- 2 years ago
The Franchise Affair: A Classic Tale Revived on Screen
The Franchise Affair, a gripping television series, has captured the attention of audiences with its thrilling narrative and complex characters. Based on the 1948 novel by Josephine Tey, the story has been adapted several times, most notably in a TV production in 1962 and again in 1988. The plot centers around a schoolgirl's claim of being kidnapped and forced into servitude by two women at a mysterious mansion known as 'The Franchise'. The ensuing investigation and trial peel back the layers of truth and deception, challenging the viewer's perception of innocence and guilt.
The 1988 adaptation, is particularly memorable for its atmospheric setting and strong performances. Patrick Malahide, Joanna McCallum, and Rosalie Crutchley brought depth to their characters, creating a compelling drama that resonates with audiences even today. The series' ability to maintain suspense and provide a nuanced look at the British legal system of the time is a testament to the quality of the source material and the skill of the filmmakers.
The Franchise Affair stands as a classic example of how literature can be effectively translated to the screen, preserving the essence of the original work while exploring the visual and dramatic possibilities of television storytelling. For those who appreciate a well-crafted mystery that delves into the complexities of human nature, The Franchise Affair is a series that continues to intrigue and entertain viewers across generations.
The Franchise Affair, a gripping television series, has captured the attention of audiences with its thrilling narrative and complex characters. Based on the 1948 novel by Josephine Tey, the story has been adapted several times, most notably in a TV production in 1962 and again in 1988. The plot centers around a schoolgirl's claim of being kidnapped and forced into servitude by two women at a mysterious mansion known as 'The Franchise'. The ensuing investigation and trial peel back the layers of truth and deception, challenging the viewer's perception of innocence and guilt.
The 1988 adaptation, is particularly memorable for its atmospheric setting and strong performances. Patrick Malahide, Joanna McCallum, and Rosalie Crutchley brought depth to their characters, creating a compelling drama that resonates with audiences even today. The series' ability to maintain suspense and provide a nuanced look at the British legal system of the time is a testament to the quality of the source material and the skill of the filmmakers.
The Franchise Affair stands as a classic example of how literature can be effectively translated to the screen, preserving the essence of the original work while exploring the visual and dramatic possibilities of television storytelling. For those who appreciate a well-crafted mystery that delves into the complexities of human nature, The Franchise Affair is a series that continues to intrigue and entertain viewers across generations.
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00:00🎵
00:27Morning, Blair.
00:28Hello, Carly.
00:29How does it feel to be famous?
00:30Is that what I am?
00:31You've been bumped up from the provincial unsavory to the national celebrated.
00:32I'm glad you made the time this morning.
00:34Morning, Mr Blair.
00:35I gather you're trying for Kevin McDermott?
00:36Yes.
00:37Oh, well, faith as they say can move mountains.
00:38He's a friend, Carly.
00:39We were at school together.
00:40I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:41I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:42I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:43I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:44I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:45I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:46I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:47I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:48I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:49I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:50I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:51I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:52I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:53I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:54I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:55I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:56I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:57I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:58I'm sure you'll be fine.
00:59I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:00I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:01I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:02I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:03I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:04I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:05I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:06I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:07I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:08I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:09I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:10I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:11I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:13Stan.
01:14Petrol?
01:15Advice.
01:16Don't tell me.
01:17You want to sell that heap of junk.
01:18No, it's nothing to do with the car.
01:19What's your trouble, then?
01:20I didn't see you in court yesterday.
01:21On the franchise again?
01:22More bloody slogans?
01:23I need a night watchman.
01:24The Sharps absolutely refuse to leave the house and move into a hotel.
01:25The night watchman's a real pain in the ass.
01:26I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:27I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:28I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:29I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:30I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:31I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:32I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:33I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:34I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:35I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:37I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:38I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:39I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:40I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:41I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:42I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:43I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:44I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:45I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:46I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:47I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:48I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:49I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:50I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:51I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:52I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:53I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:54I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:55I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:56I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:57I'm sure you'll be fine.
