''Maxwell'' is a 2007 British television drama about the last days of media magnate

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

, played by

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...

, which was originally broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. The drama chronicles some of the events prior to Maxwell's mysterious death and the discovery of one of his era's biggest business frauds. Some fictional elements were added. Suchet was later awarded an

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

for his performance.

Cast

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in '' Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda ...

as Elisabeth 'Betty' Maxwell *

Ben Caplan Ben Caplan is a Canadian folk musician from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He often performs with his band the Casual Smokers, and his first full-length studio album, ''In the Time of the Great Remembering'', was released on October 20, 2011. His secon ...

Kevin Maxwell Kevin Francis Herbert Maxwell (born 1959) is a British businessman. In the 1990s, Maxwell was acquitted of charges relating to financial crimes connected with the business practices of his father, publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell. Formerly disqu ...

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama '' North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My ...

as Andrea, Maxwell's secretary *

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller ...

as Basil Brookes * Duncan Bell as Richard Baker *Tony Turner as Ron Woods *

Stuart Organ Stuart Adrian Organ (8 November 1951 – 15 February 2024) was a British actor, best known for his role as teacher Peter Robson on the television series ''Grange Hill''. He appeared as the character for 15 years, from 1988 to 2003, across 260 ep ...

as Peter Laister

Cultural references

While doing their research, the production team uncovered a number of tapes. Later in life, Maxwell had become increasingly paranoid and suspicious of his own employees, and so had the meeting rooms and office phones

wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

. The 79 cassettes include discussions with employees, the businessman suspected of disloyalty, and conversations with then-director of finance Basil Brookes. Maxwell's former head of security had kept them in a suitcase for over 15 years. Some of the actual tapes were played in the film. Fellow media magnate and business rival

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

is mentioned a number of times in business meetings. Companies referred to include

Maxwell Communications Corporation Maxwell Communication Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It collapsed in 1991 following the death of its titular owner. History Format ...

(MCC), Macmillan and

Mirror Group Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and internet journalism, digital publisher. It is one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national ' ...

. In one scene, Maxwell was seen reading an edition of the satirical magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

''. Magazine editor

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, and television personality. He is the editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'', a position he has held since 1986. He has appeared on many radio and television pr ...

, and his colleagues, had attempted to investigate the scam and Maxwell later sued Hislop for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. In the credits, clips of real-live news coverage after his death and the discovery of fraud were shown.

References

External links

* 2007 television films 2007 films 2007 drama films Films about mass media owners Films about tabloid journalism Films about newspaper publishing Films about the mass media in the United Kingdom Robert Maxwell 2000s English-language films 2000s British films British drama television films {{tv-drama-film-stub