This BAFTA nominated classic picture was directed by Palme D'Or award-winning director Alan Bridges based on the novel by Isabel Golegate. It is autumn 1913 on the eve of the Great War and a small party of aristocrats gather at the Hertfordshire estate of Sir Randolph Nettleby (James Mason) for a leisurely weekend of shooting. The Shooting Party was critically well received and had an all star cast. It also featured a young John Gielgud who played the animal rights activist, Cornelius Cardew. It did however have a small hiccup at the beginning of the shoot which resulted in the casting of James Mason in the lead role. At an unnamed location, and on the very first day of filming, local facilities company Mossman Vehicles provided an antique 'shooting break' - a kind of horse-drawn buggy - for a scene involving many of the male cast. As the cameras began rolling, the horses were unexpectedly spooked and galloped away at top speed, instantly unseating the driver. The out-of-control break disappeared into woodland, and when the horses veered to avoid a low wall the break flipped over sending actors flying in all directions. Robert Hardy got out relatively unscathed, but Edward Fox broke several ribs and Paul Scofield's left leg was broken. Production was shut down for several months, meaning that frozen winter locations had to be ‘defrosted’ to look like autumn. Veteran film star James Mason ultimately replaced Scofield as Nettleby, a role which would prove to be his cinematic swan song.

Release / Airing: 01/02/1985