Shadow of the Noose
Shadow of the Noose is a BBC television drama series about the life and career of the barrister Sir Edward Marshall Hall. It stars Jonathan Hyde as Marshal Hall, Michael Feast as his clerk, Edgar Bowker, Leslee Udwin as Henriette Marshall Hall, and Terry Taplin as the solicitor Arthur Newton. The series of eight episodes was written by Richard Cooper, produced by Colin Tucker, and first transmitted in March and April 1989 on BBC Two. The series was a co-production with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Television New Zealand.
Main cast
- Edward Marshall Hall - Jonathan Hyde (all episodes)
- Edgar Bowker - Michael Feast (all episodes)
- Henriette Marshall Hall - Leslee Udwin (episodes 2-8)
- Arthur Newton - Terry Taplin (episodes 1-3, 5, 6 & 8)
- Harry Bishop - Trevor Ray (episodes 1-3 & 8)
- Wellesley Orr - Julian Firth (episodes 6-8)
- Mr Justice Wills - Gary Files (episodes 1 & 3)
- Jackson, judge's clerk - Phil McCall (episodes 1 & 3)
- Sir Charles Matthews - Richard Moore (episodes 1 & 7)
Episode list
| No. | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "An Alien Shore" | Sebastian Graham-Jones | Richard Cooper | 1 March 1989 |
| London, 1894. After the brief is refused by a number of other barristers, Edward Marshall Hall takes on the seemingly impossible defence of Marie Hermann (Victoria Fairbrother), a German prostitute accused of killing one of her clients. | ||||
| 2 | "Noblesse Oblige" | Sebastian Graham-Jones | Richard Cooper | 8 March 1989 |
| After a period of illness, Marshall Hall needs a case to both bring in much-needed funds, and to re-establish himself in the public eye. Reluctantly he agrees to represent Lady Scott (Siân Phillips) in a criminal libel action brought by Lord Russell (Christopher Lang), the husband of her daughter, Lady Mabel (Amanda Elwes), having accused him of being homosexual. This horrifies Marshall Hall's fiancée, Henriette Froeger (Leslee Udwin). | ||||
| 3 | "Gone for a Soldier" | Sebastian Graham-Jones | Richard Cooper | 15 March 1989 |
| Lady Frances Fairbrother (Mary Conlon) engages Arthur Newton to arrange the defence of her maid, Annie Dyer (Natalie Forbes), who is accused of killing her baby, who was actually the illegitimate child of Lady Frances's husband, Captain James Fairbrother (David Rintoul). Bowker (Michael Feast) tries to decline the brief, fearing it will bring back memories of Marshall Hall's unhappy marriage to Ethel (Irina Brook), who died during a botched illegal abortion after an affair with Lieutenant de Ponthieu (Tim McInnerny). | ||||
| 4 | "Beside the Seaside" | Sebastian Graham-Jones | Richard Cooper | 22 March 1989 |
| Marshall Hall defends womaniser and conman Herbert Bennett (Vincenzo Ricotta), who is accused of murdering his estranged wife, Mary (Caroline Quentin), at Great Yarmouth. | ||||
| 5 | "Gun in Hand" | Matthew Robinson | Richard Cooper | 29 March 1989 |
| Marshall Hall travels to the Black Country to defend Edward Lawrence (David Bradley), a wealthy and popular brewer accused of killing his mistress, Ruth Hadley (Nicola Duffett). | ||||
| 6 | "Turn Again" | Matthew Robinson | Richard Cooper | 5 April 1989 |
| The actress Hettie Chattell (Sian Thomas) believes she has been libeled by gossip printed in the Daily Mail, but when Marshall Hall agrees to represent her - and wins - he incurs the wrath of the newspaper's owner, Alfred Harmsworth (David Schofield). | ||||
| 7 | "The Camden Town Murder" | Matthew Robinson | Richard Cooper | 12 April 1989 |
| Marshall Hall defends Robert Wood (Peter Capaldi), accused of murdering Emily "Phylis" Dimmock in the case that became known as the Camden Town Murder. | ||||
| 8 | "Sentence of Death" | Matthew Robinson | Richard Cooper | 19 April 1989 |
| Having successfully defended the flamboyant publisher Horatio Bottomley (Phil Rose) against a charge of fraud, Marshall Hall is offered the brief for Hawley Harvey Crippen (David Hatton), accused of murdering his wife . | ||||
Tie-in novel
A novel by Cooper, also called Shadow of the Noose, was published at the time the series was transmitted. The narrative of the novel mainly comprises a vast expansion of the story of Marshall Hall's first marriage to Ethel and her subsequent death, as featured in Gone for a Soldier, book-ended with the Marie Hermann case from An Alien Shore.
Video releases
Although the full series has never been released on commercial home video, An Alien Shore and Gun in Hand appeared in Vol. 1 Issues 3 (May 1989) and 8 (July 1989) respectively of BBC Video World. This was a fortnightly subscription-only service, primarily for expatriates, that delivered a three-hour selection of BBC programming on video tape.