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» » Молодой Морс Nocturne (2012– )

Short summary

Elderly genealogist Adrian Weiss is murdered with an Indian ceremonial dagger in an Oxford museum. Other visitors that day were a party of school-girls from Blythe Mount school, where Morse goes, to find two teachers and seven girls staying there for the summer vacation. After he has left he finds a note reading 'Save Me' stuffed into his pocket. He learns that exactly a century earlier the school, then a private house, was the scene of the unsolved murders of the Blaise-Hamilton family, former owners of the dagger. Soon afterwards sensitive pupil Bunty disappears after hearing ghostly music played in the night. Headmistress Miss Symes tells Morse that the spectre of Charlotte Blaise-Hamilton is said to haunt the school and both Morse and teacher Miss Danby believe they have seen her. Morse contacts Stephen Fitzowen, who wrote a book about the murders and who reports that Weiss was keen to see him before he died and Fitzowen and Morse mount a ghost watch, during which there is another...

There are several literary references: the signpost reading Midwich, as in "The Midwich Cuckoos" by John Wyndham, Karswell is the name of a character in M. R. James' story "Casting the Runes" (filmed as "Night of the Demon)" and at the College of Arms, Sir Hilary is said to be on holiday. This is Sir Hilary Bray who was abroad visiting Ernst Stavro Blofeld as told in Ian Fleming's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

The plot contains various elements from different episodes of "Inspector Morse" (1987). A character has an interest in heraldry ("Who Killed Harry Field?"), a descendant of a family line is cheated out of his inheritance ("Sins of the Fathers"), a pupil disappears from a prestigious girl's school ("Last Seen Wearing"), a connection with a Victorian crime ("The Wench is Dead") and a knife from a museum case is used as a murder weapon ("The Daughters of Cain").

In order to focus Bunty's mind, Morse asks her "Beware the Jabberwock. What comes next?" The answer, from Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky, is "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!/The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!/Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun/The frumious Bandersnatch!"

In the closing credits, after the cast of characters is listed, there are red letters in some of the crew's names. These letters spell out "Matthiola longipetala," the Latin name of the flower known as (evening) stock, which is one of the clues in the coat of arms Weiss was working on before he was murdered. The clues in the heraldry lead to the name of the murderer.

At the beginning Morse walks by a large signboard featuring character Diana Day, a character from "Trove". She portrayed a beauty queen.

When Miss Bronwen Symes says "Here comes a candle to light you to bed" she is quoting a line from the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons" which ends with "Here comes a candle to light you to bed/And here is a chopper to chop off your head."

The road marker not only mentions Midwich but also Crampton Hodnet, the title of a book by Barbara Pym which takes place in North Oxford.

Bearwood College which doubled as Blyth Mount also appeared in a John Thaw One Off Drama "Into the Blue" 1997, in that Thaw's character visits a teacher at the school played by Nick Dunning.

Simon Kunz, who plays the veteran police detective Church, is costumed and made up to bear a striking resemblance to Laurence Olivier in "Bunny Lake Is Missing", a film released in Britain in 1966, the year in which this takes place. "Bunny Lake Is Missing" was the only time in his long career in which Olivier played a police inspector.

Bright says "we're not going to argue like Burke and Hare over the body of a murdered child." Burke and Hare were 19th century Scottish murderers who killed people in order to sell the corpses to the anatomists at the medical school in Edinburgh. (Though they are commonly described as body-snatchers they never actually robbed a grave.)

The murder of the elderly genealogist at the beginning takes place in the entomology collection at the Natural History Museum in Oxford. It is recognizable because the room has been re-purposed from its original layout as a great lecture hall with massive arches. The floor was raised to make room below as can be seen by the claustrophobic proximity of the peak of the arches to the floor. This room has tremendous historical significance. In 1860 it was the site of the great debate attended by Thomas Henry Huxley, Bishop Wilberforce, Richard Owen and even Captain Fitzroy of HMS Beagle. This took place immediately following the publication of the Origin of Species and the opening of the museum itself in 1859.

When ghost hunter Stephen Fitzowen is giving Morse and Thursday background on the Blaise-Hamilton murders of 1866, he names Superintendent Cuff as one of the investigators into the mass murder. Cuff was the lead detective in the disappearance of The Moonstone in Wilkie Collins' Victorian novel of the same name.

As Morse departs the school after questioning the girls, there's a discussion of the impending rain. Bunty quotes Tweedledee from ch 4 of "Through the Looking glass" , saying "It may - if it chooses, we've no objection. Contrariwise."

