Foyle's War: The Complete Set - Series 1-5 (2002)
Genre Crime, Thriller, War
Studio Acorn Media
Series Foyle's War
Movie Release Date 2002
Country UK
Language English
Audience Rating 15
Running Time 1522 mins
Format DVD
Color Color
IMDb Rating 8.8
Cast
Michael Kitchen Christopher Foyle
Anthony Howell Sgt. Paul Milner
Honeysuckle Weeks Samantha Stewart
Julian Ovenden Andrew Foyle
Jay Simpson Sgt Brooke
Geoffrey Freshwater Sergeant Eric Rivers
Mali Harries Jane Milner
Michael Simkins Hugh Reid
Max Brown Adam Wainwright
Ellie Haddington Hilda Pierce
Crew
Director Jeremy Silbertson
Writer Anthony Horowitz
Producer Jill Green
Composer Jim Parker
Tagline
Foyle's War
Plot
Touted as the new Inspector Morse, this ITV detective show stars Michael Kitchen as a police inspector frustrated at being stuck at home investigating provincial crimes during the Second World War. Honeysuckle Weeks is an inspired choice as Foyle's sidekick, a clergyman's daughter posted from the Women's Royal Army Corps to serve as his driver, and she plays the part with an admirable period style. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940 - which may seem a strangely remote period in which to place a new detective, but the setting turns out to be a means of adding moral and dramatic depth to the storylines.
Episodes
Disc 01:
1 The German Woman
Series premiere. England, May 1940: Set against the backdrop of Hastings, East Sussex, during World War II, Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle is thwarted in his attempts to serve his country in the war effort. Instead, his duty is to serve his local community, effectively sitting out the war, by investigating petty crimes and an occasional murder or two.
Disc 02:
2 The White Feather
It's May 1940 and the war news is grim. The Germans are rolling across Europe and invasion fears are affecting everyone. Sgt. Paul Milner, who has been invalided out of the army, settles into his new job at the station. His wife is having difficulty accepting his disability, however. Foyle investigates the activities of Edith Johnson, a maid at the White Feather hotel, who was caught cutting telephone wires. When the owner of the White Feather, Margaret Ellis, is shot Foyle finds himself investigating a murder. The actual target was likely Guy Spencer, the leader of a fascist pro-Nazi movement known as the Friday Club. The case takes a particular twist when Foyle learns that Spenser may be in possession of a letter stolen from the Foreign Office and that Military Intelligence is actively monitoring Spencer and his group.
Disc 03:
3 A Lesson in Murder
June 1940: Foyle investigates the death of David Beale, who hung himself while in police custody. He had been placed in custody for breach of the peace for causing a ruckus in the aftermath of having been refused conscientious objector status. Soon after, the judge presiding at Beale's hearing, Lawrence Gascoigne, has a brick thrown through his window with a threatening note attached. The case becomes a murder investigation when a member of Gascoigne's household is killed. Foyle must determine if this is as a result of Beale's death or another, as yet unknown, motive. Sgt. Milner's wife announces that she's going to visit her sister in Wales. Italy enters the war with tragic results for Foyle's friend, restaurateur Carlo Lucciano.
Disc 04:
4 Eagle Day
August 1940: During the blitz, a man is found in his bombed-out house, stabbed in the chest. The man was a lorry driver who was transporting works of art to Wales for safekeeping. Foyle suspects that the man's job and the art work are somehow related to his death. Foyle's son Andrew, an RAF pilot, stops in en route to his first operational assignment. Disappointed at not being assigned to a squadron, he finds that he is to assist in the development of a new technology - radar. Things get dicey when Andrew is accused of giving information to the enemy. Sam receives a visits from her clergyman father who insists that she pack it in and return home.
Disc 05:
5 Fifty Ships
September 1940: DCS Foyle investigates the murder of Richard Hunter whose body is found on a nearby beach. Although made to look like a suicide, Foyle has his doubts. Hunter was a heavy drinker and not very successful in life, but Foyle learns that he went to Oxford university. Howard Paige, a senior American government official is in the UK on top secret business. Foyle becomes re-acquainted with his first true love, Elizabeth Lewes, who he was unable to marry when her father refused them permission. Samantha Stewart finds herself homeless when her boarding house is bombed and, unable to find suitable lodgings, has taken to sleeping in the cells.
