Secret Army (TV series)
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| Secret Army | |
|---|---|
 This is the main title caption that was seen throughout the series. |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Creator(s) | Gerard Glaister |
| Starring | Bernard Hepton Angela Richards Clifford Rose Juliet Hammond-Hill Michael Culver Terrence Hardiman Jan Francis Christopher Neame Ron Pember Valentine Dyall Hazel McBride Stephen Yardley |
| Country of origin | UK |
| No. of episodes | 43 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Original run | September 7, 1977 – December 15, 1979 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Secret Army was a BBC television drama series created by Gerard Glaister that ran for three series from September 7, 1977 to December 15, 1979.
Contents |
[edit] The series
This second world war series was created and produced by Gerard Glaister, a former RAF pilot, and was based on real events. Made in the United Kingdom, it was broadcast on BBC1 and chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement dedicated to returning British airmen, usually having been shot down by the Luftwaffe, back to their home country.
The series followed the timeline of the war as it impacted on the Belgian location - exterior scenes were filmed in the country, with the assistance of Belgian broadcaster BRT, leading to a feeling of authenticity. Other location filming took place in and around London and the surrounding counties, notably Norfolk.
In the first series, the show was set in a Brussels café (the Candide), where owner (Albert Foiret, played by Bernard Hepton) helps Lisa Colbert (otherwise known as "Yvette" and played by Jan Francis) hide airmen and control the various members of the "Lifeline" organisation (based on the real-life Comète line) as they take the airmen across borders to safer countries (such as Spain). Their principal opponents were Ludwig Kessler (Clifford Rose), an officious Sturmbannführer in the SS, and the more laidback Luftwaffe officer Major Erwin Brandt (Michael Culver). Flight Lieutenant John Curtis (Christopher Neame) is parachuted into Brussels to act as Lifeline's British liaison and is at first greeted with hostility and suspicion, with signs of a growing romantic tension between him and Lisa.
A continuing storyline was Albert's affair with barmaid Monique Duchamps, (Angela Richards) while his wife Andrée (Eileen Page) was bed-ridden (who died following a fall at the end of series one.) Other Lifeline operatives introduced in the first series were Natalie Chantrens (Juliet Hammond-Hill), a guide who also works at the Candide, farmer and wireless operator Alain Muny (Ron Pember) and Dr. Pascal Keldermans (Valentine Dyall) who takes charge of medical matters concerning the airmen with Lisa working undercover as a nurse at his surgery.
In the second series, Albert was rewarded by the British with a share in a more prominently-placed restaurant (also named the Candide), and he takes over Lifeline when Lisa is killed. The German officers frequented the new establishment more regularly, allowing all the major characters to interact and increasing the dramatic tension. To capitalise on actress Angela Richards' singing talents, Monique performed regularly for the Candide diners and this became a staple feature of the series. Not only did these scenes transform the character of Monique from a dowdy waitress to a sultry chanteuse, but they also served as a sophisticated contrast to the often tense events occurring in the episodes.(An album was released by the BBC 'Au cafe candide') Other story arcs played out during the second series included Kessler's developing romance with lonely Belgian society woman Madeleine Duclos (Hazel McBride) and Brandt getting involved with a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the discovery of which, together with the death of his family in a British air raid on Berlin, results in his eventual suicide. This series also included a Communist resistance infiltrator of Lifeline (pianist Max Brocard, played by Stephen Yardley) whose death would lead to further complications in the third series.
For the third series, chronicling the period approaching and after the end of the war in Belgium, Bernard Hepton was unavailable for many episodes (as he was touring in a series of plays). Albert's absence was explained by his incarceration in prison, on false charges related to the series one death of his wife. Monique is forced to take charge of both Lifeline and the Candide in his absence in a story development that charted her increasing independence and the eventual decline of her relationship with Albert. Several episodes also focused around the character of Major Nick Bradley (Paul Shelley), an undercover British agent introduced in the second series. Brandt was replaced in this series by Major Reinhardt (Terrence Hardiman), a more incisive officer, who regularly clashed with Kessler but nevertheless came closer than ever to discovering Lifeline.
The final episode to be made, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, set 25 years after the liberation of Brussels, looked at how the characters had fared after the war, but was never broadcast - the reason for this has been variously attributed to a strike (falsely suggesting that editing was never completed), the episode's anti-Communist message, or because it was significantly different in tone from the rest of the series. The main themes of the episode were subsequently incorporated into a sequel series, Kessler, which was transmitted in 1981 and explored the fate of the former Standartenführer.
[edit] Trivia
- Secret Army was parodied by the BBC comedy series 'Allo 'Allo!. A few cast members appeared in both series.
- It also inspired the title of another comedy series – Fairly Secret Army.
- John Brason wrote a prequel novel and two novelisations of his episodes.
[edit] Cast
- Albert Foiret - Bernard Hepton
- Lisa Colbert ("Yvette") - Jan Francis (Series 1-2)
- Flight Lieutenant John Curtis - Christopher Neame (Series 1)
- Monique Duchamps - Angela Richards
- Sturmbannführer/Standartenführer Ludwig Kessler - Clifford Rose
- Major Erwin Brandt - Michael Culver (Series 1-2)
- Natalie Chantrens - Juliet Hammond-Hill
- Doctor Pascal Keldermans - Valentine Dyall
- Alain Muny - Ron Pember
- Andrée Foiret - Eileen Page (Series 1)
- Corporal Veit Rennert - Robin Langford (Series 1-2)
- Jacques Bol - Timothy Morand (Series 1)
- Gaston Colbert - James Bree (Series 1)
- Louise Colbert - Maria Charles (Series 1)
- Hans van Broecken - Gunnar Moller
- Lena van Broecken - Marianne Stone (Series 1-2)
- Yvonne - Henrietta Baynes (Series 1-2)
- Max Brocard - Stephen Yardley (Series 2)
- Insp. Paul Delon - John D. Collins (Series 2-3)
- Madeleine Duclos - Hazel McBride (Series 2-3)
- François - Nigel Williams (Series 2)
- Major Nick Bradley - Paul Shelley (Series 2-3)
- Wullner - Neil Daglish (Series 2-3)
- Genevieve - Trisha Clarke (Series 2-3)
- Major Hans Dietrich Reinhardt - Terrence Hardiman (Series 3)
- Paul Vercors - Ralph Bates (Series 3)
- Captain Stephen Durnford - Stephan Chase (Series 3)
[edit] DVD release
The complete series of Secret Army is available on DVD (Region 2, UK) from DD Home Entertainment. All releases are accompanied by a booklet detailing the production of each successive series, while the series 3 release also features on-camera interviews with cast members Angela Richards (Monique), Clifford Rose (Kessler), Juliet Hammond-Hill (Natalie), Terrence Hardiman (Reinhardt) and Hazel McBride (Madeleine). It does not, however, include the final unscreened episode (see above).
[edit] CD release
The songs performed by Angela Richards in the series proved so popular with the audience that a BBC soundtrack album entitled 'Au Cafe Candide' was released. Long since deleted, the songs are now available on a new CD, recorded some 25 years after the first, entitled 'An Evening at Le Candide'. Tracks include Richards' own compositions such as Memories Come Gently and If This Is The Last Time I See You, together with popular Forties numbers such as Lilli Marlene and J'attendrai. The CD, produced by Lifeline Productions, is available from the 'Le Candide' Secret Army fan site below.
