"Foyle's War" The French Drop (2004)

Director:

Gavin Millar

Writer:

Anthony Horowitz (written and created by)

TV Series:

"Foyle's War" (2002)

Original Air Date:

24 October 2004 (Season 3, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

February 1941: Foyle again pursues a position that would allow him to contribute more to the war effort. But a local murder investigation sidetracks this endeavor as Foyle finds himself caught between rival spy organizations.

Plot Keywords:

Murder Investigation | Explosion | Spy | 1941 | Murder

Cast

Jake Harders	...	French Agent
Mark Berry	...	William Messinger / Facteur
Michael Kitchen	...	Christopher Foyle
Amanda Pointer	...	Admiralty Receptionist
Samuel West	...	Lt. Col. James Wintringham
Timothy Carlton	...	Admiral James Francis
Ronald Pickup	...	Sir Giles Messinger
Rupert Frazer	...	Commander Charles Howard
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Samantha Stewart
Brian Poyser	...	Rev. Aubrey Stewart
Ellie Haddington	...	Hilda Pierce
Dave Hill	...	Jack Fenner
Anthony Howell	...	Sergeant Paul Milner
Geoffrey Freshwater	...	Sergeant Eric Rivers
John Grillo	...	Watchmaker

Company:

Greenlit Productions

Quotes:

Samantha Stewart: [Sam has come to pick up her boss from the SOE HQ] Good afternoon sir!
DCS Christopher Foyle: Glad to see you!
Samantha Stewart: I was rather worried they weren't going to let you out.
DCS Christopher Foyle: So was I.
Samantha Stewart: So what do they actually do here?
DCS Christopher Foyle: You wouldn't believe me, if I told you.
Samantha Stewart: Are you going to?
DCS Christopher Foyle: No.

Movie Connections:

References The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Threepence each way?

In this episode (and also in The White Feather) reference is made to the polygonal brass threepenny coin as "a threepenny piece." But I believe this coin was invariably referred to as "a threepenny bit." (Threepenny, however, is pronounced correctly in both episodes.} In The French Drop we actually see the coin and indeed it is an authentic threepenny bit (piece?) The Oxford English Dictionary is ambiguous - suggesting that "bit" was a colloquialism, just as "quid" was a colloquialism for "pound". But I never heard the "thruppence" referred to as a "piece". What an absorbing series this has been - wondrous acting, costuming, set dressing, filming. And embedded in each episode is an authentic and interesting social/ethical issue.