Holy Morse. A young looking John Thaw plays Lt Holst of the Copenhagen police force in the early 20th century.
Maria Wolkinski (Catherine Schell) a Russian Countess seeks the help from the Danish police. She claim that her brother in law Dimitri Wolkinski (Philip Madoc) has followed her from Russia and means to kill her.
Holst takes the Countess to his own house for safekeeping with his wife to keep her eye on the Countess.
Meanwhile Holst goes to see Dimitri who acts suspiciously and is a person who is difficult to like. Dimitri claims that the Countess is a Tsarist spy and it is he who is hunted in Russia for his revolutionary views. The Countess is disposing of property that was willed by her late husband to himself. That is the reason why he seeks to speak to her.
The story is essentially He Said/She Said. Holst wife having met the Countess is sympathetic towards her.
The story morphs slightly when the Russian Embassy becomes involved. Dimitri made it clear that he has no wish to speak to a representative from the embassy who view him as a troublemaker. Holst is ordered by his superiors not to stand in the way of the Russian Embassy. An order Holst knows is illegal but is something that might jeopardise his career if he remains obstinate.
This adaptation always veers into stodginess. The casting of Philip Madoc who usually played suspicious types is there to mislead you. It seems Dimitri might had been telling the truth.
More relevant was the story of not rocking the boat in order to sustain you career. It is pointed out to Holst several times that the Danish and Russian royal families are interrelated. Sadly it has relevance today where well meaning people are often overruled by their superiors who follow a political agenda and not a legally correct one.
Maria Wolkinski (Catherine Schell) a Russian Countess seeks the help from the Danish police. She claim that her brother in law Dimitri Wolkinski (Philip Madoc) has followed her from Russia and means to kill her.
Holst takes the Countess to his own house for safekeeping with his wife to keep her eye on the Countess.
Meanwhile Holst goes to see Dimitri who acts suspiciously and is a person who is difficult to like. Dimitri claims that the Countess is a Tsarist spy and it is he who is hunted in Russia for his revolutionary views. The Countess is disposing of property that was willed by her late husband to himself. That is the reason why he seeks to speak to her.
The story is essentially He Said/She Said. Holst wife having met the Countess is sympathetic towards her.
The story morphs slightly when the Russian Embassy becomes involved. Dimitri made it clear that he has no wish to speak to a representative from the embassy who view him as a troublemaker. Holst is ordered by his superiors not to stand in the way of the Russian Embassy. An order Holst knows is illegal but is something that might jeopardise his career if he remains obstinate.
This adaptation always veers into stodginess. The casting of Philip Madoc who usually played suspicious types is there to mislead you. It seems Dimitri might had been telling the truth.
More relevant was the story of not rocking the boat in order to sustain you career. It is pointed out to Holst several times that the Danish and Russian royal families are interrelated. Sadly it has relevance today where well meaning people are often overruled by their superiors who follow a political agenda and not a legally correct one.