In addition to the road-sign for "Midwich", there is another John Wyndham reference when one of the schoolgirls arrives late in the common room and one of the others says, "Ah, the Kraken wakes!" - "The Kraken Wakes" was the title of one of Wyndham's best-selling science-fiction novels of the 1950s.

The original name of the old house which is now the site of Blythe Mount School is "Shrive Hill House". This name may remind audiences of "Hill House", the haunted mansion in Shirley Jackson's novel, "The Haunting Of Hill House", filmed twice (in 1963 and 1996) as "The Haunting".

The forenames of the Gardiners, the elderly American couple, are "Nahum" and "Tabitha" - names familiar in the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft.

The "Save Me" message Morse finds in his pocket may be inspired by the message "Help Me", which so mysteriously appears on the stomach of the possessed child Regan in "The Exorcist".

In pitch darkness, the ghost-hunter Fitzowen tries to photograph what he believes to be a ghost (but is actually a real person), using flashbulbs. The only illumination in the scene is the repeated momentary flashing of these bulbs as they pop, illuminating Fitzown's bulky presence. The scene is filmed in a way clearly reminiscent of the climax of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, "Rear Window", though there the bulbs are used for a very different reason.

At the end, Morse finds a picture of Charlotte among Black's belongings that does not have the face scratched out. It appears that Charlotte may have had Downs Syndrome.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Early Waffle
    Endeavor investigates a mystery that may have a link to a tragedy 100 years earlier in "Nocturne," in this prequel to the Inspector Morse series, set in 1966.

    Shaun Evans plays Endeavor, and he is a wonderful actor. As the series has continued, Morse has gained confidence. As usual, he has the support of his boss, Thursday (Roger Allam). though the head honcho, Bright, a weaselly man who doesn't "get" him (Anton Lesser) still isn't altogether happy. Nevertheless, Morse, through hard work, good observation, and intuition, solves case after case.

    When a genealogist is murdered in the museum, Morse investigates at the school that was in attendance that day visiting, the Blythe Mount School. Some students are staying there for the summer; there is also the headmistress, Miss Symes (Diane Fletcher), and a teacher, Victoria Danby (Susy Kane). Morse learns that the school was originally a house owned by the Blaise-Hamilton family, and 100 years earlier, five people were found murdered at the house. Supposedly, the ghost of the surviving daughter, Charlotte, walks around the school at night.

    Morse has to delve into the period woman in white he actually sees, two missing girls, and another murder to get to the bottom of the case.

    This is a very suspenseful, compelling mystery that will keep you guessing. And once the solution is given, there's yet another twist.

    Love this series, though as I've said before, it's hard to picture Endeavor morphing into the older Morse who growls "Lewis." Doesn't matter.
  • comment
    • Author: Qag
    Russell Lewis and Shaun Evans have created the perfect detective. Brilliant, thoughtful, and extremely dangerous to unsuspecting villains, the Endeavour character is the most interesting of any British detective I've seen yet. Combined with consistently smart and compelling scripts, this show is the best of the genre.

    As any writer knows, a good story requires conflict for the protagonist. A challenge to overcome. Unfortunately, most writers of modern detective fiction achieve this conflict by making their detectives dimwitted and weak. This is usually combined with formulaic, dreadful diversions into troubled pasts, or unhappy spouses, and other such lifeless cutouts and clichés.

    I'm afraid it takes a brilliant mind to write a brilliant detective. And apparently, those are in short supply. So enjoy it while it lasts. Before long it will all be shock crime with "3D Autopsy: The Series."
  • comment
    • Author: Dusar
    This story opens at a large country house where it appears that a family has been massacred; we don't learn the relevance of this till later though. The action then moves to an Oxford Museum where a group of school girls are looking at the exhibits; then a man goes upstairs and is murdered. Morse goes out to the girls' school to interview them as potential witnesses and one of them slips a note into his pocket; it says 'Save Me'. The school is further linked to the murder when an antique weapon left by the body turns out to have been donated to the museum by the man who lived in the school buildings… and exactly one hundred years previously the building had been the site of the murder depicted in the opening scene. Could two brutal crimes one hundred years apart be linked somehow? When one of the girls goes missing it looks as though Morse's theory about the school being connected to the first murder is correct. There are other possibilities though; the dead man was a retired herald who had been doing research for an American couple looking for their possible grandchild.

