Pub landlady Hannah Altman is crushed to death by a giant Perspex box during a magic show by famous illusionist Gideon Latimer.Pub landlady Hannah Altman is crushed to death by a giant Perspex box during a magic show by famous illusionist Gideon Latimer.Pub landlady Hannah Altman is crushed to death by a giant Perspex box during a magic show by famous illusionist Gideon Latimer.
Photos
- Gideon Latimer
- (as Andrew-Lee Potts)
- Pub Customer
- (uncredited)
- CID Officer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe portrait of Sir Hugo is actually a copy of Henri Lehmann's 1840 portrait of musician Franz Liszt, one of whose best known compositions is the Hungarian Rhapsody 2 for piano (a favorite of Bugs Bunny and other cartoon characters)
- GoofsSecond murder committed with a revolver fitted with a silencer. A silencer is particularly ineffective on a revolver.
- Quotes
[Andrew Maplin, the curate, is known to have very hard-line, intolerant views about Christianity and was vigorously opposed to Gideon's magic show in the church. Andrew, the vicar and the choir are standing outside the church singing a hymn]
DCI John Barnaby: That must be Andrew Maplin standing next to the vicar.
DS Charlie Nelson: He's been busy posting comments on Gideon's website - real fire and brimstone stuff.
DCI John Barnaby: [sarcastically] We'll talk to him when he's finished singing about love and mercy.
A woman, Hannah Altman, who runs a pub and doubles as an organist, is killed when a magic trick goes wrong at a fundraiser for the local church. It wasn't an accident; it was murder. The police decide that Gideon the magician was the intended victim.
Now, magic done in a church has to be controversial, which it is here. So it's no surprise that Gideon was the recipient of hate mail comparing his act to Satanism. A elderly curate, Andrew Maplin, is the loudest critic.
There are figures wearing robes who hold rituals outside of Gideon's mansion. The mansion was owned in the 19th century by a known pagan. One of these robed people kills the curate Andrew and leaves his corpse on the altar.
There are the usual adulterous affairs, which open those people up to suspicion, and a relative of the pagan is uncovered - living in the present.
Barnaby and Nelson carefully investigate and this time, even Sarah Barnaby gets into the act of asking questions until the murder by magic is solved.
One reviewer on IMDb thought this episode made fun of Christianity and another thought there were too many black people. I would say it was not particularly reverent toward some of Christianity, but certainly a scriptwriter is allowed to present that point of view just as we are free not to like it.
As far as too many black people, the producer gave an interview saying the following: "We don't have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn't be the English village with them. It just wouldn't work...We're the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way." He was suspended for that comment and ultimately stepped down as producer.
The reviewer's point was that the had no objection to bringing black people into a show, but only if it's realistic and not just to be politically correct. Again, I can understand that, but I also understand that black actors need jobs and better yet, opportunities to get them. This show has been running a long time and employs a lot of people. I don't think it's a sin to include blacks or any other ethnic group. You can consider it nontraditional casting or color-blind casting, which is done at the National Theater.
- blanche-2
- Sep 29, 2016
Details
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD