The Beiderbecke Affair
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(book cover)
The Beiderbecke Affair was the first in a series of three short television series produced in the UK by ITV in the mid-1980s, written by Alan Plater.
The plot rambles, moving from one seemingly unrelated event to another, all of which are eventually shown to be interconnected. However, the clever interplay between the characters is the main interest here.
Geordie Trevor Chaplin (played by James Bolam) teaches woodwork, enjoys football (soccer) and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne (played by Barbara Flynn) is interested in neither football nor jazz, but teaches English and wants to help save the planet, standing in a local election as “your Conservation candidate.” After Jill left her husband, colleague Trevor began giving her lifts to school and from there a relationship blossomed. They have an easy-going relationship where half the words seem to be left unspoken but the viewer is never in any doubt as to the subtext.
Trevor tries to buy some jazz records from a “dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde” who calls at the door raising funds for the local cubs’ football team. When the wrong records are delivered a hunt begins that draws the pair into unforeseen intrigue. Thrown in to the mix are Sgt Hobson (Dominic Jephcott)—a suspicious yet incompetent police detective—and a pair of local tradesmen, “Big Al” (Terence Rigby) and “Little Norm” (Danny Schiller), who agree to help average-sized Jill and Trevor with their school supplies problems. There are elements of political and social commentary, and bureaucracy and the educational system are frequent targets of ridicule.
It all unravels to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of Bix Beiderbecke performed by Frank Ricotti with Kenny Baker as featured cornet soloist. Extensive use is made of leitmotifs for the various characters.
Two sequels were made: The Beiderbecke Tapes (151 min.) and The Beiderbecke Connection (201 min.). All three are available on DVD as boxed sets. The Beiderbecke Tapes is not available on DVD in the U.S.
[edit] External links
- The Beiderbecke Tapes at the British Film Institute's screenonline
- The Beiderbecke Affair at the Internet Movie Database
- The Beiderbecke Tapes at the Internet Movie Database
- The Beiderbecke Connection at the Internet Movie Database
