MASTERPIECE THEATRE: I, CLAUDIUS {PART 12 OF 13}: A GOD IN COLCHESTER (TV)
Summary
One in this ongoing series of dramas presented under the umbrella of "Masterpiece Theatre," hosted by Alistair Cooke. This thirteen-part adaptation of Robert Graves's historical novel "I, Claudius," is set in the early years of the Roman Empire and depicts the life and milieu of the first four Roman Emperors as recalled by the fourth, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus (10 B.C. - A.D. 54), the lame, stammering grandson of Mark Antony. In part twelve, entitled "A God in Colchester," the aged Claudius recalls the death of his dearest friend Herod and how his tirelessly adulterous third wife Messalina was executed after marrying Silius and attempting to usurp Claudius's power over Rome. Herod succumbs to an illness after proclaiming himself messiah and planning a battle in the East with the Roman Empire. In a final missive, he apologizes to Claudius for his machinations. Meanwhile, as Claudius travels abroad, Messalina performs in a number of infamous adulterous exhibitions, including a contest of sexual stamina with a veteran Sicilian whore. The emperor is only awakened to his wife's inproprieties when his former lover Calpurnia alerts him that Messalina has become wedded to her lover Silius while Claudius had left Rome to tend to state business. Claudius heeds the words of his advisors, Pallas and Narcissus, ordering the army to interrupt Messalina's bacchanal wedding reception, and arrest all the debauchees at the gathering. Weary from age and heartbreak, a soporific Claudius unwittingly signs a death sentence for his beloved. When she refuses to take her own life, the hysterical Messalina is beheaded. Pallas and Narcissus try to cheer the crestfallen Caesar the following day, telling him that he is now worshipped as a god in Colchester, Britain. Following the program, Alistair Cooke introduces a scene from part thirteen, in which Claudius calculatedly negotiates a loveless marriage with his coldblooded niece Agrippinilla so that he can employ her cunning mind.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: January 22, 1978 Sunday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T86:1266
- GENRE: Docudrama; Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Docudrama; Drama, historical; Roman emperor; Rome
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1971
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Martin Lisemore … Producer
- Herbert Wise … Director
- Jack Pulman … Writer
- Robert Graves … Based on the novel by
- Wilfred Josephs … Music (Misc. Credits), Title Music
- David Wulstan … Music (Misc. Credits), Incidental Music
- Clerkes of Oxenford, The … Music (Misc. Credits), Incidental Music
- Alistair Cooke … Host
- Derek Jacobi … Cast, Claudius
- Sheila White … Cast, Messalina
- Bernard Hepton … Cast, Pallas
- John Cater … Cast, Narcissus
- Moira Redmond … Cast, Domitia
- Jo Rowbottom … Cast, Calpurnia
- Stuart Wilson … Cast, Silius
- Nicholas Amer … Cast, Mnester
- Manning Wilson … Cast, Marsus Vibius
- George Innes … Cast, Quintus Justus
- James Faulkner … Cast, Herod
- Charlotte Howard … Cast, Scylla
- Linal Haft … Cast, Geta
- Souad Faress … Cast, a Girl
- Danny Schiller … Cast, a Slave
- Glenn Cunningham … Cast, a Slave