    After last week's episode this seemed a bit lighter with its talk of hauntings and links to a century old crime… that didn't mean it wasn't enjoyable though. There was definitely something a little creepy about the school and the mystery was interesting. The 1966 setting was nicely emphasised by the fact that the events took place during the World Cup… although inevitably Morse wasn't too interested! Away from the crime young Morse showed that he is just as unlucky with the ladies as the old Morse when a double date arranged by strange proves to be double awkward. When the case was resolved I was a bit surprised as it seemed to come out of nowhere… the killer hadn't even been flagged as a suspect! Overall this was entertaining but to my mind not quite as good as the season opener.
  • comment
    • Author: Eng.Men
    I feared for a moment that they were going to make this episode something based on the supernatural. Often Morse is told by a colleague to deal with the real world. His real world and others are often at polar opposites. In this episode we have a killing that has a connection to a girl's school in a very old building, the scene of a massacre of children one hundred years previous. A historian has been murdered, his throat slashed. Why this is is at the center of everything. Morse and Thursday spend much time at the school, dealing with girls who have a sort of pecking order. There appears to be a ghost that comes and goes, the young woman who was thought to be the perpetrator in the century old murders. The twists and turns and the red herrings pile up and are masterfully put together. Morse is dogged.
  • comment
    • Author: Shistus
    This episode starts with the history of an estate where several people were killed a long time ago.

    It then becomes a school for girls. It has a summer schools that parents send their kids to when they have no where to send them.

    A murder takes place in a nearby museum the day the school teacher takes her class to the museum from this all girls school. The man's throat was slashed that does genealogy history.

    Morse and his boss Thursday start to investigate to see if any of the girls that went to the museum that day saw anything or anyone they could tell the police about.

    Later at the school young girls start to go missing. The lights start to flicker when some one is doing something in the school. The adults and kids start to think it is ghost from the past because visions of young girls show up with dresses made from old times.

    Morse starts to connect the death of the man with a genealogy history he was doing for an American couple.

    This episode is very scary and often hard to understand because of the list of the way they explain what is going on and also because of the English accent which is not always clear.

    It is a good episode. You would have to watch it more than once to understand it but it will keep you on edge and tense a lot of the time while waiting for final the killer to be revealed.
  • comment
    • Author: Thetahuginn
    Having recently been, and just finished being, on a roll reviewing all the episodes of 'Lewis', which generally was very enjoyable before having some disappointments later on, it occurred to me to do the same for 'Inspector Morse's' (one of my favourites for over a decade, and all the episodes were also reviewed in my first year on IMDb eight years ago) prequel series 'Endeavour'.

    As said in my review for the entire show two years ago, 'Endeavour' is not just a more than worthy prequel series to one of my favourite detective dramas of all time and goes very well with it, but it is a great series on its own as well. It maintains everything that makes 'Inspector Morse' so good, while also containing enough to make it its own, and in my mind 'Inspector Morse', 'Lewis' and 'Endeavour' go perfectly well together.

    Was very impressed by the pilot episode, even with a very understandable slight finding-its-feet feel (that is true of a lot of shows, exceptions like 'Morse' itself, 'A Touch of Frost' and 'Midsomer Murders', which started off great and were remarkably well established, are fairly few. The first episode of the first season "Girl" was a very welcome return, a fine episode in its own right and was even better. Morse's personality is more established with more obvious recognisable personality quirks and generally things feel more settled. Then there was "Fugue", which to me is one of the best episodes of 'Endeavour', while "Rocket" and "Home" just as good.

    Even with an appreciatively darker tone than the first season, Season 2 started very well with "Trove", which was also sadly let down by a far-fetched and over-complicated ending. "Nocturne" is one of the darkest 'Endeavour' episodes and also one of the creepiest, most suspenseful and poignant. It's not perfect, the scenes with Morse and his nurse neighbour are a little pointless (though am not going to denounce it for political-correctness) and the final twist does come a little out of the blue, though is much easier to digest and understand than the ending of "Trove".

    "Nocturne's" production values once again are spot on. The episode is exquisitely photographed and there is something very nostalgic and charming about the atmospherically evoked 1960s period detail. It was also a genius move to keep Barrington Pheloung on board, with his hauntingly beautiful scoring and immortal 'Inspector Morse' theme, and the use of music is the most ingenious since "Fugue", adding enormously to and actually enhancing the atmosphere.

