Widows (TV series)

Widows

DVD cover of Series One and Two
Created by Lynda La Plante
Starring Ann Mitchell
Fiona Hendley
Maureen O'Farrell
Eva Mottley
Debby Bishop
Maurice O'Connell
David Calder
Kate Williams
Paul Jesson
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 18 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 50 minutes
Production company(s) Euston Films for Thames Television
Distributor FremantleMedia
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 16 March 1983 (1983-03-16) – 10 April 1995 (1995-04-10)

Widows was a British primetime television crime drama that aired in 1983, 1985 and 1995, produced by Euston Films for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network. Three six-part series were written by crime writer Lynda La Plante. The executive producer for all three series was Verity Lambert. The complete series of Widows is available on DVD from Fremantle Media.[1]

The haunting music heard at intervals throughout the first series and in the closing credits of series two is "What Is Life to Me Without Thee"[2] from the opera L'Orfeo, sung here by Kathleen Ferrier.

Plot

Three armed robbers—Harry Rawlins, Terry Miller, and Joe Pirelli—are killed during an armed robbery. They are survived by their widows, Dolly Rawlins (Ann Mitchell), Shirley Miller (Fiona Hendley), and Linda Pirelli (Maureen O'Farrell). With the police applying pressure, and a rival gang intending to take over Harry Rawlins' crime business, the widows turn to Dolly for leadership.

She uses Harry's famous "ledgers", a cache of books detailing all his robberies over the years, to find the details of the failed robbery, and, enlisting the help of a fourth woman, Bella O'Reilly (Eva Mottley), they resolve to pull off the raid themselves. At the same time, they discover the "fourth man" in the raid escaped—leaving their husbands for dead. Dolly must contend with the police and the gang, as well as her fellow widows, agitating for vengeance.

The first series of Widows concluded with the widows successfully pulling off the raid, and escaping to Rio. In the final scenes, however, they discovered that the "fourth man" was in fact Harry Rawlins (Maurice O'Connell), Dolly's husband.

In 2002, the first series was re-made for the American market, but the plot was significantly changed. Instead of a traditional armed robbery, this version united the three widows and the fourth woman in a plan to steal a famous painting. This version starred Mercedes Ruehl as Dolly Rawlins, Brooke Shields as Shirley Heller, Rosie Perez as Linda Perelli, and N'Bushe Wright as Bella O'Reilly.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Episode list

Series 1 (1983)

Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[3]		 Original airdate
1"Episode 1"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA16 March 1983
One of Harry Rawlins' robberies goes wrong, resulting in the deaths of three of the robbers. Dolly is given some keys by Harry's cousin Eddie at Harry's funeral. The police begin a search for Harry's ledgers, in which he kept all his notes on past and future robberies, as do the Fisher brothers, who were rivals. Dolly finds the ledgers, along with a gun and money, in a Harry's deposit box at the bank. The police follow Dolly around, but she gives them the slip a few times to meet up with Shirley and Linda, whose husbands also died in the explosion. They decide to carry out the robbery themselves. When Dolly returns home, she finds her house in a mess and someone in the living room.
2"Episode 2"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA23 March 1983
Dolly finds Boxer Davis, who is working for the Fisher brothers, in her house when she returns home. Shirley and Linda find cars to use, but neither vehicle seems to be much good. Linda goes to a garage to get it fixed and meets the owner, Carlos, who she begins a relationship with, much to Dolly's disgust. While Linda is at work, she bumps into an old friend, Bella, to whom she tells everything, and subsequently takes her to the headquarters, calling Dolly and Shirley to go there, but it takes a while to persuade Dolly.
3"Episode 3"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA30 March 1983
Dolly has told Boxer Davis that Harry is still alive to try to keep the Fisher brothers off their backs. Tony Fisher visits Eddie and tells him what Boxer Davis has been telling them. Later, Eddie visits Boxer and takes him out and gets him drunk, and then leaves him in a back alley - where a mysterious driver runs him down. Dolly, Linda, Bella and Shirley go up to the mountains to practice for the robbery - and an unexpected face returns from the dead.
4"Episode 4"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA6 April 1983
The plan gets underway as the vehicles and the strategy are sorted out. Dolly tells Linda about Carlos' relationship with Arnie Fisher, but she doesn't believe it at first. But when she sees Carlos with Arnie Fisher, she tips off the police and they are lying in wait for him the following morning. He makes a run for it, but is killed when he runs into a post van - making Linda feel guilty about calling the police. Detective Inspector Resnick is ordered to drop the investigation and furiously resigns. Dolly gets hold of the details of the security van, and they realise they will have to do it two weeks earlier. Linda and Bella display mistrust of Dolly and Harry turns up at the hideout.
5"Episode 5"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA13 April 1983
Linda gets the van for the robbery and the plan is ready to carried out. The following day they carry out the robbery, and everything runs smoothly until Shirley twists her ankle when they are escaping from the scene of the robbery. Dolly later finds Shirley desperately trying to start her car, and takes her to her house. The police suddenly turn up at Dolly's house and take her to the station to identify photographs. Eddie turns up at Dolly's house while she's still with the police, but Shirley attacks him and he breaks Dolly's dog's neck in the struggle. Dolly returns home and is devastated at the death of her dog, but soon realises that they both need to get away as soon as possible, but first she hides the money in the top of the new lockers at the convent. Shirley recognises Eddie on a photograph - and Dolly realises that Harry is still alive.
6"Episode 6"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA20 April 1983
Dolly thinks up a plan to get rid of the watch on her house and get them safely out of the country. Shirley phones her mother and gets her to come to the house where Dolly tells her to put on a wig and a coat and drive out in Dolly's car, so that Eddie will follow her. Dolly and Shirley then drive off in Shirley's brother's car to the airport. Shirley asks a man to help her out because she thinks her luggage will be too heavy and gives him the money case. Meanwhile, Harry, Eddie and another man turn up at Dolly's house. While Harry and Eddie go in, the other man beats up D.I. Resnick, who is watching the house from his car. Dolly finds out on the plane that they would search anyone's bags at customs and they have to change their plan. The police arrive and arrest Eddie and the other man, but Harry escapes.

