Rumpole of the Bailey: Difference between revisions

The show often strikes a well-balanced, perceptive note between the often ridiculous emphasis to which society demands the ''appearance'' of moral behaviour, and how it differs from the common sense, deeply personal, and more authentic morality represented by Rumpole. His mildly amused contempt for the trappings of "polite society" only serve to highlight his profoundly ethical nature.

 

 

John Mortimer adapted many of the show's episodes into book form, and after the show was cancelled continued to write and publish new Rumpole stories, which frequently featured plots [[Ripped from the Headlines]], or as close to it as you can get for a book. Many Rumpole stories have also been adapted for [[The BBC|BBC]] [[Radio]].

* [[A Day in the Limelight]]: "Hilda's Story," collected in ''Rumpole and the Angel of Death.''

* [[Against My Religion]]: Frequently invoked/joked about: whatever religion Rumpole follows, it forbids prosecuting and pleading guilty (unless, of course, he knows for a fact that the client did it).

* [[Batman Gambit]]: Rumpole loves these.

** Rumpole executes a magnificent one in "Rumpole and the Last Resort." {{spoiler|The gambit was focused on the solicitor Blythe, who at once owed Rumpole nearly £2,500 in fees going back as ten years earlier (at a time when Rumpole was late on his utility bills and overdrawn at his bank) and was a material witness in the fraud case he was defending. Blythe was known to hold out payment to barristers until they died, then wheedle the widow into settling the payment for a small fraction of the original fee. On top of that, Blythe had a tendency to have "just slipped out of the office" every time somebody called the office; he was more or less nowhere to be found. After Rumpole fails to convince Judge Bullingham to grant an adjournment in the fraud case to find Blythe, he decides to [[Faking the Dead|fake his own death]]: he collapses in the middle of his application to Bullingham, sends a message to Chambers (supposedly from his wife) informing them that he is dead, and hides in his house for some time (possibly a week or more) until Blythe shows up at the door, offering Mrs. Rumpole the same pittance of a settlement he usually offered. She declines, forces him to sign a check for the exact amount Rumpole was owed, and then lets in [[Private Detective]] "Fig" Newton, who hands Blythe a subpoena. Finally, when Blythe is forced to take the stand and the fraud case recommences, Bullingham starts something of a eulogy for Rumpole. At this point, Rumpole appears in the courtroom and begins his questioning of a terrified Blythe. In the meantime, Chambers had gotten rather excited by the prospect of the death of Rumpole, with "Soapy Sam" trying to use it as an excuse to take on Guthrie Featherstone's well-connected nephew, and Claude Erskine-Brown hoping to take possession of Rumpole's umbrella stand: all of which Rumpole heard about and used to make a point about his Chambers.}}

* [[British Newspapers]]: Make an occasional appearance. Rumpole is partial to ''The Times'', especially its crossword. Hilda prefers the ''Evening Telegraph'' (and its crossword). Papers appear as important points in certain episodes: "Rumpole and the Tap End" features embarrassing reports on a decision of (Mr. Justice) Guthrie Featherstone's in ''The Evening Standard''; "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" features Rumpole and Claude Erskine-Brown's dealings with an [[Product Displacement|obvious replacement]] for ''The Sun'' (complete with [[Page Three Stunna]]!) called the ''Beacon''. Specifically, Rumpole has to defend the sleazy editor of ''Beacon'' on a libel charge (it's a "money brief", with an [[Undisclosed Funds|unspeakably large]] fee and a £500/day refresher), while Erskine-Brown is caught at a strip club (doing research on his case about a fight at the club some time earlier) by the ''Beacon'' photographers and has to deal with the consequences.

* [[Bulungi]]: Narenga, a Central African Commonwealth Realm with complex and often deadly tribal politics, in "Rumpole and the Golden Thread". One of Rumpole's old pupils, who has become Minister of the Interior, invites Rumpole to defend him in a case of capital murder; the absence of a jury--an institution abolished by the British during the colonial period--drives Rumpole mad.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: If somebody is getting the short end of the stick, you can bet good money that it's either Claude Erskine-Brown, Guthrie Featherstone, or Sam Ballard.

* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard, QC, gets absolutely blotto--as in fall-on-the-floor, can't-remember-how-many-drinks-he's had, crazy ''drunk''--after a mere five glasses of sherry.

