The first Rumpole, a teleplay done three years before the popular series, clearly shows a legend in the making. We are introduced to a more deeply human Rumpole, a deeply flawed but gifted English barrister who spouts poetry like some blustery literary typhoon yet is stunned to a momentary silence of personal reality when he discovers his wife and son don't quite know exactly who he is. Nor does he, for that matter. Rumpole is Leo McKern at his finest, the character of a lifetime for an aging English actor of more than some repute and talent, and Rumpole is one of my all time favorite characters and all time favorite shows. If you've ever seen Rumpole, make absolutely certain you see the original too.
3 Reviews
Why do they call him Blades!
Prismark101 August 2013
This is the Play for Today episode of Rumpole of the Bailey.
As the BBC dithered as to whether to launch it as a series, the writer John Mortimer took it to ITV where it ran for many years.
Therefore this BBC play is the pilot and slightly different to the ITV series most people would have been used to.
The play opens with some kids running and a man getting stabbed. A young Afro Caribbean boy is accused of the stabbing and its Rumpole's job to defend him.
The political and social edge of the times are not overlooked. This is not warm, fuzzy show full of nostalgia.
Right from the off we get a good feel of Rumpole, eccentric, wily and the type of rotund barrister who once paraded around Chancery Lane.
A lawyer who fought strongly and if need be, slyly for the innocence of his client but not averse to think about the fate of the poor victim who just wanted to watch a cricket match.
Then there was also his prickly relationship with his wife, she who must be obeyed and we also see his son who he is close to and more fond of.
Rumpole certainly made his mark and the BBC has repeated this play several times in recent years.
As the BBC dithered as to whether to launch it as a series, the writer John Mortimer took it to ITV where it ran for many years.
Therefore this BBC play is the pilot and slightly different to the ITV series most people would have been used to.
The play opens with some kids running and a man getting stabbed. A young Afro Caribbean boy is accused of the stabbing and its Rumpole's job to defend him.
The political and social edge of the times are not overlooked. This is not warm, fuzzy show full of nostalgia.
Right from the off we get a good feel of Rumpole, eccentric, wily and the type of rotund barrister who once paraded around Chancery Lane.
A lawyer who fought strongly and if need be, slyly for the innocence of his client but not averse to think about the fate of the poor victim who just wanted to watch a cricket match.
Then there was also his prickly relationship with his wife, she who must be obeyed and we also see his son who he is close to and more fond of.
Rumpole certainly made his mark and the BBC has repeated this play several times in recent years.
Rumpole at sunrise
gimhoff1 January 2010
The Rumpole of the Bailey series is largely a comedy, primarily because of the antics of Horace Rumpole's colleagues at 3 Equity Court and Rumpole's usually successful efforts to frustrate their schemes. But this introduction to Rumpole is a sadder, more melancholy, short play that doesn't show his life in chambers, but that takes Rumpole's dysfunctional family life a bit more seriously. Rumpole's legal philosophy is already fully formed even before the beginning of the series -- the true crime isn't being a criminal, but imprisoning criminals. However, his wife Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed") hasn't found that awkward balance she has in the series between loving and loathing Rumpole, between being frustrated by him and fearing that every woman he meets is attracted to him. She's really unhappy in her marriage. Rumpole's son, who in the series loves and appreciates his father, has a much more difficult relationship with him here.
It's well worth seeing for those who love the Rumpole series and stories. It's unfortunately not included in the complete series collection, but it is available as a stand-alone DVD.
It's well worth seeing for those who love the Rumpole series and stories. It's unfortunately not included in the complete series collection, but it is available as a stand-alone DVD.
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