Series 2 (1985)

The second series followed in 1985. This series saw the widows return from Rio to track down Harry Rawlins, revealed at the conclusion of the original Widows to be the surviving "fourth man" from the original raid.[4] Harry is determined to pay back the widows for staging his raid, and the widows have a score to settle with him for running out on their husbands. For this second series, Debby Bishop took over the role of Bella, after Eva Mottley had died from a drugs overdose.[5]

Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[3]		 Original airdate
1"Episode 1"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA3 April 1985
It is six months after the robbery and Dolly has returned to England and is awaiting a face-lift. Back in Rio, Shirley is packing to go to Los Angeles and Bella has got engaged. Dolly gets a P.I. to watch Trudy Nunn, who Harry was living with before he left. Harry turns up in Rio to get money from his accounts there, but he finds that Dolly has cleaned out all his accounts. One night, Bella and her fiance take Linda out, but she keeps dropping hints at Bella's past and Bella sends her home. Harry is there and, in fear of her life, Linda tells him everything. Bella returns and runs into Harry and then finds Linda beaten up in the swimming pool.
2"Episode 2"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA10 April 1985
Linda and Bella have an argument, and it is overheard by Bella's fiance and he hears everything about her past. Dolly receives a letter telling her about Harry, and she rushes to hide the money somewhere else. Harry arranges his return to England, as do Bella, Linda and Shirley. Harry is met by Mickey at the airport, who he tells to follow Linda and Bella. Harry then gets someone to go to them to find out where Dolly is, but he misses Linda and beats up the woman who is staying at Bella's. The widows meet up and decide to tell Harry that they are going to make a deal and give him £60,000 to leave them alone, but they secretly decide to call the police when they have given Harry the money.
3"Episode 3"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA17 April 1985
Dolly, Bella, Shirley and Linda meet to go over the plan for the handover. Linda makes a dummy to use in her car and Micky fixes it for Shirley to join a modeling company. Shirley's mother tells her that she is pregnant, which takes Shirley's mind off the plan. Linda leaves and gets a gun, which Dolly has ordered her not to do. Dolly phones Harry and tells him where to meet her. When she is about to hand over the money, Linda and Bella arrive late and Harry rushes to leave, running Linda over and killing her. When Dolly finds out that Harry has killed Linda, she goes to his old house with the gun, but he isn't there. The P.I., Vic Morgan, arrives and finds her standing outside with the gun.
4"Episode 4"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA24 April 1985
Vic Morgan goes to see D.I. Resnick at the hospital and tells him what he has found out so far. Bella tells Shirley that Linda is dead. Dolly and Bella find out that Harry is going to do another robbery when they go to the hideout to look for Dolly's book. Bella rents the lockup next door to keep an eye on how the robbery plan is progressing. Harry and Micky pay a visit to Arnie Fisher and get "permission" to use his club for a party. Morgan visits Dolly and asks her out to lunch and overhears her crying. The police catch up with Sunny, the fence for the money.
5"Episode 5"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA1 May 1985
The party at the Fishers' club is used by Harry to get people involved in the robbery. The police turn up, but Micky pretends that they were invited to stop them ruining things. Shirley comes face to face with Harry on the stairs in the club. Morgan turns up at Dolly's house and takes her to his boat, which she doesn't like in the least. She ends up getting his coat overboard. Dolly and Bella find out that Shirley is working at Amanda's Night Club and when the robbery will take place. Dolly sends Morgan a new coat and Harry secures the plans for the robbery.
6"Episode 6"Lynda La PlantePaul AnnettTBA8 May 1985
Dolly and Bella go to the lockup and find out that the robbery will be carried out earlier than they thought. They rush to phone the police and race to the club, but they are already there. They go in and hold up the staff and the models and take the jewellery. Shirley gets shot by Micky and he makes a run for it, but Dolly and Bella follow him and he is injured in a collision with a lorry - and is later shot by Harry. Bella leaves the country and Dolly hides the diamonds, but she's also got a surprise in store for Harry.

