alcoholism developed, but this was never raised in the ITV series
My grandfather once convicted a man to death. He (the convict) did not go into appeal. He was too poor. My grandfather used to say he used to have nightmare where that man would come in his dreams and say " sahib I am innocent...sahib I am innocent " thats the nagging doubt Rumpole is talking about
When I was a young boy, a long retired Indian Raj Army Major told me that he was asked by one of the Indian Soldiers to defend him on a murderer charge. At this time he was a Lieutenant. From memory this was overseas somewhere - maybe Malaya or Singapore. As usual it involved a woman and money. The Major tried his best, but the soldier was found guilty and sentenced to death. The Soldier asked him to be present at the hanging. When he arrived at the cell, with the party to lead him to the execution, the Indian Soldier saluted him, and thanked him for defending him. The old Major told me the Soldier marched to the rope quite fearlessly. The Major on the other hand was shaking like a leaf. All of this must have been just post WW1. The Major never forgot. He remembered the soldiers name, and said it was the worst thing in his life.
Only one video posted but oh, what a jewel. I thought I had purchased all the Rumpole DVD sets & the books, but this was one I had never before seen. Though an American, I am a huge Rumpole fan. On my shelf, I have a 12" tall replica of FW Pomeroy's Themis (Lady Justice) on the Old Bailey dome. Every time I look at, I imagine the artwork from the opening of the program showing Themis arm-in-arm with Rumpole, and instead of the sword, Rumpole holds his arm outstretched with his umbrella pointed upward.
Welsh Rabbit - this wouldn't be in the DVD box set. The TV series' that produced the DVDs was made by, and broadcast by, Thames Television, a no longer existing, independent (ie: not BBC) broadcaster. The show that you have just seen was from the BBC Play for Today series. Two different and competing companies.
I had never seen that play before. In the series that came out of it, Rumpole's character was developed and deepened considerably, and the exchanges between characters were sharpened up a lot.
Start of one of the greatest series ever for me. How could anyone beat this quality of acting, script and drama ? No one can beat the British in this kind of thing. [I'm not British BTW] Many thanks for the 480 video quality.
Honestly the books are an amusing fancy but the series provides a counterpoint to the image rumpole projects of himself, which is less challenged in the books, rumpole being the sole narrator. I've often thought of the pub scene between father and son, with Nick trying in vain to break through the character rumpole plays. It's beautiful acting. Mortimer said Leo McKern was Rumpole but actually he was more. He filled out the character sublimely.
I've enjoyed this series. Rumpole reminds me of my favorite Uncle, another outspoken man of honesty and courage. A WW II veteran of PT Boats and survived to teach me Manhhod!
What an absolute gem! I recently rewatched the series on DVD and just happened to type Rumpole on RU-vid into the search bar and this came up. I have never seen it before so quite a treat. Leo McKern personified Rumpole perfectly for John Mortimer's character. Just wonderful.
I don't watch TV often, but found myself being forced to watch Poldark recently . It was nothing more than heaving bustiers, an excess of slow mo striding set to atmospheric music, breathy glances, brooding, and pouting. Not to mention the incomprehensible story line murdered amongst the constant switching between seasons and dearth of dialogue. Give me Rumpole, I, Claudius and Lord Peter Wimsey every day of the week over that bollocks.
For more of the indefatigable Mr Mckern , check out the 1987 , low budget Australian film , Traveling North . I think a David Williamson piece . Fantastic supporting cast , coupled with unpretendsive direction , and production values . An absolute precious gem .
I worked with Leo and together we went together an island for a day at the chiefs invitation in the Tarawa islands. Always fun and didn't take any crap from the Australian producer Will always be a legend and left us with great stories.
I don't remember this Hilda. Not quite the "she who must be obeyed" type. But Rumpole is brilliant and as enjoyable as ever. One thing the British are best at is creating deep characters that leap off the page and the screen and into one's life.
I'd seen some of the later eps on public television in the US, but I'd never seen this; thank you very much for sharing it. And thank you for adding a little light to the gloom of the pandemic and reduced mobility; I hope your kindness comes back to you many times over.
