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Raffles |
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In 1985, BBC Radio turned
their eyes (is that ears?) to the short stories of E. W. Hornung which, in the 1890s portrayed the exploits of a
ÒGentleman ThiefÓ: A. J. Raffles.
An English gentleman and amateur cricketer, Raffles decides (mainly out of
boredom) to become a jewel thief and support his taste for the high life by
helping himself to riches of the Ògentry.Ó His philosophy is very simple:
"Why should I work when I could steal?" he asks in The Ides of
March. "Why settle down to some
humdrum uncongenial billet, when excitement, romance, danger, and a decent
living were all going begging together. Of course, it's very wrong, but we
can't all be moralists, and the distribution of wealth is very wrong to begin
with." Chief amongst the appeal of
the Raffles stories was the interplay between the suave and sophisticated
Raffles, his bungling simpleton partner-in-crime Bunny Manders and the ever-stalking fire breathing Inspector
Mackenzie. Entertaining in itself,
even before the stories themselves unfolded. The series consisted three
seasons (1985, 1988 and 1992). Each season contained six 30 minute standalone
episodes and starred Jeremy Clyde as Raffles, Michael Cochrane as Bunny and
Henry Stamper as Inspector McKenzie. Expert direction was provided
by Gordon House with music by Jim
Parker In keeping with the books,
the series concludes when Raffles and Bunny leave England to fight for Queen
and Country in the South African War - for one of them, there will be no
return! The final two 1992 entries, titled ÒThe Knees of the GodsÓ & ÒThe
Last Word,Ó chronicles their concluding adventures together. But all was not done with! In 1993, the BBC produced a
one-off 60 minute story titled ÒThe Return of A. J. RafflesÓ. In it, Raffles
and his faithful henchman Bunny take a final bow in a radio adaptation of
Graham Greene's much revered mid 1970s stage-play which featured the original
Hornung characters in this fascinating Òwhat ifÓ story: Bunny
has been in prison, mourning the loss of his friend Raffles, apparently
killed in the South African war. But a surprise visit from their old
adversary, Inspector MacKenzie proves to Bunny that life, as in the best
detective stories, is full of the most unexpected twists and turns –
wonderful! Further
and perhaps best of all, Jeremy Clyde & Michael Cochrane are back as A.
J. & Bunny, with Gordon House again providing direction and Jim Parker
the music Raffles had previously been
featured in a 1940s US series, The Adventures of Raffles of which two 30 minute standalone episodes have
survived. (There was also a weekday 15 minute continuing Raffles serial
during the 40s, of which two episodes has survived but since they are none
sequential, they are not included in this collection). Renown film actor, Douglas
Fairbanks played Raffles in a
one-off 53 minute Screen DirectorsÕ Playhouse performance in 1951. This was essentially a radio
dramatization of the Sam Wood
directed film Raffles (1939)
which starred David Niven. Want to check this great
title out? Why not download the 30
minute BBC story: The Ides of March (1985-10-20) It can be freely
downloaded to your computer -
just right button click
on any link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to that effect). The file is on an
average about 23Mb - download time will depend on your (broadband) speed. AJRBBC_1985-10-20
The Ides of March.mp3 This
MP3 CDs consist of all 19 BBC productions comprising three seasons, each of
six 30 minute stand-alone stories plus the special one hour 1993 The Return
of A. J. Raffles play. Rounding
out this excellent collection is the three US productions: a Screen
Directors' Playhouse performance by Douglas Fairbanks (53 mins) and the two
surviving episodes from the regular series (both 30 mins each) A. BBC Series (30 minutes each) 1.
AJRBBC_1985-10-20 The
Ides of March.mp3 2.
AJRBBC_1985-10-27
Gentlemen and Players.mp3 3.
AJRBBC_1985-11-03 A
Costume Piece.mp3 4.
AJRBBC_1985-11-10 Nine
Points of Law.mp3 5.
AJRBBC_1985-11-17
Wilful Murder.mp3 6.
AJRBBC_1985-11-24 The
Chest of Silver.mp3 7.
AJRBBC_1988-06-01 The
Rest Cure.mp3 8.
AJRBBC_1988-06-08 The
Criminologists Club.mp3 9.
AJRBBC_1988-06-15 The
Field of Philippi.mp3 10.
AJRBBC_1988-06-22 A
Bad Night.mp3 11.
AJRBBC_1988-06-29 A
Trap to Catch a Cracksman.mp3 12.
AJRBBC_1988-07-06 The
Gift of the Emperor.mp3 13.
AJRBBC_1992-07-30 No
Sinecure.mp3 14.
AJRBBC_1992-08-06 To
Catch a Thief.mp3 15.
AJRBBC_1992-08-13 An
Old Flame.mp3 16.
AJRBBC_1992-08-20 The
Raffles Relics.mp3 17.
AJRBBC_1992-08-27 The
Knees of the Gods.mp3 18.
AJRBBC_1992-09-03 The
Last Word.mp3 19.
AJRBBC_1993-09-17 The
Return of A. J. Raffles.mp3 B. US Production: Screen Directors' Playhouse (53
minutes) 1.
SDP_1951-09-14 Raffles
with Douglas Fairbanks.mp3 C. US Series: The Adventures of Raffles (30 minutes
each) 1.
ADRUS_1942-xx-xx The
Imposter.mp3 2.
ADRUS_1945-08-23
Murder Signs Its Name.mp3 |