01:58I'm sure you'll be fine.
02:00I trust me.
02:01I trust me.
02:02I trust me.
02:03I trust me.
02:04I trust me.
02:11I trust me.
02:22Come on.
02:24Yes.
02:29yes I'm sorry to disturb you mr. Robert but I really must ask you to deal with
02:55the Henderson estate papers today. mr. Ramsden left any messages? no sir. what the hell is he
03:02playing at? I'm sure there's no cause for concern sir. he must report every day.
03:06about the Henderson paper sir they should have been seen to last week. now
03:10it's a matter of some urgency. get mr. Bennett to sort it out will you? I'm
03:14sure I don't have to remind you mr. Robert. mr. Bennett is the Ham Green
03:18Parish Church representing you at the funeral of Lady Mason. I'll get back this
03:23afternoon. deal with it then. I'm sorry to have to say this mr. Robert but the
03:34failure of our senior partner to attend the funeral of one of our most valued
03:37clients is it's yet another sign of the degeneration this franchise affair has
03:43brought upon the offices of Blair Haywood. we do have other clients
03:47apart from the sharp ladies. Timmy. miss Tuff and I are very concerned sir. we feel
03:57that you're in danger of losing your sense of proportion by allowing this
04:00matter to take precedence over everything else. particularly since we now must visualize
04:06the prospect of failure.
04:18miss another cup of tea for my friend please. cakes? no cakes. well I've done the Carina, the
04:28Oak and Church Street, the Primrose, the teapot even the old heave home down by
04:33the canal. I've tried every tea shop coffee house and department store in
04:37Larborough. I truly believe you're wasting your clients money mr. Blair.
04:42nobody's seen her. everybody's been talking about this case for weeks. the
04:46kids had her face plastered over every rag in the country. they'd have remembered
04:50straight off if they'd seen her. I'm beginning to wonder whether she was ever in
04:55Larborough. now when you've checked the obvious what you're left with is the
05:01rest of the world. do you happen to know what the white population of the world
05:05is mr. Blair? do you happen to know how my feet feel?
05:11thank you. imagine beating a poor lamb like that after death. you think they did?
05:20paper says they did. the paper reports that the girl says they did. they wouldn't
05:27print a story like that if it wasn't true. it'd be more than their life's worth.
05:41hello. hail to thee blithe spirit. one lodger as promised. Stanley Peters. miss
06:05Sharp. good evening miss Sharp. we're really very grateful mr. Peters. I'm off.
06:08these clothes are killing me. thanks for the lunch. you did yourself an injustice
06:11when you said you couldn't cook. lunch? thank you for the flowers. you've been
06:17here all afternoon. relax old chap. I buried Lady Mason for you. where do you
06:21think I got the flowers from? play golf with me this week? we'll see. you've been
06:26cooped up too long Mary. miss Sharp I think it would be wise to steer clear of
06:30Milford for the time being. we could start early before the two rounders
06:33finish their lunch. we'd have a course to ourselves. I'll let you know. I'll see
06:37you. I'm delighted you'll be able to sleep here. but haven't you got a wife?
06:45not on my own miss. I think I should warn you mr. Peters. there may be reprisals.
06:56once your customers get to know that you're helping those notorious Sharp
07:00women they may take their custom elsewhere. nowhere else to take it ma'am.
07:04there's mr. Luxton. drunk five nights out of seven. what about Biggins at
07:12Ham Green? wouldn't know a nut from an acorn. I told you I take people as I find
07:19them. how did you find Neville? witty? intelligent? he certainly has brains.
07:26once he starts to use them he shall be an asset to the firm. and he's charming.
07:31his mother was Irish. oh Robert. charm isn't a quality I value very highly.
07:37kindness and dependability are much more important.
07:41the target was a hundred thousand houses for this town. but though they haven't
07:45reached it yet there's little need to frown. of 15 they've completed only eight
07:49have fallen down. at much finding in the marsh gentry folk. much finding in the marsh husbands both were at much finding in the marsh gentry folk.
