Martin Shaw Movies

The heir to London's Dupayne Museum has died in a suspicious fire and it's up to Commander Dalgliesh (Martin Shaw) to crack the case in this mystery based on the best-selling novel by author P.D. James. It seems that the infernal crime bears a striking resemblance to a notorious case from the Murder Room, and though Commander Dalgliesh soon begins to make headway in solving the difficult crime, the strain that the case is having on his relationship with Emma (Samantha Bond) is only exceeded by the endless hours he's been putting into the investigation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Baroness Orczy's frequently filmed adventure novel The Scarlet Pimpernel has been the subject of two different British TV series, the second of which aired nearly half a century after the first. Debuting on BBC1 on January 24, 1999, the "new" Scarlet Pimpernel was, like its predecessor, set during the dark days of the French Revolution. The estimable Richard E. Grant starred as Sir Percy Blakeney, an insufferably haughty British dandy. Unbeknownst to virtually everyone (including his wife, Marguerite, played by American actress Elizabeth McGoven), Sir Percy spent his evenings in the guise of the dashing, fearless Scarlet Pimpernel, savior of many French noblepersons who would otherwise have been condemned to the guillotine by the Revolutionary Tribunal. Together with a small band of confederates, the "damn'd elusive Pimpernel" enjoyed nothing more than thoroughly confounding his perennial nemesis, the skulking Citizen Chauvelin (Martin Shaw). Though played with tongue firmly in cheek, the series boasted some pretty impressive fencing sequences, staged by the talented Terry Walsh. Six 90-minute episodes of The Scarlet Pimpernel were seen in Britain in weekly clusters of three each, the last one airing on November 1, 2000. The series was produced in association with the American A&E cable channel, which ran the six episodes on a monthly rather than weekly basis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Mike Beckham draws on the facts in the case of two 1974 bomb attacks in Birmingham that left twenty-one dead, and six innocent men wrongly convicted. When terrorists bomb two Birmingham pubs, the authorities race to catch the culprits responsible for killing twenty-one unsuspecting civilians. But were the men christened the "Birmingham Six" really the ones responsible for this horrific mass slaughter? In this film, Beckham follows the efforts of World in Action researchers Ian MacBride and Chris Mullin in proving that the "Birmingham Six" only admitted to the bombing under extreme duress, and that the five IRA agents were in fact responsible for the deadly attacks. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A spy is tracked down in this made-for-television espionage thriller. When a secret agent goes in search of his former mentor -- who has since defected -- he finds that the man wants come back to the United States. They go on the lam and try to escape the KGB and CIA, who aren't through with the master spy just yet. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

In this classic mystery story, Sherlock Holmes (Ian Richardson) is requested to investigate deaths around the Baskerville mansion because Henry (Martin Shaw), the last direct heir to the Baskerville fortune is worried that he may die by their unique curse; a ghost hound has eliminated his ancestors and is now wreaking havoc in the woods again. The crafty Holmes sends faithful Dr. Watson (Donald Churchill) ahead to check things out, while unknown to Watson, Holmes assumes the disguise of a local gypsy to observe the mansion and anyone connected with it. As the mist of Grimpen Moor and the howling hound lend an eerie atmosphere to the tale, false leads take the protagonists into dead ends, and the real culprit waits in the wings for his chance. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Larry Doomer (Martin Shaw), ex-fiancee of New Avenger Purdey (Joanna Lumley), is determined to get even for the death of his father. To this end, Doomer has targetted an Arab diplomat for assassination. Unfortunately, Doomer's misguided missile will not only wipe out the diplomat, but all of the Parliament as well. Guest stars Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins) were later reteamed on the popular British action-adventure series The Professionals. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Also titled The Price of Freedom, Operation Daybreak is a retelling of the terrible consequences attending the assassination of Nazi-occupation leader Richard Heydrich. When Heydrich puts all of Czechoslovakia under his thumb, a group of Czech expatriates parachute into their homeland to kill the man known as "The Hangman." They succeed, and in retaliation the Nazis wipe the tiny Czech village of Lidice off the map, killing its male residents and carting off its women and children to concentration camps. For the purposes of the plot, assassins Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw survive the massacre, albeit only briefly. The Heydrich/Lidice tragedy was previously dramatized in two wartime films, Hangmen Also Die (1943) and Hitler's Madman (1943). Operation Daybreak was adapted from Seven Men at Daybreak, a novel by Alan Burgess. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like the earlier BBC anthology The Villains, the similarly titled Villains dramatized the lives of criminals both famous and obscure. Unlike the earlier series, which focused on England's North Country, the later program detailed stories about crooks and scoundrels from all parts of the British Isles, and from all walks of life. Bob Hoskins and Alun Armstrong were among the many major actors who appeared in the series' 13 hour-long episodes. Villains aired in Great Britain beginning July 22, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi