Foyle's War (UK) 2x01 Fifty Ships

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5/5 (1 vote)

First Aired: Nov. 16, 2003 on ITV1

Summary: When a dead body is found on Hastings beach the main suspects are an American multi-millionaire, an old flame of Sam's and a man that claims to be a Ditch refugee. Sam looks for a place to live when her house is destroyed by a bombing raid.

Main Characters in this Episode

Guest Stars

Jenny Wentworth	played by Rebecca Johnson (II)
Henry Jamieson	played by Steven O'Donnell
Mrs. Esther Harrison	played by Marlene Sidaway
Dr. Alan Redmund	played by Clive Merrison
Colin Morton	played by Paul Foster
Air Raid Warden	played by John Rake
Kenneth Hunter	played by Bryan Dick
Christopher Foyle	played by Michael Kitchen

Where to Watch

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› Amazon (purchase)

Episode Quotes

Jenny Wentworth: [the sound of German planes and an air raid siren are heard as Jenny runs into Sam's bedroom] C'mon, Sam, we're going down the cellar.
Samantha Stewart: [Sleepily] Can't you just tell Gerry to come back later?

Dr. Alan Redmund: [to Foyle when told of Hunter's suicide] Richard Hunter was a wreck of a human being. I don't think I've ever met anyone who had less reason to be alive.

DCS Christopher Foyle: [Looking across the Channel] It's quite a view!
Sgt. Paul Milner: On a clear day you can see France.
DCS Christopher Foyle: ...and send a signal if you feel inclined.

Mistakes/Goofs

Goof (anachronisms): The date is September, 1940. Foyle goes into the local newspaper to get copies of photos taken at the site of a Nazi bombing. The editor says the photos have not been cleared yet by the government. As he is talking, and then after Foyle walks out, the editor is chain smoking, lighting one cigarette from another. Later, the American Howard Paige is also smoking. In all cases, they are filter cigarettes, which weren't in wide use until 1954. Throughout WWII, American soldiers were taught to "field strip" (shred) cigarettes so the enemy wouldn't know they were American cigarettes on the ground. They could do that with Lucky Strikes and Pall Malls, but filter tip butts are indestructible.
Goof (anachronisms): This episode is set in 1940, yet near the end, while Foyle is talking to the military intelligence officer and the American Paige is preparing to board the plane, there is a modern looking mess plaque of the Parachute regiment on the wall. This regiment was not formed until 1941.
Goof (errors made by characters, possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Colonel Letwin, who arrests the man suspected of being a German spy, is wearing his Sam Browne belt the wrong way. The strap should go through his right epaulette and not his left. It should cross his chest from top right to bottom left. It should not cover his decorations, as it does in this case. His holster should probably be on the other side as well but although this is not essential, it rather defeats the purpose of the belt which is to support a scabbard or heavy pistol.
Goof (anachronisms): The photographer uses a Speed Graphic, an American camera. This would be improbable in itself, but the model (the "Pacemaker", easily identifiable by its white, rather than black, lens-board) was not marketed until 1947.
Goof (anachronisms): The newspaper editor smokes filtered cigarettes. These were uncommon at the time and marketed chiefly to women. They would hardly be the smoke of a newspaper editor.