Crime: Martin Beck
Roseanna is the first in the Martin Beck series, written from 1965 - 1975 by husband and wife Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. It features the complex figure of DI Martin Beck and his colleagues in the National Police Homicide Department in Stockholm. The use of crime and police procedure to hold up a mirror to society and its most dysfunctional elements is commonplace now, but it wasn't then.
The books were written to give an unsentimental, realistic portrait of Sweden in the mid-sixties: not the liberal place it was thought to be, but a society suffering from a stifling bureaucracy and a creeping rottenness beneath the surface. . Confronting the dark side of this society are Martin Beck, his closest friend DI Lennart Kollberg - overweight, hedonistic, opinionated; DI Frederick Melander, with a memory like a card-index file and a noxious pipe clamped in his jaws, and their colleagues in the murder squad.
In Roseanna, they are faced with the body of an unknown girl found in a canal dredger.
Dramatised for radio by Jennifer Howarth; original music by Elizabeth Purnell; produced by Sara Davies.
One of these stories, The Laughing Policeman, was dramatised by Bert Coules, back in 2002; he made an excellent job of it. Details on Bert's page.
The Martin Beck episodes:
2012-10-27 - SP - s01e01 - Roseanna
2012-11-03 - SP - s01e02 - The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
2012-11-10 - SP - s01e03 - The Man on the Balcony
2012-11-17 - SP - s01e04 - The Laughing Policeman
2012-11-24 - SP - s01e05 - The Fire Engine That Disappeared
2013-07-06 - SP - s02e01 - Murder At the Savoy
2013-07-13 - SP - s02e02 - The Abominable Man
2013-07-20 - SP - s02e03 - The Locked Room
2013-07-27 - SP - s02e04 - Cop Killer
2013-08-03 - SP - s02e05 - The Terrorists
NOTES
27 Oct 2012: Saturday Drama - The Martin Beck Series, Roseanna
Described above; Cast:
Martin Beck ......... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ......... Neil Pearson,
Ahlberg ......... Jonathan Tafler,
Kafka ......... Garrick Hagan,
Bengtsson ......... John Mackay,
Inga Beck ......... Lucy Black,
Sonja Hansson ......... Susie Riddell,
Police Doctor ......... Patrick Brennan,
Mulvaney ......... Harry Livingstone,
Miss Peterson ......... Amaka Okafor,
Siv Lindberg ......... Amaka Okafor,
Colonel ......... Robert Blythe,
Miss Gota ......... Jenny Harrold,
Doctor ......... Christine Absalom,
Producer ......... Sara Davies.
Original music by Elizabeth Purnell.
Directed by Sara Davies.
3 Nov 2012: Saturday Drama: Martin Beck: The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
By Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo; 60m; dramatised for radio by Katie Hims. Having just arrived on a beautiful, remote island for his much-needed summer break with his family, Beck is summoned back to Stockholm, where he is sent on a seemingly pointless unofficial mission to Budapest, in search of a journalist. It is only when Beck has almost given up that the truth emerges.
Martin Beck ....... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ....... Neil Pearson,
Gunnarsson ....... Justin Salinger,
Ari Boeck ....... Georgia Groome,
Szluka ....... Patrick Brennan,
Frobe ....... Joe Sims,
Inga Beck ....... Lucy Black,
Molin ....... Robert Blythe,
Foreign Office Man ....... Sam Alexander,
Embassy Man ....... Harry Livingstone,
Frau Boeck ....... Christine Absalom,
Steffi ....... Amaka Okafor,
Radeberger ....... Don Gilet,
Gun Kollberg ....... Sally Orrock,
Narrator 1 ....... Lesley Sharp,
Narrator 2 ....... Nicholas Gleaves.
Original Music composed by Elizabeth Purnell.
Directed by Mary Peate. A previous 90m dramatization by Colin Tucker, from 197, starred John Rowe as Martin Beck.
10 Nov 2012: Saturday Drama: Martin Beck -The Man on the Balcony
By Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo. Translated by Alan Blair; dramatised by Katie Hims.
Someone is assaulting and killing young girls in the parks of Stockholm. With only a brutal mugger and a three year-old boy for witnesses, the investigation is stalling. It's only a tiny detail surfacing in Beck's mind that puts the murder squad on the trail of the killer, but will they get him before he strikes again?
