Crime of Passion TV series

Crime of Passion

1970 - United Kingdom

Playwright Ted Willis had been responsible for some of television's most successful plays and series. In Crime of Passion the creator of such typically British police shows such as Dixon of Dock Green and Sergeant Cork turned to France to reconstruct some of the true life cases that have qualified for that description. 

In France crime passionnel (or crime of passion) was a valid defence during murder cases; during the 19th century, some cases could result in a custodial sentence for two years for the murderer. Each play in the series was based on fact and was both a courtroom confrontation and a human drama. The story started by showing the crime in question before moving on to the trial and tracing the criminal act to its emotional roots. At the end of each episode the judge delivered his verdict. 

President of the Court was played by Anthony Newlands, while the grave-faced figures of prosecutor Maitre Lacan and defence council Maitre Savel were respectively played by John Phillips and Daniel Moynihan. Bernard Archer as Maitre Dubois appeared in the last series. Each episode was named after the person on trial.

Published on December 5th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Ladykillers TV Series

A series of seven hour-long plays produced by Granada television based on real-life murder trials where the accused was female - proving that when it comes to foul play the gentler sex can be just as deadly as the male.

Also tagged Courtroom Drama

Justice TV series

Courtroom drama series based on a one-off play.

Also tagged Courtroom Drama

Crown Court TV series

Courtroom drama in which the jury, who were made up of members of the public, would decide the verdict.

Also tagged Courtroom Drama

Gangsters tv series

Hard hitting crime drama series inspired by the movie The French Connection.

Also tagged Crime Drama

The Defenders

Courtroom Drama: One of the most ground-breaking and, at times, controversial American television shows of the 1960s

Also tagged Courtroom Drama

Crime Buster

Ray Saxon has a nose for sports racketeers. Working for the Sunday Globe he investigates corruption and murder.

Also tagged Crime Drama

Arrest and Trial

Courtroom drama in two parts - the first shows the police investigation and consequential arrest, while the second shows the suspects trial.

Also tagged Courtroom Drama

Girls About Town TV series

Two married women, one with her head in the clouds and the other with her feet on the ground, decide it's time their husbands took more notice of them.

Also released in 1970