This wife is so disrespectful of her steady, supportive husband... she calls him names, even. My mother did that to my father too. It's awful to hear that. 👂
I had seen this beautiful episode of the series Rumple of the Old Bailey in 2017 and after that many times and I still love and watch it in future as well. Kalat, 0312, 28/08/23 Motorola G9+
I’ve always thought the English “tradition” of sending boys away to boarding school at the age of 7 or 8, or even 10, to be entirely barbarous. I dk whether or not the tradition of the upper classes had it’s root in the practice of sending boys of the nobility to serve as pages in other noble families to learn the trade of knighthood, but the fact that this practice continues today is nothing short of bizarre. Such defenseless and terrified children; such blind obedience to ritual in their parents; it defies logic. After I had two sons, the practice seemed even more barbarous, bc I had before me the young innocents which to that point had been purely abstract, and I wondered why English people engaged in this practice bothered to have children at all, since they surely had no hand in raising them!
I think in the Middle Ages it was important to do so, as people married much younger, particularly women. However, men were equally apt to become engaged early, and needed to learn fighting, how to care for the estate, to manage people, etc. Young girls were often also sent to other important houses to take lady lessons. The sum of these circulations were long-standing relationships with other people, hopefully with land, people to marry, or close to the king. The same is true today. The reason children are sent away to school is almost exactly the same. Business, networking, prestige.
Sir John Clifford Mortimer, CBC,QC was an English Barrister at law , and wrote the Rumpole stories . They are said to be based on his father , Clifford Mortimer who also was a Barrister .
Voyage Round my Father with Alan Bates playing the fictional son, yes indeed. I also loved the translations of Feydeau farces. Clifford Mortimer was blind, poetical, irrascible and fiercely independent. Besides the Rumpole series I also appreciated John Mortimer's political satire during the '80s; The Titmous series -- very possibly mis-spelled will look it up. Absolutely marvelous writer.
Leo McKern was made for this role, an absolutely wonderful classical/character actor who could steal any scene in which he featured. The series this play inspired proved enormously successful. I don't think "she who must be obeyed" ever featured again. Like Elizabeth Mainwering of `Dad's Army', she was a one-episode-wonder who otherwise became an abstraction. Check Leo out in SF's `The Day The Earth Caught Fire' & `X the Unknown' or Zimmerman's costume drama `A Man For All Seasons' - rock solid performances each time...
Of course SWMBO featured again -- in almost every episode. Two other actresses -- initially Peggy Thorpe-Bates and then, when Peggy became ill, Marion Mathie -- took the role of Hilda Rumpole. Hilda's role was pivotal in that she was always reminding Rumpole that her father had been a judge, and she wished Rumpole would give up defending clients and start prosecuting so that he could advance to the judge's bench himself. She made a nice counterpoint to Rumpole's esoteric musings.
@@coopdivi Thanks, that's very interesting, because I have no recollection of her at all! Perhaps that's a measure of how absorbing Leo McKern and the legal stories were. Or maybe I'm going senile or summat...
It's interesting how each of the three actresses portraying Hilda played the role so differently. I like Joyce Heron's interpretation, and I notice the writers abandoned the hints that Hilda was an alcoholic after this episode. Also note: Hilda doesn't have a name in this episode. She's just "Mrs. Rumpole."
Fascinating to see the pilot. Surely one of the best BBC productions ever made. The series became a delightful farce with McKern soldiering on for justice in his inimitable way, but this has the ring of deeper things.
Also thought it was great to see an episode that was uploaded full screen rather than this recent "postage stamp within a background" format I see so often these days.
1975! Wow! I didn't realize how long ago this was. A great actor! I caught up with it when I think the character of Phillipa was on the show. I think it was Phillipa.
Rare and wonderful stuff. The writing and Leo McKern's inspired performance come from a wealth of natural ability and the good fortune to be from a culture once rich with character and personality, not the impoverished 24/7 medial 'occupation' of today.
I went the way of the law not exactly because of Messrs. Mortimer or McKern here but because of Sirs Henry Cecil and Patrick Hastings. They took me by the larynx and throttled me until I bled of every air - and then they dumped me out to dry. But had I spied Horace Rumpold as I have these many days lately, I swear by the law I’d live and by the law I’d die.
Ahh Wordsworth. 'Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future.'
Thanks Helen. I got the "he can't read" part. I just didn't figure out what Rompole in the washroom had to do with it. It is good writing. Most of the dramatic shows I watch are from England because they are better written and acted! Take care.