Martin Beck ....... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ....... Neil Pearson,
Gunvald Larsson ....... Ralph Ineson,
Frederik Melander ....... Adrian Scarborough,
Karin Carlsson ....... Beth Goddard,
Lena Oskarsson ....... Katie Angelou,
Ingrid Oskarsson ....... Susie Riddell,
Bo Oskarsson ....... Greta Dudgeon,
Mrs Andersson ....... Christine Absalom,
Wilheim Engstrom ....... Patrick Brennan,
Officer Kvant ....... Sam Alexander,
Doctor ....... Sam Alexander,
Officer Kristiansson ....... Don Gilet,
Ingemund Fransson ....... Robert Blythe,
Lundgren ....... Joe Sims,
Kvist ....... Harry Livingstone,
Lisbeth ....... Amaka Okafor,
Girl ....... Kellie Shirley,
Narrator 1 ....... Lesley Sharpe,
Narrator 2 ....... Nicholas Gleaves,
Producer ....... Mary Peate.
Original Music composed by Elizabeth Purnell.
17 Nov 2012: Saturday Drama: Martin Beck - The Laughing Policeman
Ep. 4 of 5. Dramatized by Jennifer Howarth. Beck is now a Detective Superintendant. The Laughing Policeman begins on the evening of a big demonstration in Stockholm against the Vietnam war; as the police are dealing with protesters outside the American embassy, a mass shooting on a bus in a suburb ends with nine dead, including one of Martin Beck's team. The trail to find the murderer leads Beck back to an unsolved case from the past which had puzzled the Swedish police for years. (The previous dramatization of this story was by Bert Coules in 2002; Richard Greenwood played Martin Beck)
Martin Beck ....... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ....... Neil Pearson,
Frederick Melander ....... Adrian Scarborough,
Inga Beck ....... Lucy Black,
Ingrid Beck ....... Lauren Crace,
Einar Ronn ....... Russell Boulter,
Asa Torell ....... Clare Corbett,
Schwerin ....... Robert Blythe,
Gun Kollberg ....... Sally Orrock,
Mechanic ....... Sam Alexander,
Blonde Malin ....... Christine Absalom,
Workman ....... Harry Livingstone,
Birgersson ....... Jonathan Tafler,
Car Showroom Manager ....... Robert Blythe,
Forsberg ....... Patrick Brennan,
Producer ....... Sara Davies.
Dramatised for radio by Jennifer Howarth.
Original Music by Elizabeth Purnell.
24 Nov 2012: Saturday Drama - Martin Beck - The Fire Engine That Disappeared
By Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo, translated by Joan Tate, dramatised by Katie Hims. The apartment of a suspect being staked out by Gunvald Larsson explodes, killing three people. Arson and murder isn't at first suspected - much to Larsson's fury - but when it becomes clear that the fire was started on purpose, the case hinges on the needle-in-a-haystack chance of finding a man who fits an impossibly vague description who was somewhere in the area around the time of the fire.
Martin Beck ..... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ..... Neil Pearson,
Larsson ..... Ralph Ineson ,
Ronn ..... Russell Boulter ,
Gun Kollberg ..... Sally Orrock,
Nadja ..... Christine Absalom,
Mansson ..... Stuart McQuarrie,
Zachrisson ..... Joe Sims,
Stromgren ..... Harry Livingstone,
Hammar ..... Patrick Brennan,
Hjelm ..... Robert Blythe,
Skacke ..... Sam Alexander,
Mrs Borg ..... Susie Riddell,
Ingrid Beck ..... Lauren Crace,
Doris Martensen ..... Keely Beresford ,
Mats ..... Greta Dudgeon,
Narrator 1 ..... Lesley Sharp,
Narrator 2 ..... Nicholas Gleaves,
Original Music composed by Elizabeth Purnell.
Producer Mary Peate.
6 July 2013: Saturday Drama - The Martin Beck Killings
Episode title: Murder at the Savoy, by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo. Translated by Amy and Ken Knoespel; dram. Jennifer Howarth. The Martin Beck books were written over ten years from 1965-75 by the Swedish husband and wife team of Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo.
In this story, Martin Beck and Lennart Kollberg are called to Malmo in Southern Sweden when an industrialist is shot whilst having dinner at the city's best hotel. There are people in high places who want the case cleared up quietly and quickly, but Beck refuses to give way to pressure.
Narrators .......... Lesley Sharp and Nicholas Gleaves.
Martin Beck .......... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg .......... Neil Pearson,
Gunvald Larsson .......... Ralph Ineson,
Per Mansson .......... Tom Mannion,
Zachrisson .......... Joe Sims,
Asa Torell .......... Clare Corbett,
Malm .......... Nicholas Murchie,
Edvarsson .......... Will Howard,
Mats Linder .......... Paul Mundell,
Charlotte Palmgren .......... Philippa Stanton,
Bertil Svensson .......... Rick Warden,
Sara Moberg .......... Joanna Brookes,
Sister .......... Carolyn Pickles,
Gun Kollberg .......... Sally Orrock,
Helena Hansson .......... Hannah Wood,
Broberg .......... Michael Shelford,
Victor Palmgren .......... Robert Blythe.
Original Music composed by Elizabeth Purnell.
Produced by Sara Davies.
