The Hanged Man (TV series)
A construction magnate fakes his death to find his would-be killer.
Lew Burnett, a wealthy construction company owner, becomes a target after his wife dies in a plane crash. Following a third attempt on his life, he stages his own death with help from an old friend, Alan Crowe, and sets off around the world to track down nine possible suspects. Each episode finds Burnett caught in a fight. The series, a British crime drama created and written by Edmund Ward, aired on ITV in 1975. Its cast includes Colin Blakely as Burnett, Michael Williams as Crowe, and Gary Watson, David Daker, John Rees, Angela Browne, Brian Croucher, William Lucas, Frank Wylie, Julian Glover, Jenny Hanley, Peter Halliday, John Bay, William Russell, Michael Coles, Gareth Hunt, Jack Watson, Bill Mitchell, Alan MacNaughtan, Naomi Chance, Tenniel Evans, Victor Brooks, Fred Feast, John F. Landry, and Eric Mason. The eight episodes are titled "Wheel of Fortune," "Tower of Destruction," "Knave of Coins," "Chariot of Earth," "The Bridge of Sighs," "Grail and Platter," "Laws of Fortune," and "Ring of Return." The series also introduces a shady thief named Turtle, played by John F. Landry, who later got his own series, *Turtle's Progress*. Music was composed by Alan Tew; the same score later appeared on programmes like *The Two Ronnies* and *The People's Court*.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Crime Drama
- Runtime
- 50 minutes
- Creator
- Edmund Ward
- Starring
- Colin Blakely / Michael Williams / Gary Watson
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Network
- ITV
- Producer
- Yorkshire Television
- First Aired
- 1975-02-15
- Last Aired
- 1975-04-05
- Num Episodes
- 8
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Lew Burnett, a wealthy construction company owner, becomes the target of repeated assassination attempts after his wife dies in a plane crash. Following a third attempt on his life, he decides to pretend to be dead, hoping to both avoid further attacks and uncover who is behind them. He is aided by his old friend Alan Crowe, played by Michael Williams. Burnett then travels around the world to track down nine potential suspects, and in each episode he becomes involved in a fight.
Reader's Guide
The Hanged Man is a 1975 British crime drama series created and written by Edmund Ward. It aired on ITV and consisted of eight episodes, with titles such as 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Ring of Return'. The series introduced a shady thief named Turtle, played by John F. Landry, who later received his own spin-off series called Turtle's Progress. The music for the show was composed by Alan Tew, and the same score was later used in programmes including The Two Ronnies, The People's Court, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the 2009 film Black Dynamite. The series is referenced in the book 'TV Heaven' by Jim Sangster and Paul Condon.
Did You Know?
- The series was created and written by Edmund Ward.
- The character Turtle, played by John F. Landry, later had his own series called Turtle's Progress.
- The music by Alan Tew was also used in programmes like The Two Ronnies and The People's Court.
- The series aired on ITV in 1975 and consisted of eight episodes.
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