Midnight Is A Place (1977) Southern (ITV)

Midnight Is A Place

Midnight Is A Place, written by Joan Aiken, was, I am proud to say, adapted for TV by my local network, Southern (who also made the fantastic, Worzel Gummidge)
The series set during the Industrial Revolution, in the fictitious mill town of Blastburn, was about two snotty children Lucas Bell and Anne Marie, who are the wards of a cantankerously unloving uncle, Sir Randolph Grimsby. The uncle owns a rug factory that has the typically brutal working conditions of the time where both poor adult and child labourers have to survive. Life is hardly perfect, but things take a turn for the worst when the Uncle, maddened by the fear of bill and tax collectors, sets fire to his own home to prevent its seizure and is burnt to a crisp in the process, all good so far! This leaves the children with no home or guardian. But they are helped by their former tutor, Julian Oakapple (played convincingly by Brighton actor David Collings), who although badly injured in the blaze, helps the children as best he can throughout the 13 episode series. After the fire the 3 escape into the woods ).  After resting at a makeshift camp the kids take Oakapple to convalesce in a room of a friendly employee and journey off to find work, which leads them into a world of child labour and sinister characters. The two struggle to survive on the streets of London (yeah I know, the horror of our heroes being exposed to the working classes!), where they endure the hardships of making a living, as they attempt to regain their birthright. The two leads meet a host of helpful and not so helpful characters on their rite of passage. Anne Marie, has a dalliance with a working class lad, but this so called romance goes nowhere, and fades without so much as even a grope to be had!  After many hardships the kids make contact with Lady Murgatroyd, a delightful character that comes across as a sort of fairy godmother to the story. The familiar British cast also included, Avis Bunnage as the Inn keeper Kezia Tetley, Robert Gillespie as Mr Smallside, Ron Moody as the mad Tom Gudgeon and that bird out of Upstairs Downstairs who always got a bollocking from Mrs Bridges!
Eventually our young heroes triumph, win back the mill and set to work making factory conditions better for all, by introducing extended lunch breaks, vending machines, minimum wage, union representation, 4 weeks paid annual holiday and soft toilet rolls. All good clean fun, and a satisfying conclusion.
I remember enjoying the series and feeling totally engrossed by it, the fire scene at the mansion is as gripping as kids TV can get, and the two lead characters were great, but on the downside there are too many shouty, hammy, over the top performances, the mutton chop sideburns on some of the actors have to be seen to be believed, the theme song is a bit tedious and Bob Bludward's heart attack scene is so roaringly crap, it would finish anyone's acting career overnight!
The series is available on DVD, but it should be remade, with a better cast and condensed plot, to cut out all the bullshit, but I loved the series and it's a shame that kids TV is not up to this standard today!

* Simon Gipps-Kent who played the lead role as Lucas Bell was found dead in sinister circumstances at his London flat in 1987, the coroner reported morphine poisoning, however many conspiracy theory's have since come to light, but here is not the right place for that kind of thing, if you want to know more, search the internet!  

Sir Randolph goes bananas!

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