Sharpe's Enemy (TV programme)
Encyclopedia
Sharpe's Enemy is a British
television drama, part of a series
that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
. This episode is based on the novel of the same name
by Bernard Cornwell
.
) and a French renegade named Pot-au-Feu (Tony Haygarth
), takes over a Portuguese village. Lady Isabella (Elizabeth Hurley
), the wife of Sir Augustus Farthingdale (Jeremy Child
), the English military envoy to Portugal, is taken captive. The brigands demand a ransom for her and for another lady taken earlier, Sarah (Helena Michell
), the spouse of French Colonel Dubreton (François Guétary).
Sharpe delivers the money for Lady Isabella, while Dubreton does the same for his wife. Sarah mysteriously recites a verse of poetry. Hakeswill demands double the amount and gives each man five days to deliver the second installment. When Sharpe returns to camp, Wellington
(Hugh Fraser
), the British commander, decides that drastic action is required to discourage desertion
before it can infect the rest of his army.
Sharpe also reports seeing a Major Ducos (Féodor Atkine), who accompanied Dubreton. This worries Major Nairn (Michael Byrne
), the head of Wellington's military intelligence. He suspects that Ducos, his French counterpart, is scouting the route for a French invasion of Portugal. The village happens to be directly in the most likely path.
Sarah's poem conceals a clue to the captives' whereabouts. Sharpe comes up with a risky plan to rescue the women. When Farthingdale objects by quoting regulations that a major must lead a detachment of this size, Wellington presents him with a letter from the Prince Regent, who has followed Sharpe's exploits with admiration, promoting Sharpe to major.
Sharpe then sneaks into the village with Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
) and his "chosen men" on Christmas Eve, when the enemy is drunk and distracted, and frees the captives. While they wait for Captain William Frederickson (Philip Whitchurch
) to bring up his company of the 60th Rifles
, it is revealed that Lady Isabella had been a whore, and at one time Sharpe's lover. With time on their hands, they resume their sexual relationship.
The battle goes almost as planned. The deserters are killed or captured, except for Hakeswill, who escapes. He runs into Sharpe's wife Teresa (Assumpta Serna
), who had been scouting the approaching French force. Hakeswill kills her, but is then caught by Dubreton, who hands him over to Sharpe.
Ducos delivers an ultimatum, demanding the surrender of the village. Sharpe refuses. When Farthingdale tries to negotiate, Sharpe stops him by threatening to reveal Isabella's past to the Lisbon court. The French attack, outnumbering the British 10 to 1, but fall into Sharpe's trap and are repulsed with rocket artillery
. Afterwards, Hakeswill is executed by firing squad
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television drama, part of a series
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (fictional character)
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean....
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. This episode is based on the novel of the same name
Sharpe's Enemy (novel)
Sharpe's Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the Defense of Portugal, Christmas 1812 is a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell set during the Napoleonic Wars...
by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
.
Plot
In 1812, a band of deserters, British, French, and others, led by Sharpe's nemesis Obadiah Hakeswill (Pete PostlethwaitePete Postlethwaite
Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
) and a French renegade named Pot-au-Feu (Tony Haygarth
Tony Haygarth
Tony Haygarth is an English television, film and theatre actor.-Career:At the age of eighteen, Haygarth worked unsuccessfully as a lifeguard in Torquay, and also tried escapology, equally unsuccessfully...
), takes over a Portuguese village. Lady Isabella (Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
), the wife of Sir Augustus Farthingdale (Jeremy Child
Jeremy Child
Sir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege...
), the English military envoy to Portugal, is taken captive. The brigands demand a ransom for her and for another lady taken earlier, Sarah (Helena Michell
Helena Michell
Helena Michell is an Australian actress.She is the daughter of the actors Keith Michell and Jeanette Sterke. She has appeared with them at Chichester in 1997....
), the spouse of French Colonel Dubreton (François Guétary).
Sharpe delivers the money for Lady Isabella, while Dubreton does the same for his wife. Sarah mysteriously recites a verse of poetry. Hakeswill demands double the amount and gives each man five days to deliver the second installment. When Sharpe returns to camp, Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(Hugh Fraser
Hugh Fraser (actor)
Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
), the British commander, decides that drastic action is required to discourage desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
before it can infect the rest of his army.
Sharpe also reports seeing a Major Ducos (Féodor Atkine), who accompanied Dubreton. This worries Major Nairn (Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
), the head of Wellington's military intelligence. He suspects that Ducos, his French counterpart, is scouting the route for a French invasion of Portugal. The village happens to be directly in the most likely path.
Sarah's poem conceals a clue to the captives' whereabouts. Sharpe comes up with a risky plan to rescue the women. When Farthingdale objects by quoting regulations that a major must lead a detachment of this size, Wellington presents him with a letter from the Prince Regent, who has followed Sharpe's exploits with admiration, promoting Sharpe to major.
Sharpe then sneaks into the village with Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley is an Irish film, theatre and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the much loved and ever faithful but rather fearsome Patrick Harper in the legendary Sharpe TV series along side Sean Bean...
