Dangerous Davies (1981 ATV production with Bernard Cribbins)

DANGEROUS DAVIES: The Last Detective

Released by Acorn Media UK.

it is only January and already Acorn could have just come up with one of the TV releases of the year. We here at Memorable TV have long wanted this 1981 TV Movie starring Bernard Cribbens to get a release and what's more it compares more than favourably with the recent Peter Davison version.

Based on the comic novel by Leslie Thomas (who also collaborated with legendary director Val Guest on the screenplay), the production made for ATV and carrying with it a huge period charm sees Bernard Cribbens play Detective Constable Dangerous Davies the last detective (so called because he tends to be the last copper called upon for any given case) and digging into a 15 year old murder case, as he gets further involved he is soon stirring up a hornets nest of long buried trouble.

We were somewhat worried that the DVD wouldnt match up to our 20 year old memories of the show but rest assured this is just great, funny (well it is a Leslie Thomas production) but also with an air of melancholy and with great location footage of early 1980s London, Dangerous Davies is also a genuine mystery, worthy of A Touch of Frost or a Midsomer Murders.

Made on a budget of 325,000 pounds and shot on location over five weeks in North West London, Dangerous Davies is chock a block full of such great English TV characters like Bill Maynard (as Dangerouss oppo Mod), Maureen Lipman, Joss Ackland, singer John Leyton, Colin Baker, Bernard Lee, the always excellent Ken Jones and Pam St Clement. A Corker of a release!!

EXTRAS: All text based these include a 3 page production notes section, a 4 page biography of author Leslie Thomas as well as a bibliography of his novels, cast filmographies for the principles and the usual scene indexing.