Disc 06:
6 Among the Few
September 1940: When the police and the civil authorities suspect that petrol is being stolen from a local depot, Foyle agrees to let Sam Stewart go undercover as a driver to see if she can find out what is going on. Sam is partnered with Connie Dewar who is in love with a flying officer, Rex Talbot who just happens to be Andrew Foyle's best friend. It becomes apparent to Sam that Connie is involved in the petrol thefts and when she is found dead, there are a number of suspects. Connie is also several months pregnant but she didn't tell anyone who the father was. For DCS Foyle, the case becomes especially complicated when it turns out his son Andrew was perhaps the last person to see her alive.
Disc 07:
7 War Games
October 1940: A young secretary falls to her death out the window of her office. Foyle plays referee to the Home Guard's war games, but there's live ammunition and one of the Home guard ends up dead. The local children collecting paper and metal for the war effort prove instrumental in solving the case.
Disc 08:
8 The Funk Hole
October 1940: Someone's stealing supplies to sell on the black market. Foyle is accused of spreading alarm in a London bomb shelter and so he ends up at home with his despondent injured son. The 'funk hole' houses elites willing to pay to live in a safe place in the country.
Disc 09:
9 The French Drop
Detective Chief Inspector Foyle is still itching to make a greater contribution to the war effort and there is the possibility of an appointment to Naval Intelligence in Liverpool. Sgt. Milner's wife has left him and returned to Wales and he too is considering leaving Hastings and to start afresh. They first have to investigate the death of a young man who died in an explosion. The body was badly disfigured and the only thing they have to go on is the man's gold pocket watch but they believe him to be William Messinger, the son of Sir Giles Messinger. Foyle traces the younger Messinger to a secret training school, Hill House, and determines that they're dealing with a clever deception and competition between military intelligence and the newly formed Special Operations Executive.
Disc 10:
10 Enemy Fire
DCS Foyle and Sgt. Milner investigate a series of strange events at a local manor house that has been converted to a hospital to treat RAF pilots suffering from extensive burns. Most of the incidents verge on the side of bad jokes, but when a more serious attempt is made on the life of an RAF Group Captain, they take a more serious interest. They learn that an RAF Sergeant with a criminal record, Gordon Drake, is living on a cottage on the estate and has a connection with the estate's owner, Sir Michael Waterford who may not appreciate the way the RAF has commandeered his home. Foyle also learns that Drake was having an affair with the wife of a doctor, Brian Wrenn, who also works at the burn hospital. Foyle's son Andrew, an RAF pilot, has also had several run-ins with Drake. Andrew is also suffering from fatigue and goes AWOL ending up at Sam's flat.
Disc 11:
11 They Fought in the Fields
DCS Foyle investigates the death of Hugh Jackson who is found sitting in his living room, shot to death. It has all of the earmarks of a suicide and it's confirmed that Jackson had lived a lonely life since his was ran off with another man several years before. Jackson had recently had a quarrel with a neighbor. His son Tom also stood to inherit the man's farm and get a military deferment as well. Finally, there are three young women at the farm who may have reasons of their own to do him in. The night Jackson was killed, three German airmen were shot down in the area and while all were captured, Foyle believes one of may information relevant to the investigation.
Disc 12:
12 A War of Nerves
DCS Foyle and Sgt. Milner investigate what they believe is a black market operation in the docks area. They set up a dummy company, with Milner at the head, to see what they might find and soon enough, they are approached by someone working at Talbot's shipyard. By chance, the station desk sergeant's daughter works at Talbot's and has important information for Foyle. When her boyfriend, a sapper with the Royal Engineers, is called out to Talbot's to disarm an unexploded bomb, he and his mates find something else that leads to one of them being murdered. Throughout all of this, Foyle is hounded by Assistant Commissioner Rose who insists that Foyle drop everything and investigate the activities of Raymond Carter a so-called communist agitator who is staying in Hastings.
