Rumpole of the Bailey
Horace Rumpole is an "Old Bailey Hack," one of the underpaid barristers who ply the courtrooms of the Old Bailey, London's criminal court. Rumpole refused to handle most suits and will never prosecute. He always defends. Each of his trials has both a victory and a defeat in them, his clients who are acquitted often angrier than those who are found guilty. There is always at least one and often two subplots.
- 1978-1992
- 7 seasons
- Arts and Entertainment
- Suspense, Drama
Horace Rumpole is an "Old Bailey Hack," one of the underpaid barristers who ply the courtrooms of the Old Bailey, London's criminal court. Rumpole refused to handle most suits and will never prosecute. He always defends. Each of his trials has both a victory and a defeat in them, his clients who are acquitted often angrier than those who are found guilty. There is always at least one and often two subplots.
Season 2 Episode Guide
7 Episodes 1979 - 1980
Episode 1
Rumpole and the Man of God
51 mins
A vicar is accused of shoplifting, and tries to plead that the offending items got into his shopping basket by divine intervention. Meanwhile, Rumpole's old colleague George Frobisher seems poised to leap into matrimony, and Rumpole has a funny feeling about his fiancée.
Episode 2
Rumpole and the Case of Identity
51 mins
A driver who is alleged to have stabbed a shopkeeper is positively identified by his loud headgear. Head of Chambers Guthrie Featherstone QC MP is positively identified straying from House and home by his loud shirt. Rumpole has to break several hostile witnesses to get all concerned out of trouble.
Episode 3
Rumpole and the Show Folk
51 mins
Rumpole travels to the north of England where he is re-united with his one time clerk, Albert who now works for a firm of solicitors. He is set to defend Maggie Hartley, actress accused of killing her husband. The prosecution case rests on the evidence of a theater employee who overheard the shots and to whom she admitted her guilt. Rumpole's defense rests primarily on her husband's brutish behavior and fondness for drink and carousing.
Episode 4
Rumpole and the Fascist Beast
50 mins
Rumpole finds himself defending Capt. Rex Parkin, a fascist whose racist views don't sit well with the counsel for the defense but for whom Rumpole will defend the right to free speech. Parkin however seems to think that martyrdom, in the form of a guilty plea and a maximum sentence, is what is required but Rumpole thinks otherwise. In the circumstances, Rumpole is more than pleased to take on a new pupil, Latif Khan. Mr. Khan's presence in Chambers creates some tension among the barristers, but works to his advantage when his application for a vacancy is considered.
Episode 5
Rumpole and the Course of True Love
52 mins
Rumpole defends a schoolmaster, Ronald Ransom, who is accused of taking advantage of one of his students. Rumpole is pleased to hear that his old friend, George Frobisher, will be the presiding judge but a judgeship seems to have an effect on his onetime stablemate. Fearherstone decides to seek a judgeship, at least in part to save his marriage now that his wife Marjorie is aware of his fling. Erskine-Brown is somewhat dejected now that Phyllida has told him they are no longer engaged. Phyllida also has a bit of a surprise for Erskine-Brown.
Episode 6
Rumpole and the Age for Retirement
50 mins
Their respective families have decided that Rumpole and veteran "fence" Percy Timson should be retired. Rumpole will be seen off with a dinner and a clock, Percy Timson with a long prison sentence for handling a stolen painting worth half a million pounds. Neither particularly relishes the prospect of retirement.
Episode 7
Rumpole's Return
103 mins
Rumpole has finally retired and has relocated to Miami where son Nick has a position at the university. Rumpole decided to retire after losing a long string of cases before Judge Bullingham, but is quite bored with ogling pretty girls and reading about interesting crimes in The Times. In Chambers, there is now a need to fill the vacancy a young radical lawyer seems to be the front runner. When he needs help on a case, Phyllida Erskine-Brown offers to write to Rumpole and asks for his assistance. To everyone's surprised, Rumpole returns to Chambers and finds himself with a nice little murder case to defend, yet again, before Judge Bullingham.