) and his "chosen men" on Christmas Eve, when the enemy is drunk and distracted, and frees the captives. While they wait for Captain William Frederickson (Philip Whitchurch
Philip Whitchurch
Philip Whitchurch is a British stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for playing Chief Inspector Philip Cato in The Bill from 1993 to 1995...
) to bring up his company of the 60th Rifles
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
, it is revealed that Lady Isabella had been a whore, and at one time Sharpe's lover. With time on their hands, they resume their sexual relationship.
The battle goes almost as planned. The deserters are killed or captured, except for Hakeswill, who escapes. He runs into Sharpe's wife Teresa (Assumpta Serna
Assumpta Serna
Assumpta Serna is a Spanish actress. She is known for her roles in I, The Worst of All portraying famous Mexican religious scholar Sor Juana, Nostradamus, The Craft, and Wild Orchid, although she may be most remembered for her role as Peninsular War guerrilla commander Teresa Moreno in the first...
), who had been scouting the approaching French force. Hakeswill kills her, but is then caught by Dubreton, who hands him over to Sharpe.
Ducos delivers an ultimatum, demanding the surrender of the village. Sharpe refuses. When Farthingdale tries to negotiate, Sharpe stops him by threatening to reveal Isabella's past to the Lisbon court. The French attack, outnumbering the British 10 to 1, but fall into Sharpe's trap and are repulsed with rocket artillery
Rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars.Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers.-History:...
. Afterwards, Hakeswill is executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Sean Bean Sean Bean Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe... |
Richard Sharpe Richard Sharpe (fictional character) Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean.... |
| Daragh O'Malley Daragh O'Malley Daragh O'Malley is an Irish film, theatre and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the much loved and ever faithful but rather fearsome Patrick Harper in the legendary Sharpe TV series along side Sean Bean... |
Sergeant Patrick Harper |
| Hugh Fraser Hugh Fraser (actor) Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art... |
Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century... |
| Michael Byrne Michael Byrne (actor) Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris... |
Major Nairn |
| Pete Postlethwaite Pete Postlethwaite Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr... |
Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill |
| Assumpta Serna Assumpta Serna Assumpta Serna is a Spanish actress. She is known for her roles in I, The Worst of All portraying famous Mexican religious scholar Sor Juana, Nostradamus, The Craft, and Wild Orchid, although she may be most remembered for her role as Peninsular War guerrilla commander Teresa Moreno in the first... |
Comandante Teresa Moreno |
| Jeremy Child Jeremy Child Sir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege... |
Sir Augustus Farthingdale |
| Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los... |
Isabella, Lady Farthingdale |
| Helena Michell Helena Michell Helena Michell is an Australian actress.She is the daughter of the actors Keith Michell and Jeanette Sterke. She has appeared with them at Chichester in 1997.... |
Sarah Dubreton |
| Tony Haygarth Tony Haygarth Tony Haygarth is an English television, film and theatre actor.-Career:At the age of eighteen, Haygarth worked unsuccessfully as a lifeguard in Torquay, and also tried escapology, equally unsuccessfully... |
Pot-au-Feu |
| Michael Mears | Rifleman Francis Cooper |
| John Tams John Tams John Tams is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician.- Folk musician :John Tams was a member of Derbyshire folk group Muckram Wakes in the 1970s, then worked with Ashley Hutchings as singer and melodeon-player on albums including Son of Morris On, and as a member of the... |
Rifleman Daniel Hagman |
| Jason Salkey Jason Salkey Jason Salkey is an English actor. He played Rifleman Harris in Sharpe, and Paul Lang in The Bill. He has also been in Bergerac, Boon, Wycliffe, About a Boy, and In America.... |
Rifleman Harris |
| Lyndon Davies | Rifleman Perkins |
| Philip Whitchurch Philip Whitchurch Philip Whitchurch is a British stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for playing Chief Inspector Philip Cato in The Bill from 1993 to 1995... |
Capt. William Frederickson |
| Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor.Born in Paris of Russian-Polish descent, he has had a career in European cinema and television since the early 1970s, and made occasional appearances in English-language films, notably as the Russian gangster "Mikhi" in Ronin, as Woody Allen's brother in Love and... |
Major Pierre Ducos |
| François Guétary | Colonel Dubreton |
| Nicholas Rowe Nicholas Rowe (actor) Nicholas James Sebastian Rowe is a Scottish actor.-Biography:Rowe was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of English parents Alison, a singer, and Andrew Rowe, a Member of Parliament and editor. He attended Eton and received a BA in Hispanic Studies from Bristol University... |
Lt. Gilliand |
| Vincent Grass Vincent Grass Vincent Grass is a Belgian actor. He has appeared in a number of both European and American film and television productions, the first being the Belgian television production Siska Van Roosemaal in 1973. Grass played Doctor Cornelius in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince... |
General Chaumier |
| Diana Perez | Ramona |
| Morgan Jones | Kelly |
| Iain Glass | Sgt. Rossner |