* [[Casting Gag]]: Peter Cellier as Sir Frank Fawcett, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, in "Rumpole and the Official Secret", doubtless referencing his recurring role as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury Sir Frank Gordon in ''[[Yes Minister]]''.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: the "Golden Thread of British justice" and "never plead guilty" as personal mantras.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Naturally all over the place, but a literal one occurs in "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast". The gun is in the titular "fascist beast"'s shed, where he keeps birds, hidden under the bird seed. {{spoiler|He commits suicide after his acquittal leads to the local chapter of the party--an obvious stand-in for the BNP--unseating him}}.

** Another literal [[Chekhov's Gun]] appears in ''Rumpole and the Show Folk''; whilst demonstrating with a gun in court, Rumpole notices that the hammer is extremely prone to going off accidentally when cocked, which becomes relevant when the defendant testifies to the gun going off accidentally in self defence. {{spoiler|Subverted when it's [[The Reveal|revealed]] the defendant did actually murder the victim in cold blood and was just very good at covering her tracks.}}

** Strangely, this only applies to Rumpole and his wife. The young female lawyer introduced just passing the bar in the first stories is an experienced judge in late middle age by the end, and many other characters also age, retire, and so forth.

* [[Courtroom Antic|Courtroom Antics]]: And unlike most seen on television, they generally aren't the sort of thing that could get one charged with contempt of court.

* [[A Day in Her Apron]]: Rumpole faces a more realistic form of this when Hilda takes "industrial action" in "The Summer of Discontent." The house doesn't get enough time to go to pot, but [[Lethal Chef|Rumpole sets fire to his beef]].

*** Possibly a case of [[The Cast Showoff]]; Julian Curry (who plays Erskine-Brown) is also a noted wine expert.

** "Soapy Sam" [[Can't Hold His Liquor]], and is thus often found drinking sparkling water.

* [[Dysfunctional Family]]: the Rumpoles (particularly obvious in the original teleplay, which was darker in tone than the later episodes).

* [[Exiled to the Couch]]: Oh, so many times.

** Hilda does this to Rumpole when she suspects him of having a fling with the young girlfriend of an elderly artist. Unfairly, of course: he was just at a pub to collect evidence.

* [[Fake Brit]]: Most notably, Australian Leo McKern as the emphatically English Rumpole. Of course, McKern had been living in England since 1946, so it's not quite that bad; his English accent was impeccable.

* [[Fawlty Towers Plot]]: A good number of the B-Plots fall into this category. The one about sexual harassment in "Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle" fits particularly well.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown and the first Liz Probert definitely qualify. Either of them in wigs constitutes legal [[Fetish Fuel]].

* [[Flanderization]]: At the beginning of the series, Claude Erskine-Brown is a somewhat pompous but nevertheless effective barrister. By the end, he's an incompetent and completely un-self-aware milquetoast. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] when Erskine-Brown complains to Rumpole about how he's been reduced to "scraping the bottom of your [i.e. Rumpole's] barrel."

** Also, Mr. Justice Oliphant went from mentioning "common sense" and his blunt [[Oop North|Northern]] heritage once or twice a trial to practically every line.

* [[Former Teen Rebel]]: Sam Ballard.

* [[Good Lawyers, Good Clients]]: Subverted. While it is true that almost all of Rumpole's clients that we see are in fact innocent of the crime they're on trial for, they are very frequently guilty of some other crime. This is particularly true of the Timsons, a clan of South London "[[Harmless Villain|minor villains]]" who make their living off of petty larceny and [[Fell Off the Back of a Truck|fencing]], and whose fees seem to pay a fair chunk of Rumpole's own bills.

** We also don't see most of Rumpole's cases (the series being very [[Irregular Series|irregular]]), of which he presumably loses a fair number. He also loses a few other cases that we do see.

* [[Hanging Judge]]: Mr Justice Roger "the Mad Bull" Bullingham

** "Rumpole and the Sporting Life" features an unusual and literal example in the elderly Mr Justice Twyburne, who once sentenced a man to hang for killing a policeman. {{spoiler|The man was later proven innocent, a fact which has preyed on Twyburne's conscience ever since.}}

* [["Happy Ending" Massage]]: "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow". Featherstone, presiding in this case, thinks he went to a parlor where these were provided, although he didn't partake and wasn't even aware of the possibility. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* [[The Humphrey]]: Rumpole is a heroic variation- he knows and exploits the politics and follies of the legal system, but tries to pursue justice when possible.

* [[I Coulda Been a Contender]]: Rumpole is a variation in that his wife is disappointed that he hasn't achieved greater financial and career success, nor become head of chambers like her father was. Rumpole, on the other hand, is perfectly happy where he is, and has no interest in becoming a "Queer Customer" or "Circus Judge."

