Soapy Sam Ballard, QC in Inspector Alleyn Mystery

Peter Blythe (Soapy Sam) plays the son of a baronet in Inspector Alleyn's "Final Curtain".

He shows some of the persnikitiness that he always had as Head of Chambers but the most surprising thing here was seeing him with a mustache. He didn't have that greased down hair either that he often had in Rumpole.

This mystery also features a graying but very elegant Eleanor Bron, whom you may remember as the beautiful actress accused of murdering her husband in "Rumpole and the Showfolk".

Graham Crowden stars as the eccentric, rich baronet. He played a doctor leading the medical board inquiry against Dr. Rahmat in "Rumpole and the Quacks". Crowden is probably best known for his role of Tom in "Waiting for God".

Everytime I see one of the Rumpole characters in another venue it's like running into an old friend.

It was also nice to see actor Michael Bilton. Although he was not in the Rumpole series, he did play Ned in "To the Manor Born" and Basil in "Waiting for God". In "Final Curtain", he plays the butler. And, no, the butler didn't do it. Forgive me!