Series 3 (1995)

The third and final series, which was subsequently sub-titled She's Out!, followed many years later in 1995. It began with Dolly Rawlins' release from prison after serving a nine-year sentence for the murder of Harry, her husband. She teams up with several other parolees and make plans to stage a train robbery on horseback. Dolly's new companions in crime were Ester Freeman (Linda Marlowe), Julia Lawson (Anna Patrick), Gloria Radford (Maureen Sweeney), Connie Stephens (Zoe Heyes), Angela Dunn (Indra Ove) and Kathleen O'Reilly (Maggie McCarthy).[6]

Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[3]		 Original airdate
1"She's Out! - Episode 1"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA6 March 1995
Dolly Rawlins has served her eight years and is due for her release from Holloway Prison. Ester Freeman has a plan to get the money from the diamonds Dolly hid away and she invites other ex-convicts to the Grange Health Farm to get them in on the plan. Audrey, Shirley's mother, blames Dolly for Shirley's death, and tells her son to try to get her for the diamond robbery, but later tells him she has the diamonds herself. Dolly tells the women that her dream is to build a home for unwanted children and battered wives. Ester makes Dolly an offer to buy the house - and Dolly contacts the fence.
2"She's Out! - Episode 2"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA13 March 1995
Dolly buys the house off Ester and arranges to meet the fence, Jimmy Donaldson, but unknown to her, the police are listening in. Dolly applies to get permission to make the Grange Health Farm into a children's home. She finds out that Ester used to run it as a prostitute's home. Ester and Angela set out to collect the diamonds, but then Dolly finds out that Donaldson should be in prison. They rush to his house and escape the police, but end up running down Donaldson and Dolly takes the diamonds off him. As Ester is packing to leave, Dolly walks in and shows them the diamonds, that are supposedly worth £6,000,000.
3"She's Out! - Episode 3"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA20 March 1995
Dolly goes to see an old friend with the diamonds and he tells her that they are fakes he made for someone. Dolly visits Audrey, who tells her that she got £500,000 for the diamonds, most of which was spent on a villa in Spain. Dolly is annoyed and demands that Audrey get her the money. Social services visit the manor, but Dolly isn't there, and they find the rest of the women naked in the sauna and showers. Dolly tells the girls that the diamonds are fakes, but they will have to rely on the children's home working out, but then her application is later turned down. Ester leaves when she realises there will be no money, but is then attacked in a parking lot. Connie's boyfriend turns up and starts looking for her. Ester returns to the manor and Dolly goes out in the woods and finds Connie's boyfriend dead. She gets an idea for a new robbery - on the mail train.
4"She's Out! - Episode 4"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA27 March 1995
Dolly begins to plan her next robbery. She asks Julia to find out where the nearest stable is and asks Connie to get friendly with the man at the railway station. Dolly and Julia take Connie's boyfriend's body to the graveyard and bury him under a grave prepared for the next day, while Ester and Gloria take the guns to be fenced. The police turn up at the manor and arrest Kathleen when she makes a run for it, but they don't find anything on the others. Dolly reveals to the women that she's planning a robbery and that they need to do it on horseback.
5"She's Out! - Episode 5"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA3 April 1995
The women begin riding lessons and some of them get information on the railway and its security system. Dolly uses Shirley's brother, D.S. Mike Withey, to get information on the security and running of the mail train. Gloria and Connie dig out the sess pit, as they are waiting for the lime to arrive. Dolly gets information off Mike that the mail train will change its route in three weeks, meaning that the robbery will have to take place within that time. Dolly outlines the plan to them and tells them that the money on the mail train will be between £30,000,000 and £40,000,000. Each of them is nervous, but they all decide to stay in.
6"She's Out! - Episode 6"Lynda La PlanteIan ToyntonTBA10 April 1995
Dolly finds out that the train will only be running on the same route only once more, meaning they only have the one chance the next day. They run over the plan again and make sure that everything is ready. The following night, they set out to commit the robbery. As they are taking out the money, the carriage starts to slip down into the lake and Connie gets trapped inside. Dolly gets back inside and helps Connie out. They get back to the house and quickly clear up and hide the money. When the police turn up, they find nothing when they search. D.I. Craig later arrives with complaints about the bill for repairs on the house. Ester finds a passport and tickets in Dolly's bedroom and overhears her agreeing to make a deal for half the money, but she thinks Dolly is making a deal with the police about the robbery.

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lynda-Plante-Collection-Widows-Shes/dp/B003N7BHHM/
  2. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP7vxFMZgQw
  3. 1 2 3 "Top 30 Programmes – BARB". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  4. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088641/episodes?year=1985&ref_=tt_eps_yr_1985
  5. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Widows-Complete-Box-Set-DVD/dp/B0000AQVM7/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1459518737&sr=1-1&keywords=widows+dvd
  6. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shes-Out-DVD-Ann-Mitchell/dp/B00006BT87/
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