    Writing, even for so early on, is every bit as intelligent, entertaining and tense as the previous episodes and as the best of 'Morse'. The story has tension, nail-biting a good deal going on and little feels improbable or too obvious while being suitably complicated. Was unnerved a lot by the creepiness of some scenes and also moved, while the twists are well done. Those not so familiar with 'Morse' or new to 'Endeavour' will find plenty to enjoy, and while the pilot and first season are more accessible in tone they will still appreciate the darker route Season 2 takes.

    Relationship between Morse and Thursday, which is like a father/son sort of chemistry, is entertaining and heartfelt with so much warmth. The pacing is restrained, but that allows the atmosphere to come through, and pretty much all the same it excels in that aspect. The characters are interesting, lead and supporting, with Morse displaying more recognisable character quirks with each episode and as aforementioned it is impossible not to love his relationship with Thursday.

    Shaun Evans as ever does some powerful, charismatic work as younger Morse, showing enough loyalty to John Thaw's iconic Morse while making the character his own too. Roger Allam is also superb, his rapport with Evans always compels and entertains but Thursday is quite a sympathetic character, as well as loyal and firm, and Allam does a lot special with a role that could have been less interesting possibly in lesser hands. All the acting is very good, Anton Lesser has always been fine to me as Bright, the character and performance more sympathetic than usual, while Sean Rigby does a nice job as Strange and James Bradshaw would make Peter Woodthorpe proud. All the support is strong.

    All in all, wonderful and one of the best 'Endeavour' episodes to date, even if not quite perfect. 9/10 Bethany Cox
  • comment
    • Author: Keramar
    Nocturne is a fantastic episode of Endeavour, the writing is first rate, but once again the execution and delivery are impeccable also.

    First rate story, delicious dark and complicated, one that puts Morse's intelligence and powers of deduction to the test, solving two mysteries, which span two centuries. The creepy vibe worked incredibly well, an almost ghost story feel, with apparitions and sightings haunting the main protagonists.

    Shaun Evans on top form alongside the brilliant Roger Allan, Daniel Ings also giving a hugely memorable performance. Probably the most dramatic opening to an episode in the show's history.

    I loved it, 9/10
  • comment
    • Author: Worla
    Along with the apparent ghost story, and a visual reference to The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), there are echoes of the girls' school in the sublime Australian film, Picnic at Hanging Rock, with the beautiful young girls artfully arranged in lovely scenery.
  • comment
    • Author: Na
    I really didn't care for the first season of "Endeavour" but Nocturne is excellent. It has everything: a school located in a foreboding old mansion, a gruesome murder, a ghost, and a surprise ending. Gothic horror at its best.

    I would have given the episode a "10" but for the superfluous encounters between Morse and his black neighbor, a nurse, which added absolutely nothing to the show. Apparently, Morse and the nurse are supposed to be romantically interested in each other, which is something that would have NEVER happened in the 1960s. But in British TV, "political correctness" trumps reality every time and lately, every show seems to have at least one token black.

    One thing I'm sure caught the attention of most American viewers was that when the American parents were questioned about the murder and upon learning it occurred on the "first floor," the wheelchair-bound woman indicated she had a problem with stairs. However, in America, the "first floor" is what is called the "ground floor" in England. Therefore, the Americans would have assumed the officer was referring to the "first floor" as in "ground floor." Writers and producers today possess very little worldly knowledge and this is a shame.
  • Episode cast overview, first billed only:
    Jack Laskey Jack Laskey - DS Peter Jakes
    Shaun Evans Shaun Evans - DC Endeavour Morse
    Susy Kane Susy Kane - Miss Victoria Danby
    Imogen Gurney Imogen Gurney - Edwina Parrish
    Nell Tiger Free Nell Tiger Free - Bunty Glossop
    Anya Taylor-Joy Anya Taylor-Joy - Philippa Collins-Davidson
    Eve Perry Eve Perry - Antonia Lockwood
    Maya Gerber Maya Gerber - Stephanie Hackett
    Lucy Boynton Lucy Boynton - Petra Briers
    Emily Renée Emily Renée - Shelly Thengardi (as Emily Warren)
    Michael Shannon Michael Shannon - Nahum Gardiner (as Michael J. Shannon)
    Lynn Farleigh Lynn Farleigh - Tabby Gardiner
    Daniel Ings Daniel Ings - Terence Black
    Sara Vickers Sara Vickers - Joan Thursday
    Roger Allam Roger Allam - DI Fred Thursday
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