This drama-documentary, produced to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the original incident, re-opens the famous Appin murder case in Scotland when a member of the Stewart clan was tried and hanged for the murder of a member of the Campbell clan; the victim was also an official of the Hanoverian government in London.
Presented in Gallic by John Morrison - with English subtitles - the program surveyed the evidence and presented it in a mock-trial scene with a contemporary prosecutor and defense counselor and a jury of twelve ordinary people. The parts of the accused and the witnesses, all in eighteenth century costume, were played by actors.
The program gave context to the trial by suggesting that the Crown considered Stewart a potentially subversive force, a representative of the Jacobites whose principal intention consisted of challenging the elected government of the United Kingdom. The original jury was rigged by having eleven members of the Campbell clan on it, so as to ensure a "correct" verdict in the interests of maintaining the peace.
The entire incident assumes greater significance in the popular consciousness, as it was re-dramatized by R. L. Stevenson in his novel KIDNAPPED (1886). Stewart was not the hero, but rather Alan Breck Stewart, a bohemian figure who eventually escaped to France leaving his distant relative to carry the judicial can.
Stylistically speaking, the program had strong echoes of the old daytime television drama CROWN COURT (1972-84) with the counsels presenting their evidence, the judge inviting the jury to consider their verdict, and the climax offering what the new verdict might have been in light of the evidence presented. It would be invidious to say what decision was made, but suffice to say that the denouement is a dramatic one.
Presented in Gallic by John Morrison - with English subtitles - the program surveyed the evidence and presented it in a mock-trial scene with a contemporary prosecutor and defense counselor and a jury of twelve ordinary people. The parts of the accused and the witnesses, all in eighteenth century costume, were played by actors.
The program gave context to the trial by suggesting that the Crown considered Stewart a potentially subversive force, a representative of the Jacobites whose principal intention consisted of challenging the elected government of the United Kingdom. The original jury was rigged by having eleven members of the Campbell clan on it, so as to ensure a "correct" verdict in the interests of maintaining the peace.
The entire incident assumes greater significance in the popular consciousness, as it was re-dramatized by R. L. Stevenson in his novel KIDNAPPED (1886). Stewart was not the hero, but rather Alan Breck Stewart, a bohemian figure who eventually escaped to France leaving his distant relative to carry the judicial can.
Stylistically speaking, the program had strong echoes of the old daytime television drama CROWN COURT (1972-84) with the counsels presenting their evidence, the judge inviting the jury to consider their verdict, and the climax offering what the new verdict might have been in light of the evidence presented. It would be invidious to say what decision was made, but suffice to say that the denouement is a dramatic one.