13 July 2013: Saturday Drama - The Martin Beck Killings.
The Abominable Man. By Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo. Translator Thomas Teal, dramatised by Katie Hims. Martin Beck is called in to work in the middle of the night to see the butchered body of a senior policeman. He begins to investigate, dogged by a sense that catastrophe is imminent. 90m.
Narrators ...... Lesley Sharp and Nicholas Gleaves,
Martin Beck ...... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg ...... Neil Pearson,
Gunvald Larsson ...... Ralph Ineson,
Einar Ronn ...... Wayne Foskett,
Frederik Melander ...... Adrian Scarborough,
Malm ...... Nicholas Murchie,
Hult ...... Sean Baker,
Mrs Nyman ...... Christine Absalom,
Stefan Nyman ...... Matthew Watson,
Bodil ...... Greta Dudgeon,
Mrs Eriksson ...... Dinah Stabb,
Mr Eriksson ...... John Rowe,
Kvant ...... Sam Alexander,
Kristiansson ...... Don Gilet,
The Rump ...... Robert Blythe,
Doctor ...... Michael Shelford,
Bohlin ...... Rick Warden,
Man 1 ...... Ben Crowe,
Man 2 ...... David Seddon,
Woman in the Records Department ...... Joanna Brookes,
Official 1 ...... Paul Stonehouse,
Composer ...... Elizabeth Purnell ,
Producer ...... Mary Peate.
Studio Managers: Caleb Knightley; Graham Harper, Mike Etherden; Martha Littlehailes; Alison Craig. Production Coordinators: Jenny Mendez and Hannah Robins.
20 July 2013: Saturday Drama - The Martin Beck Killings
The Locked Room, by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo, translated by Paul Britten Austin; dramatised by Katie Hims. On his return to work after recuperating from a bullet wound in the chest, Martin Beck's first case concerns the body of a man shot dead, found in a sealed room. There is no gun.
Narrators .................... Lesley Sharp and Nicholas Gleaves ,
Martin Beck .................... Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg .................... Neil Pearson,
Gunvald Larsson .................... Ralph Ineson,
Einar Rönn .................... Wayne Foskett,
Bulldozer Olsson .................... Michael Maloney,
Malm .................... Nicholas Murchie,
Sten .................... Rick Warden,
Police Commissioner .................... Rick Warden,
Mauritzon .................... Ewan Bailey,
Ake .................... Ben Crowe,
Manager .................... Ben Crowe,
Doctor .................... Ben Crowe,
Monita .................... Philippa Stanton,
Clerk .................... Joanna Brookes.
Insurance Woman .................... Joanna Brookes,
Pathologist .................... Hannah Wood,
Ingela .................... Hannah Wood,
Gustavsson .................... David Seddon,
Rhea .................... Nadine Marshall,
Zachrisson .................... Joe Sims,
Hjelm .................... Robert Blythe,
Warehouse Man - Old .................... Robert Blythe,
Warehouse Man - Young .................... Matthew Watson,
Detective Sergeant .................... Matthew Watson.
Original music by Elizabeth Purnell.
Produced by Mary Peate.
SMs: Caleb Knightley, Graham Harper, Mike Etherden, Alison Craig.
27 July 2013: The Martin Beck Killings
9/10. 60m. By Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, translated by Thomas Teal. Dramatised for radio by Jennifer Howarth.
The murder of a woman in a small village outside Malmö in Southern Sweden wouldn't normally warrant the attentions of Martin Beck and his team, but she lived next door to a man who has killed once before.
Narrators: Lesley Sharp and Nicholas Gleaves.
Martin Beck - Steven Mackintosh,
Lennart Kollberg - Neil Pearson,
Gunvald Larsson - Ralph Ineson,
Hergot Allwright - Howard Coggins,
Einar Ronn - Wayne Foskett,
Music by Elizabeth Purnell.
Produced by Sara Davies.
3 Aug 2013: Saturday Drama: The Terrorists
In the series 'The Martin Beck Killings', by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, translated by Joan Tate and dramatised by Katie Hims. Martin Beck reluctantly takes on a security operation set up to protect a controversial American Senator from a terrorist attack whilst he is in Sweden on an official visit. Meanwhile, a young woman is accused of bank robbery. Narrator Lesley Sharp, with Nicholas Gleaves, Steven Mackintosh,Neil Pearson, Ralph Ineson, Wayne Foskett, Adrian Scarborough, Sam Alexander, Nadine Marshall, Robert Blythe, Michael Maloney, Hannah Wood, Nicholas Murchie, Ben Crowe, Rick Warden, Don Gilet, Matthew Watson, Alex Lanipekun, Paul Stonehouse, John Rowe, Joanna Brooks, David Seddon, Philippa Stanton, Sally Orrock. Producer Mary Peate.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Above known to exist in VRPCC collections
