The Property of a Lady (Upstairs, Downstairs)
The Property of a Lady was the sixth episode of the second series of the British television series, Upstairs, Downstairs. The episode is set in 1909.
| "The Property of a Lady " | |
|---|---|
| Upstairs, Downstairs episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Derek Bennett |
| Written by | Alfred Shaughnessy |
| Original air date | 24 November 1972 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Desmond Perry (Mr.Dooley) | |
"The Property of a Lady" was among the episodes omitted from Upstairs, Downstairs' initial Masterpiece Theatre broadcast in 1974, and was consequently not shown on US television until 1989.
Cast
- Regular cast
- Rachel Gurney (Lady Marjorie Bellamy)
- Gordon Jackson (Mr. Agnus Hudson)
- Angela Baddeley (Mrs. Kate Bridges)
- Jean Marsh (Rose Bucke)
- David Langton (Richard Bellamy)
- Pauline Collins (Sarah Moffat)
- Christopher Beeny (Edward)
- Patsy Smart (Roberts)
- Jenny Tomasin (Ruby)
- Guest cast
- Desmond Perry (Mr.Dooley)
Plot
Mr. Dooley who had been Hammond's military batman (personal attendant) showed up with a packet of love letters. This letters Lady Marjorie had written to her much younger lover, Charles Victor Hammond, a Captain in the Khyber Rifles and a friend of her son. Her lover was later, by then a Major, killed during a battle in India in 1909. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Rebuffed at the front door of 165 Eaton Place by Mr. Hudson (the butler) as an "unwashed Irish vagrant", Mr.Dooley went with the love letters of Lady Marjorie around to the mews to make himself agreeable to Thomas the chauffeur. In a sting attempt by the chauffeur, who was given the letters for the purpose of negotiating with Lady Marjorie, monies were extorted from both Bellamys, each unknown to the other, with the convoluted result that ended with Mr. Dooley in jail (on an unrelated charge) and all monies restored to the individuals—with Thomas receiving a gratuity from each of the Bellamys.[1][2]