Dr. Finlay's Casebook

Did You Know?

• In one early episode, Dr. Finlay (Bill Simpson) crashed his Bullnose Morris car into the wall of Arden House — which was not in the script.
• In 1964, Cronin wrote a blunt letter to the series' script editor expressing his dissatisfaction, leading to national press stories and sackfuls of mail to his home in Switzerland.

Filming location

Location work for the original series was filmed in Callander, Perthshire, though the first six episodes were shot in Tannoch Drive, Milngavie, where the fictional Arden House was situated. Ducks and swans on Tannoch Loch appear in the opening credits, preceded by a shot of the Red Bridge over the River Teith. Other outdoor scenes were filmed in Kilbarchan, with Church Street remaining largely unchanged. In one early episode, Dr. Finlay crashed his Bullnose Morris car into Arden House's wall unintentionally. Another episode, filmed at night along Mugdock Road, featured a local policeman on a bicycle with Dr. Snoddie. Episode 1 of series 8 was filmed in Kippen, Stirlingshire, using local shops and the school. Interior scenes were shot in BBC studios in London and Glasgow. Uplawmoor railway station was temporarily renamed Tannochbrae in 1966 for one episode, with BR Class J36 steam locomotive No 65345 repainted for filming.

Radio

From 1970 to 1978, BBC Radio 4 aired episodes of Dr. Finlay's Casebook featuring some of the same actors from the television series. Where possible, the original TV scriptwriters adapted these episodes for radio. In autumn 2003, BBC 7 broadcast twenty of them. Earlier, in 2001 and 2002, BBC Radio 4 had presented adaptations of A. J. Cronin’s original stories under the titles The Adventures of a Black Bag and Doctor Finlay – Further Adventures of a Black Bag. These were set in Levenford, Cronin’s original setting, instead of Tannochbrae. John Gordon Sinclair portrayed Dr. Finlay, Brian Pettifer played Dr. Cameron, and the role of Janet was first taken by Katy Murphy and later by Celia Imrie. David Tennant appeared often as a guest actor. In 1991, BBC Enterprises released a double cassette containing four radio episodes: Out of the Blue, The Comical Lad, The Honours List, and Charlie is My Darling. As of 13 November 2016, the television versions of all four episodes were considered lost.

DVD and archive status

Simply Media TV put out the first season of Dr. Finlay's Casebook on DVD in March 2013, followed by the second season in April 2014, though only ten episodes from that season remain. The surviving episodes from seasons three and four arrived in 2015, while the rest of seasons five, six, and seven came out in January 2016. The nine surviving episodes from season eight were released in April 2016. Out of 191 total episodes, 69 survive on DVD, with 122 believed lost.

Controversies

In 1964, Cronin got a look at the scripts and fired off a blunt letter to the show's script editor, unhappy with where the series was heading. News of this reached the papers, and by June that year, stories claimed he wanted the show cancelled. One paper went so far as to accuse him of "maliciously doing millions out of legitimate enjoyment." Viewers were furious, flooding Cronin's Swiss home with sackfuls of mail. He put out a statement on 7 June denying the accusations. The very next year, the show had become a national fixture. Earlier, after President Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963, the BBC aired the programme as usual, sparking over 2,000 phone calls and 500 letters and telegrams of complaint.