The Dead Live Longer: A man dies. He leaves fifteen million francs – to a dead man.
Original Publicity: Ryan International – Stardom? “I’d rather be happy,” says Kieron Moore: I remember Kieron Moore as an incisive, clean-cut young blade who always administered Irish charm, in turtleneck sweater and sports coat, among post-war British films. In those austere days he looked a solid bet for stardom. Why the years in the wilderness? “Well, that’s one of those question I jus don’t know the answer to,” admits Moore, now grizzle-haired, lean, and infinitely less gauche than he ever appeared on the screen. “One thing I know is that I’m glad it happened that way. I’m glad things didn’t work out the way I wanted them; if they had, and I’d been a so-called star, it would have been bad for me, as a person. Success at any time is dangerous; at nineteen it would have been disastrous”. What happened, instead of stardom, was that Moore married, raised four children, and bought a home in Madrid, where for several years past he has been making films for American and Continental consumption. He has returned to make Ryan International because the series offers a tailor-made leading role. Ryan, the lawyer hero of the new series, is a fair replica of the urbane, multilingual Moore, except that the fictional character has suffered tragic bereavements, whereas Moore on the other hand is a comfortable head of a comfortable family. He explains: “The point is that a man has to suffer to have a broad, sympathetic understanding of life, and human frailty. I have suffered in different ways from this character. There’s been a lot of joy in my life, but there’s also been suffering, and I wouldn’t have wanted things any different. You can turn out to be an awful human being unless you’ve been walloped”. (Radio Times, September 10, 1970 – Article by John Hall).
Show Info: Drama Series. Cases of a tough Paris based lawyer.
Cast: Kieron Moore (Ryan), Cyril Luckham (Bersac), Susan Sheers (Michelle), Amanda Walker (Maid), Guy Standeven (Doctor), Kevin Brennan (Jean-Pierre Grimaud), Margaretta Scott (Helen Grimaud), Peter Bowles (Alain), Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Yvonne Brogniard), Richard Armour (Hotelier), William Lucas (Guilbert)
Writer: Mervyn Haisman, Henry Lincoln / Director: David Cunliffe
Airdate: 14 Sep 1970 on BBC-1
Series: Ryan International Season 1 Episode 1