Broadcast: Dec. 16, 1984-March 17, 1985. The five years preceding England's granting independence to India in 1947 have been called the "final years of the forced marriage between the two countries, followed by the agonies of divorce." It's in that milieu that British and Indian men and women are embroiled in "The Jewel in the Crown," a 14-part series on Mobil Masterpiece Theatre. The story opens in 1942 when turmoil was at its peak in India, the Japanese army poised for invasion and Gandhi rallying his followers in the struggle against British imperialism. A young London-educated Indian, Hari Kumar (Art Malik), suspected of being a subversive by the local British police superintendent, Ronald Merrick (Pigott-Smith), strikes up a romance with a shy young English girl, Daphne Manners (Susan Wooldridge). Their star-crossed affair and Merrick’s persistent hatred for Kumar affect other characters through most of the story. Among these are Barbie Batchelor (Dame Peggy Ashcroft), a slightly dotty retired missionary; Lady Manners (Rachel Kempson), Daphne’s aunt; Mildred Layton (Judy Parfitt), a promiscuous English lady, and her two daughters, Sarah and Susan. Others include Count Bronowsky, chief minister to an Indian leader, the Nawab; Teddie Bingham, the young soldier who marries Susan Layton; and Guy Perron, a young British Intelligence officer. The series was adapted from Paul Scott’s four novels known collectively as "The Raj Quartet". Source: WGBH Press Kit, barcode 379367. See December 1984 Dial Program Guide for cover story and Viewer’s Guide with episode descriptions.
