Shadow of the Noose - - A Beautiful dramatisation of the case known as "Noblesse Oblige", concerning a case Marshall Hall rarely handled and happened to be for the wrong side not listening to the legal advice. he second of eight cases featuring the legendary lawyer Edward Marshall Hall. Starring Jonathan Hyde and Sian Phillips with John Bird , Michael Feast Terry Taplin , Leslee Udwin. Noblesse oblige A severe illness means a long absence from the Bar, and Marshall Hall needs a case that will bring him back to public notice. What could be better than a sensational high-society scandal? Lord Russell is prosecuting his mother-in-law Lady Scott for criminal libel over allegations of homosexual conduct "Sodomy" an imprisonable offence for male homeseuals in England until 1967, and Marshall Hall appears once more for the defence. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Scotland by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 and in Northern Ireland by the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982. Sir Edward Marshall Hall, KC, (16 September 1858 – 24 February 1927) was an English barrister who had a formidable reputation as an orator. He successfully defended many people accused of notorious murders and became known as "The Great Defender". Marshall Hall practised as a barrister in the late Victorian era and in the Edwardian era, when the public took a great interest in the sensational court cases of the day. Big criminal and civil trials were widely reported on by the popular press on a daily basis. As a consequence, he and other successful barristers of the day became very famous. The widespread belief that he was a much better orator than lawyer may explain his failure to achieve elevation to the High Court, which was a source of great disappointment to him.

• published: 29 Nov 2014
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