* [[Last-Name Basis]]: Most everybody with respect to everybody else. Vanishingly few people call Rumpole "Horace;" not even Hilda.

** This is actually accepted practice amongst many members of the Bar, first names generally only being used between barristers who are on a very informal footing.

{{quote|'''Horace Rumpole:''' ''[under his breath]'' She who must be...

'''Hilda Rumpole:''' What?

* [[Lethal Chef]]: Rumpole, as evidenced by the flaming bits of meat in "Rumpole and the Summer of Discontent."

* [[Mistaken for Cheating]]: Sam Ballard, Guthrie Featherstone, and even Rumpole himself.

** And averted once with Featherstone, who actually ''was'' cheating with Angela (the left-wing junior clerk).

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown keeps having to correct people who think her name is "Phyllis".

* [[The Nicknamer]]: Rumpole himself.

*** Mr. Justice Gerald Graves, called by Rumpole "Mr Justice Gravestone" and at on least one occasion "Mr Injustice Death's Head".

* [[Nipple-and-Dimed]]: Averted with a vengeance in "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation," where you can see all of the stripper's...goods (to use the ''Beacon'' reporter's terminology) very clearly, alongside Claude Erskine-Brown's expression of obvious discomfort combined with perverse fascination. Of course, ''Rumpole'' aired after the [[Watershed]], so it was OK.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|No Secret Societies Were Harmed]]: The "Ostlers" of the (fictional) town of Gunster in "Rumpole and the Right to Silence" bear a ([[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]]) resemblance to the Freemasons.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: Rumpole's greatest professional success, the case of the Penge Bungalow Murders, was a [[Noodle Incident]] for almost three decades before recently being told in a novel suprisingly named ''Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders''.

** Liz Probert, daughter of "Red Ron" Probert, a left-wing Labour leader of a North London borough council; she takes after her father. As for why Hearthstoke was talking to Probert about change in the chambers, he argued that the fact they were both young would make them both favor modernisation. However, [[All Men Are Perverts|it's pretty clear that he just wants to get into her pants]] (or is it her robes when discussing barristers?).

** Phyllida Trant, while chewing out her then-boyfriend Claude Erskine-Brown, mentions his "inexplicable approval of [[Margaret Thatcher|Mrs Thatcher]]" (or something to that effect) as one thing she's willing to accept, implying that Erskine-Brown is a Tory (of course, who's surprised about that) and that Phyllida isn't.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Rumpole occasionally uses this when he's trying to get something, especially if he's trying to get it from Hilda.

* [[Office Golf]]: Uncle Tom's primary occupation, besides making bizarre comments at Chambers meetings and completely misunderstanding anything anyone says within earshot of him.

* [[Old-Fashioned Copper]]: Detective Inspector Brush, depicted most negatively.

* [[Oop North]]: Mr. Justice Oliphant is very proud of being from there, and it drives Rumpole to distraction.

* [[Real Life Relative]]: the second Liz Probert, Abigail McKern--a.k.a. the daughter of Rumpole himself, Leo McKern.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: A number of storylines are a [[Whole-Plot Reference]] lifted from the headlines; for instance ''Rumpole and the Children of the Devil'' tackled the spurious accusations of ritual Satanic abuse that created a moral panic.

** Claude Erskine-Brown's obsession with [[Opera]]; ''[[Richard Wagner|Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]'' gets mentioned a lot.

* [[Satchel Switcheroo]]: Rumpole accidentally walks off with Uncle Tom's briefcase, discovering the switch only when he opens it. In court. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* [[Shout-Out/To Shakespeare]]: Several, and hardly surprising given Rumpole's love of English literature.

{{quote|'''Solicitor''': What do you think of the prosecution, Mr. Rumpole?

'''Rumpole''' (''voiceover''): I think if it were conducted by a nervous first-year law student with a serious speech impediment they'd ''still'' get a conviction.

'''Rumpole''' (''aloud''): Well, we do face certain difficulties. (''Rumpole and the Old, Old Story'') }}

* [[The Summation]]

* [[Taking the Heat]]: "Rumpole and the Sporting Life"

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Sam Ballard has a habit of falling for the traps Rumpole lays for him.

* [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]]: John Mortimer has said that Rumpole is not an [[Author Avatar]] (Mortimer was both a QC and prosecuted) but all the characters are composites of people that he knew throughout his time at the Bar.

* [[Worthy Opponent]]: Often stated by Rumpole whenever he's up against a good barrister.