The Black and Blue Lamp

59min

Drama

Comedy

TV Movie

Satirical and surreal play by Arthur Ellis, dealing with the manner in which the British police force has been represented on TV for four decades. In 1949 Tom Riley is arrested for the murder of PC George Dixon. As he awaits interrogation at the station he is mysteriously transported into an episode of The Filth - a 1988 police series where the hard men rule, where he is told by the local CID that he'll be confessing to the murder or else his genitals are getting cut off ! This black comedy questions whether the police have changed or is it the way film and television present them.

Cast

Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham

Supt. Cherry
Karl Johnson

Karl Johnson

PC "Taffy" Hughes
Sean Chapman

Sean Chapman

Tom Riley
John Woodvine

John Woodvine

Supt. Hammond
Ralph Brown

Ralph Brown

Insp. Drury
Nick Stringer

Nick Stringer

Sgt. Brooks
Ian Brimble

Ian Brimble

PC Totley
Barry Woolgar

Barry Woolgar

Insp. Rogers
Garrick Hagon

Garrick Hagon

Police Surgeon
Anthony Smee

Anthony Smee

Mr Bromley Junior
Paddy Ryan

Paddy Ryan

Mr Bromley Senior
Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke

Voiceover

Release date

7th Sep 1988

Status

Released

Spoken languages

English