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The Singing Detective

Re-working material from his first novel, "Hide and Seek" (1973), and folding this into a prismatic blend of autobiographical details, popular music and 1940s film noir, Writer Dennis Potter delivered a drama now regarded as a twentieth century masterwork. Detective novelist Philip Marlow (Sir Michael Gambon) suffers from the crippling disease of psoriatic arthritis. Confined to a hospital bed, Marlow mentally re-writes his early Chandleresque thriller, "The Singing Detective", with him in the title role, drifting into a surreal 1945 fantasy of spies and criminals, along with vivid memories of a childhood in the Forest of Dean. As past events and 1940s songs surface in his subconscious, Marlow's voyage of self-discovery provides a key to conquering his illness, while his noir-styled hallucinations evoke the Philip Marlowe of Chandler's Murder, My Sweet (1944), starring Dick Powell, who later became a "singing detective" on radio's "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1949), crooning to girlfriend Helen Asher at the end of each episode.

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Cast & Crew See All

Michael Gambon
Philip Marlow
Patrick Malahide
Mark Binney
Joanne Whalley
Nurse Mills

Season 1 Episode Guide See All

Episode 1

Skin

68 mins

Writer Philip Marlow is in hospital being treated for a severe skin affliction, something he has suffered from for 25 years but is now worse than it has ever been. He finds himself in a general ward with a group of other men being treated for a variety of ailments. Marlow's psoriasis covers him from head to toe and even the slightest movement proves extremely painful.The doctors have tried numerous treatments and medication, but to no avail. His only relief, ever so slight, is to gave his body greased from head to toe even though he is embarrassed at his reaction when the pretty Nurse Mills tends to him. Unable to use his hands, he nonetheless keeps working on a novel by imagining the events. In wartime London, Mark Binney goes to a sleazy nightclub where he leaves with two of the girls working there. One of them is later fished out of the Thames, nude.

Where to Watch
The Singing Detective, Season 1 Episode 1 image

Awards

  • 1987 - Broadcasting Press Guild Award - Best Actor - winner
  • 1987 - BAFTA TV Award - Best Drama Series - nominated
  • 1987 - BAFTA TV Award - Best Actor - winner
  • 1987 - BAFTA TV Award - Best Actor - nominated

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