Rumpole of the Bailey

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Rumpole of the Bailey is a television series created and written by British writer Sir John Mortimer, QC and starring Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients. It has been spun off into a series of short stories (and two novels), and two radio series.

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Horace Rumpole

Rumpole loves the courtroom. Despite attempts by his friends and family to get him to move on to a more respectable position for his age, such as a QC or a Circuit Judge, he only enjoys the simple pleasure of defending his clients at The Old Bailey, London's criminal court. A devotee to Arthur Quiller-Couch's Oxford Book of English Verse, he often quotes Wordsworth and secretly calls his wife Hilda "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (SWMBO), a reference to the novel She by H. Rider Haggard.

His skill at defending his clients is legendary among the criminal classes. The Timson clan of "minor villains" (primarily thieves) regularly rely on Rumpole to get them out of their latest bit of trouble with the law. Rumpole is proud of his successful handling of the Penge bungalow murders without a leader (ie without a QC) and of his extensive knowledge of bloodstains and typewriters. Cross-examination is one of his favorite activities and he disdains barristers who either lack the skill or courage to ask the tough questions. His courtroom zeal gets him into trouble from time to time. More than once his investigations reveal more than his client wants him to know. Rumpole's most chancy encounters stem from arguing with judges, particularly those who seem to believe that being on trial implies guilt or that the police are infallible.

Rumpole also loves unhealthy habits. Despite attempts by his friends and family to better his health, he enjoys cheroots, cheap claret, and greasy food. He frequents Pommeroy's, a local tavern at which he contributes regularly to an ever-increasing bar tab by purchasing glasses of the local wine, which he dubs "Pommeroy's Plonk," "Pommeroy's Very Ordinary," and "Chateau Thames Embankment." His cigar smoking is often the subject of debate among his office. His peers sometimes criticise his attire, noting his old hat, imperfectly aligned clothes, cigar ashes down his shirt and faded lawyer's wig ("bought second hand from a former Chief Justice of Tonga").

Despite his affection for the criminal classes, Rumpole's character is marked by a firm set of ethics. Rumpole's motto is "never plead guilty," and he refuses to prosecute in court (there was one exception, but he proved that the defendant was innocent then reaffirmed, "From now on, Rumpole only defends"). This belief also prevents him from making deals that involve pleading guilty to lesser charges. He is a staunch believer in the presumption of innocence, the "Golden Thread of Democracy". The stories combine humour, mystery, and drama.

Apart from the legal drama, Rumpole also has to deal with his relationships with family and friends. His wife Hilda was proud of her daddy (as she calls him), who was Rumpole's head of chambers, and pushes for Rumpole to achieve more: head of chambers, QC, judge. Rumpole unintentionally raises tensions with his American daughter-in-law because of their differing views. (Once again his ardour gets him into trouble as it was his daughter-in-law's disapproval of him cross-examining a rape "victim" who he believed to be lying.) His associates' dynamic social positions contrast with his relatively static one, which causes feelings between him and the others to shift over time.

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Production

Rumpole's first television appearance was on December 16 1975 in a BBC One Play for Today with Leo McKern in the title role. The BBC was not interested in developing the play into a series, but in 1978 it transferred to ITV as an hour-long Thames Television production with McKern returning to the role and Peggy Thorpe-Bates as Hilda. Marion Mathie took over as Hilda in 1987 when Peggy Thorpe-Bates retired because of poor health. Other regular cast members included:

  • Patricia Hodge as Phillida (Trant) Erskine-Brown, "the Portia of our Chambers"
  • Peter Bowles as Guthrie Featherstone, the feckless former Head of Chambers who later becomes a Judge, with usually hilarious results
  • Julian Curry as Claude Erskine-Brown, Phillida's husband, "opera buff and hopeless cross-examiner"
  • Peter Blythe as Samuel Ballard, Head of Chambers in later series, whom Rumpole referred to as "Soapy Sam" and addressed as "Bollard"
  • Richard Murdoch as Uncle Tom, "the oldest member of chambers, who has not had a brief as long as any of us can remember"
  • Samantha Bond (1987) and later Abigail McKern (Leo's daughter, 1988–1992) as Liz Probert (Miz Liz), a young feminist barrister in Rumpole's chambers
  • Moray Watson as George Frobisher, a barrister in the same Chambers and later a Circuit Judge.
  • Bill Fraser (1978–1988) as Judge Roger "The Mad Bull" Bullingham, Rumpole's most notorious courtroom enemy.
  • James Grout (1991–1992) as Mr. Justice Oliver Oliphaunt, whose affectations of Northern bluntness drive Rumpole to distraction.

Each season (seven in all, plus a television movie) was accompanied by a book adaptation, also written by John Mortimer. The series were first screened in 1978, 1979, 1980 (special), 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1992. All 44 episodes are available on DVD.

Although the television series ended on December 3 1992, almost 17 years after the broadcast of the pilot episode, the books have continued, now containing original stories.

The pilot episode and the first two television series were adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 1980. Rumpole: The Splendours and Miseries of an Old Bailey Hack starred Maurice Denham as Rumpole and Margot Boyd as Hilda.

As Leo McKern and Maurice Denham died one day apart in 2002, McKern on July 23 and Denham on July 24, the role of Rumpole went to Timothy West when four new 45-minute plays were broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in the autumn of 2003. Rumpole and the Primrose Path also starred West's wife Prunella Scales as Hilda.

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Rumpole books

  • Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) (adaptions of the first season stories)
  • The Trials of Rumpole (1979) (adaptions of the second season stories)
  • Rumpole's Return (1980) (novel; based on telemovie)
  • Rumpole for the Defence (1982) (adaptation of the BBC play plus new stories)
  • Rumpole and the Golden Thread (1983) (adaptions of the third season stories)
  • Rumpole's Last Case (1987) (adaptions of the fourth season stories)
  • Rumpole and the Age of Miracles (1988) (adaptions of the fifth season stories)
  • Rumpole à la Carte (1990) (adaptions of the sixth season stories)
  • Rumpole on Trial (1992) (adaptions of the seventh season stories)
  • Rumpole and the Angel of Death (1995) (new stories)
  • Rumpole Rests His Case (2002) (new stories)
  • Rumpole and the Primrose Path (2003) (new stories)
  • Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (2004) (novel; new story)
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External links

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