Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)

Doctor Finlay's Casebook
Created by	A. J. Cronin
Starring	Bill Simpson Andrew Cruickshank Barbara Mullen
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	191
Production
Running time	50 min.
Release
Original network	BBC Television/BBC 1
Original release	16 August 1962 – 3 January 1971

Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television drama series that was broadcast and produced by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964.

The main characters were Dr. Finlay, the junior partner in the practice, played by Bill Simpson, Dr. Cameron, the craggy senior partner, played by Andrew Cruickshank and Janet, their unflappable housekeeper and receptionist at Arden House, played by Barbara Mullen. Other recurrent characters included Dr. Snoddie, Finlay's crusty detractor and Janet's admirer, played by Eric Woodburn and gossipy Mistress Niven (the district nurse whose formal title was mistress midwife), played by Effie Morrison.

Although it is documented that location work for the original series was filmed in the town of Callander in Perthshire, the very first six episodes were filmed in Tannoch Drive, Milngavie, where the fictional Arden House was situated on the right-hand side as one approaches Tannoch Loch. It was the ducks and swans on that loch that formed part of the opening sequence of the programme. The preceding shot is of the Red Bridge over the River Teith. Other outdoor scenes were filmed in Kilbarchan, Church Street in particular has changed little since filming took place.

In one of those first episodes, Dr. Finlay (Bill Simpson) crashed his old Bullnose Morris into the wall of Arden House—and that was not in the script. Another episode, filmed at night along Mugdock Road, found the local policeman, somewhat inebriated, on his bicycle in a scene with Dr. Snoddie. The interior scenes were shot in BBC studios in London and Glasgow.

From 1970 until 1978, episodes from Dr. Finlay's Casebook were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 with some of the same actors from the television programme. Twenty episodes were broadcast on BBC 7 in the autumn of 2003 and have been repeated annually since. In 2001 and 2002, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a version of the original Cronin stories using the titles, The Adventures of a Black Bag and Doctor Finlay - Further Adventures of a Black Bag; these have been rebroadcast by BBC 7. The adaptations are set in Levenford, the original setting chosen by Cronin, rather than Tannochbrae. The role of Dr. Finlay was played by John Gordon Sinclair. Dr. Cameron was played by Brian Pettifer, and Janet was played initially by Katy Murphy, and then by Celia Imrie. David Tennant was a frequent guest actor.

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