The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder (TV Series) The Duke (1971) User Reviews

Gangsters in Sussex.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 20 February 2020]

The Duke, Dorsey arrives from Chicago, half British, half Italian by decent, but a Gangster now in place in his ancestral family home in Sussex. Reeder is installed as his protector, to keep an on him, before the heavies move in.

I enjoyed it, hugely over the top in all ways, the story and acting are as loud as a fireworks display. It's a real culture shock for a refined 1920's society to have gangsters and sawn-off shotguns. It takes a bit of time to get going, but when it does, it's very good, intriguing and a good old fashioned whodunnit.

Ray McAnally and Toby Robins are fun in their respective roles, even if the Chicago accents slip now and then. We get Sir Jason out of The Office and in a Party scene, so worth seeing for that.

Very good. 7/10

The Duke

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 25 November 2020]

The second series of The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder and disappointingly it is not yet in colour.

There is a bonus in the opening scenes. Ray McAnally.

An actor who looked like he came out of nowhere in the mid 1980s and was prolific on both television and the movies. By the time he suddenly died in 1989, he was regarded as one of the best character actors in the world. But for his death. It was a case of when not if he would win an Oscar.

In the BBC series A Perfect Spy. McAnally appeared in one episode as a corpse. A television critic noted even then he outacted the rest of the cast. The funny thing was it was true.

So it is a pleasure to catch a rare early appearance as he concentrated on stage work in Ireland.

McAnally plays 'Duke' Dorsey, a Chicago bootlegger who is the long lost heir of a vast country estate. However an attempt is made on his life. The Duke blames rival gangsters.

Reeder and Toovey would like to see him packed back to America. Until then Reeder will act as the Duke's personal bodyguard.

The obvious suspect is Major Blundell. He claims he was shooting peasants nearby at the time of the incident. He is also a rival but a distant heir to the estate.

There is also a strange American hanging about in the nearby pub who seems to have designs on the Duke's wife, a former showgirl.

This was a fun episode. Reeder makes sure that the Duke's extra reinforcements on the way from America are not granted a visa. He disarms the dozy bodyguard who is supposed to stick to the Duke like glue.

It is an episode with a greedy butler, hidden passages, priest holes and even a society party that Toovey attends.

As always Reeder stays one step ahead and manages to catch out the villain.