Means of Evil
1991: Adapted by Peter Berry.
‘And out of good still to find means of evil…’
Axel Kingman leaves his lover, the celebrated cookery writer Corinne Last, and marries a much younger woman. Corinne’s generous acceptance of Axel’s new wife impresses everyone; especially Jenny Burden whose friendship with the writer begins to cause a rift within her own marriage… Continue reading →
Background: This title was adapted from two Ruth Rendell short stories: Means of Evil and When the Wedding Was Over.
Audio Clip: “Mike, have you been drinking?”
Audio Clip: “Mike, have you been drinking?”
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Cast and Crew
- DCI Wexford
- GEORGE BAKER
- DI Burden
- CHRISTOPHER RAVENSCROFT
- Dora Wexford
- LOUIE RAMSAY
- Jenny Burden
- DIANE KEEN
- Axel Kingman
- PATRICK MALAHIDE
- Corinne Last
- CHERYL CAMPBELL
- Dr Crocker
- JOHN BURGESS
- Det Sgt Martin
- KEN KITSON
- Hannah Kingman
- WENDY MORGAN
- Sgt Wiloughby
- COLIN CAMPBELL
- John Hood
- GERARD HORAN
- Amyas Ireland
- MICHAEL HADLEY
- Saffron
- FAY MASTERSON
- Foreman
- PHIL HEARNE
- Shop Owner
- CHRIS SULLIVAN
- Kenneth Gandolph
- JOHN MURPHY
- Script Editor
- CORINNE CARTIER
- Casting Director
- DOREEN JONES
- Original music composed by
- BRIAN BENNETT
- Chamber music arranged by
- LESTER BARNES
- Stunt Arranger
- STUART St PAUL
- TYLER the dog trained by
- VAL TYSON
- Production Manager
- LARS MacFARLANE
- Location Manager
- MARTIN ROBINSON
- 1st Assistant Director
- DAVID CRABTREE
- Continuity
- GWEN HUGHES
- Production Secretary
- JILL PARTINGTON
- Producer’s Secretary
- CATHIE WILLCOCKS
- Graphic Design
- THE ORIGINAL
GRAPHICS COMPANY
- Stage Manager
- KERRY BIGNELL
- Costume Designer
- KIMBERLEY FOSTER
- Make up Supervisior
- DEBBIE McKINLEY
- Designer
- MARK WARD
- Production Buyer
- ALAN BATES
- Camera Grip
- ALAN IMESON
- Dubbing Mixers
- TONY CUNNINGHAM
DAVE FALLON - Dubbing Editor
- PETER DANSIE
- Sound Recordist
- MAURICE HILLIER
- Camera Operator
- JULIAN BARBER
- Lighting Cameraman
- MICHAEL D SMITH
- Film Editor
- NIGEL BATE
- Executive Producer
- GRAHAM BENSON
- Producer
- NEIL ZEIGER
- Directed by
- SARAH HELLINGS
- A Television South Production
Principle Characters
Means of Evil
Wexford and Burden attend the wedding of Axel (Patrick Malahide) and Hannah Kingman. The wedding reception is organized by Axel’s former lover, Corinne Last (Cheryl Campbell). Absent from the celebrations is Corinne’s daughter - Saffron (Fay Masterson) - who is still very bitter over the break up of her mother’s relationship with Axel. Mike Burden is uncomfortable with the close friendship his wife has formed with Corinne Last. He perceives Corinne as controlling and manipulative; very different from the self-effacing woman Axel chose to marry instead.
At the wedding reception, Wexford is introduced to Amyas Ireland (Michael Hadley). Amyas is a publisher and he asks Wexford to read the manuscript of a crime book his company are hoping to publish. The book concerns an eighty-year-old murder: the infamous Winchester Case in which a young Kingsmarkham woman was hanged for poisoning her husband. The author - Kenneth Gandolf (John Murphy) - claims to have uncovered new evidence that exonerates the young wife.
Axel and Hannah return from their honeymoon and their relationship soon begins to disintegrate. Axel is concerned for his ailing health food business and his wife is fighting her own demons. When Hannah is hurt in a fall - and then becomes ill after a meal of wild mushrooms - her brother, John Hood (Gerard Horan), turns up at the police station and tells Inspector Burden that Axel is trying to kill his sister.
Background notes | Cast & crew »
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