The Prison

Paris-set British TV movie, based on one of Georges Simenon's non-Maigret novels, sees ex-'Boney' star James Laurenson as the womanising owner of a popular glossy magazine, whose decadent, people-consuming lifestyle comes crashing down around him when he's informed by dour Sûreté inspector Philip Madoc that his wife has killed her own sister, presumably out of jealousy. The lack of a sympathetic (and believable) character is offset by director David Wickes' energetic,almost cinéma vérité, camera as it dashes at an unstoppable pace through an early-70s Paris full of fast cars, expensive apartments and chic restaurants (at least as seen through Wickes' eye). An interesting example of how studios would endeavour to shoehorn quality drama with cinematic production values onto the small screen.