Disc 13:
13 Invasion
March 1942: The US Army Corps of Engineers arrives in Hastings to build an aerodrome and Foyle needs to calm a local farmer whose land has been requisitioned by the government. Foyle also gets hooked into giving a lecture to the American GIs on local customs. It all takes a more serious turn when a local barmaid, Susan Davies, is found strangled. She had been seeing one of the GIs and was pregnant, but was also involved selling illegal whiskey for her employer, Alan Carter. Meanwhile Sgt. Milner investigates the death of friend, Will Grayson, who died in a house fire. He had been drinking at Carter's pub but wasn't drunk when he left and Milner can't quite figure out why his friend didn't get out of the burning house in time. Finally, Sam gets unhappy news from boyfriend Andrew.
Disc 14:
14 Bad Blood
August 1942: A truck drops a sheep while driving through farmland. Nearby animals start dying, then a farmer's daughter, and Sam falls ill. Then cows fall sick and mysteriously disappear. Foyle's inquiries lead him to work on biological warfare and the search for a cure for Sam, as her illness looks terminal. Meanwhile, Sgt. Milner investigates the murder of a war hero by a conscientious objector, who happens to be the brother of a past love of his.
Disc 15:
15 Bleak Midwinter
December 1942: DCS Foyle investigates the death of Grace Phillips who died in what appears to be an accident in a munitions factory. Grace, who had been living with her boyfriend Harry Osborne, had become very sad of late and had mysteriously mentioned something about thievery to a fellow worker just a week before her death. Sgt. Milner's estranged wife Jane, whom he's not seen for over two years, visits him unexpectedly. Jane knew the dead girl and had important information for her husband, but she is killed while on her way to tell him. When evidence points to Sgt. Milner as the perpetrator, Foyle is forced to suspend him. Meanwhile the staff at the police station are overly preoccupied with the evidence gathered in a racketeering case - especially a plump turkey.
Disc 16:
16 Casualties of War
March 1943: Foyle receives a visit from his goddaughter, whom he has not seen for 10 years, and her young son who is shell shocked from when his school was bombed. When she runs off leaving her son, Foyle must locate her. A new Assistant Commissioner is after Foyle to crack down on illegal gambling. Sgt. Milner is assigned to the case and goes undercover with mixed results. Milner sees two young lads gambling lots of cash and decides to find out where they're getting their money. Foyle is also investigating a group of saboteurs. When a murders occurs near a military research facility, Foyle believes he has solved the crime but the new AC insists he release the subject in question. Foyle in turn feels he has only one option open to him.
Disc 17:
17 Plan of Attack
April 1944: The Allies have stepped up their war effort, and it seems the end of the war is in sight. Foyle has resigned as Detective Chief Superintendent, Sam has found a new job, Milner is fed up with his new boss, DCS Meredith. And then there are murders to investigate.
Disc 18:
18 Broken Souls
Foyle has a number of apparently unrelated investigations under way. The most serious is the murder of Dr. Julian Worth who worked at a nearby hospital for mentally disturbed soldiers and airmen. He is found in his office stabbed in the chest with a letter opener. Worth was much disliked by his colleagues and was about to leave for a new job. The police also search for a 15-year old boy who has run away from his London home and may have returned to the area to where he was evacuated. Finally, they investigate the murder of a German POW who spent his days working on a local farm but who was no longer welcome when the owner returns after spending five years as a German prisoner of war.
Disc 19:
19 All Clear
It's early May 1945 and the formal announcement that the war is over is imminent. The station is being relocated and Foyle is definite that he is going to retire. DS Paul Milner anxiously awaits news of a possible promotion to Inspector. Sam is trying her best to find a job, but finds it a hard slog. Foyle's son Andrew also re-appears and wonders if Sam will have anything to do with him after the way he treated her. On the policing front, Foyle investigates the murder of Dr. Henry Ziegler, who was stabbed on the street. Ziegler was a transplanted Austrian but had recently faced the brunt of anti-German feeling in the community. When one of his patients soon after commits suicide, Foyle and Milner must determine what, if any, connection there might be between the two deaths.
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Collection Status In Collection
Owner Marit
Links Amazon.co.uk
Movie Collector Connect
IMDB
Edition Details
Format DVD
Region Region 2
Release Country UK
TV System PAL
No. of Disks/Tapes 19
Packaging Custom Case
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.77:1 (16:9) (Anamorphic)
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
Release Date 15-09-2008