08:02Betty. Betty. what's wrong with her? heart attack.
08:09we've been listening to much finding in the marsh.
08:11Betty.
08:20you need glasses dear. what I need is that miracle we've been praying for. what are you
08:27reading? Betty Cain's statement. she's been lying. it must be in here. something we've all missed.
08:42my guess is she never set foot inside the franchise until the day the police
08:46brought her in. she's been using the place as an alibi to hide the fact that she was up to
08:51something else. how did she know so much about the inside of the house? Rose
08:55Glynn. Browder used to work there. has to be. can you prove that?
09:07what a beautiful night. a bummer's moan.
09:16even if I do prove it there's still an enormous gap between Betty Cain meeting
09:21the Glynn girl in Larborough and Betty Cain coming home three weeks later covered
09:26in blood and bruises wearing nothing but a frock and a pair of shoes. I was going
09:31to the Gleason's garden party tomorrow. I'll go to st. Matthew's instead and
09:35pray a little harder for that miracle. probably rain anyway. it usually does at
09:40the Gleason's garden party. anything for the guineas. are you interested in racing?
09:49I'm interested in horse flesh. well I've had a good tip for Bally Boogie. you'll
09:55save your money. none of that hypocrite's blood was any good when it came to a
09:59struggle. if you must bet put your money on Kaminsky. Kaminsky?
10:03that's the 60s. you can always lose your money at a shorter price. Kaminsky it is.
10:10then you're on for a tenth of my stake.
10:19I hope this is good news mr. Ramsden. you're very non-committal on the telephone. I've
10:39something for your consideration that's definitely going to please you. mrs.
10:43Mulberry box-office manageress of the Palace Picture House in Sutton Street.
10:48on at least two occasions she's seen Betty Kane with a girl answering to
10:52Rose Glynn's description. I knew it. also seen together at the milk bar and the
10:57bus station in the company of several unsavory looking ewes. well done Ramsden.
11:04that's not all mr. Blair. Betty Kane didn't just come to the opera to go to
11:11the cinema. Albert this is mr. Blair the solicitor we spoke of. I want you to tell
11:20him what you told me about the girl. well sir it's like I said she always came in
11:26here late-ish for afternoon tea sat by the palm over there. alone? well like she
11:35was waiting for someone. what was she wearing? green I think sir. green frock
11:43and a green hat and an awful lot of lipstick. hat like that? oh no sir no no
11:53no no it was nothing like that no no I've seen this picture of course before
11:58in the newspapers but it didn't ring a bell until mr. Ramsden here suggested
12:02that she might she might look different with hair up and that no. it's that same
12:07girl all right but she was no schoolgirl when she came in here. more like some
12:12little madam out on the tiles.
12:16waiting for someone is it? yes but she never met anyone. not until the day she
12:22picked up the chap on the next table. what?
12:27you mean he picks her up? no sir no no don't you believe it. oh no sir no no she
12:34did the picking up. cool as you like. like she'd been doing it all her life sir.
12:41this man did you know him? what did he look like? oh not one of our regulars. he
12:47was youngish business gent I'd say. you haven't seen him since? oh no sir no no
12:56I've not seen either of them since. well thank you Albert. you've been a great help. I may need to
13:01talk to you again. yes of course. I think this calls for a
13:05little celebration. I mean might I be permitted to buy you a sherry? thank you
13:09very much. two dry sherrys please Albert and keep the change.
13:20it's hopeless. how the hell are we going to trace an anonymous businessman who came in
13:25here six weeks ago for a cup of tea? he's not hypothetical anymore mr. Blair.
13:29he exists. he's out there somewhere and we'll find him. in ten days 5,000 men
13:38working for a year might not find him. one man might do it tomorrow.
13:56Neville.
14:06these are the relevant entries copied from the hotel register for the period in
14:09question. the actual value might be negligible of course because our mr. X
14:15might not even been staying. it'll take weeks to check all these names. and it's
14:20quite possible that he and Betty Kane party company that same afternoon never
14:23saw each other again. well do you think that's what happened? no I don't. neither
14:27do I. they went underground somewhere. I can feel it in my bones. three weeks?
14:31abroad? Ramsden found no trace of them at the port.
14:37wait a minute. perhaps they were abroad. after all we were trying to trace it to
14:41me or a 15 year old. not some unprincipled little tart covered in
14:44makeup. miss Tuff. the letter you were waiting for mr. Robert. was I right? yes
14:49I'm afraid you were. Miles Allison prosecuted. opposing counsel like that
14:55will make mincemeat of our evidence. have you heard from Kevin McDermott yet? no. I
14:59shall have to go up to town and twist his arm. if anyone can break that girl's
15:04story Kevin McDermott can.
16:20the place where the drive divides. good Lord. I've had enough of this. you should
16:35read this one my dear. from now on we should burn everything without opening
16:40it unless we recognize the handwriting. for illiterates they have a very neat
16:45turn of phrase. do you realize what time it was when you rang this morning?
16:56one o'clock. mother was furious. Marion I think I can prove that Betty Kane lied
17:00in her statement to the police. I need to see the affidavit again to be sure.
17:16I was right. I've been looking at some press pictures in the front of the house.
17:21you can't see this round window in any of them. that got me thinking in her
17:25statement she said that from this window she could see the gate, the fountain and
17:29the place where the drive divides. you can't see any of them from here. she saw
17:34them from the top of a bus. she's never been in this room. you should have been a
17:39detective. well I'm just a boring solicitor with an unblemished reputation and high moral
17:44principles. my hero.
17:59my hero.
18:02give me five minutes more. only five minutes more. give me five minutes more in your arms.
18:11here am I waiting for. only five minutes more. give me five minutes more of your joy.
19:11another sherry. oh I think I'd better go. perhaps he's decided to stay another
19:37night in London. oh no he'd have telephoned if he were going to do that.
19:40why not wait another half an hour? I'm sure you must have better things to do
19:46on a Saturday evening. if you'll excuse me I'll just see how my pie is getting on.
19:52ah here he is now. steak and kidney pie I can smell it from here.
20:02sorry I'm late. inspector Helen's here. yes I can see his car. he's been waiting
20:0740 minutes. sorry. John! sorry to keep you waiting. good fishing trip? the best. you
20:17landed Kevin McDermott? hook line and sinker. he comes up on Monday. best Bibb and Tucker?
20:22rotary dinner and I'm late already. this must be business then. it could be. could
20:26be nothing at all. thought you should know anyway. we've had a message passed down the
20:30line from our chaps in Newcastle. a bit garbled I'm afraid. foreign gentleman
20:34Danish called into one of the stations on Thursday. seemed nobody took him too
20:38seriously so he walked out. all he managed to get out of him before he lost
20:42his temper was that he was up there on business. something to do with timber
20:45exports and that it had something to do with the franchise affair. he waved a
20:50newspaper cutting under the noses and started shouting about Betty Kane. and
20:55that's it? you didn't even get his name? sorry. this was Thursday. good God he
21:01could be anywhere by now. could even be back in Denmark. I'm off. Margie will be
21:05hopping mad. thanks for the information John. I appreciate it. I'll get on to
21:08Newcastle first thing in the morning. could be clutching at straws. when you're
21:11out in the depth you go for anything.
21:31Oh Kaminsky it was. and if the worst comes to the worst and you end up
21:57bankrupt you can always do a fair trade as a tipster. I warn you she cheats. so
22:11do I. but it's the best cheater wins at this game. what is it? stay here.
22:27they're all round the house. the lines been cut. what do we do?
22:47oh no. miss Sharpe. take these. give me five minutes then go for the car.
23:05surely they haven't gone out. lines dead. be a saint and keep on the exchange.
23:12I'm going out to the franchise. Robert take care.
23:42I should stay there if I were you laddie.
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