AustLit

'Anyone would think she was a potty, old, cockney woman. But Gary and Monica don't think so and they talk Bluey into taking on the case of a supposed Homicide - several months old.

'A night in the cemetery, a night in a funeral parlour, an Angel of Death; all add up to a strange and intriguing jigsaw of extortion and murder.

'Bluey is given little help by the woman who sees herself a little like Agatha Christie and intends to do her own investigation. Bluey is hard pressed to save her from the Angel of Death.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'ELSIE HUNTER: A cheerful, fat and garrulous cockney woman of perhaps 65 summers. Although suffering from a "heart condition", Elsie is loud-mouthed and vulgar, and believes in the old adage "If you've got it, show it". The rubies and diamonds that cluster round her neck, ears and fingers are all real, and she is hardly ever seen without her mink stole.

'CHRIS: 24/25. All the open cockney charm and baby blue eyes you could wish for - hiding a mean, vicious and calculating soul. He has adopted the role of "angel of death" and spends his life conning the aged rich into surrendering to his charms. It is essential that he is of the earth, earthy, and that Else could recognise in him a brother under the skin.

'SPENCER: Tall, dark haired and angular, about 40 or 45. Has three distinct aspects to his personality - the urbane, fawning funeral director, the "ordinary" Spencer, not nearly so well spoken as the first, but still with a certain amount of style, and the real Spencer - a small time cockney con-man.

'FRANCIS: The tubby, meticulous, well-mannered and well-manicured mortician. And age, I guess, but 35 to 45 might be best. Trim, neat, dapper, and a nervous nelly at heart. Almost certainly he has no sex life, and subjugates any desires in this area to his dedication to his profession.

'MRS. TANNER: Else's next door neighbour. Nouveau riche, early 30's. Her husband might be a newly successful bank manager or the like. Friendly enough, but likes the display of money. Middle class trendy, if you like.

'HARRY: An aged crim widower, now living at an old folk's home. As angular as Elsie is rotund. A mournful soul these days, the spark of life having been knocked out of him. Elsie re-awakens it!

'ARCHIE: The grave-digger. About 45-50. A cheerful and talkative man whose personality is completely at variance with the popular conception of his occupation. Likes a laugh and a beer, and takes great pride in his work.

'APPRENTICE: A gormless youth whom Archie is teaching the trade of grave digging. Big and muscular with an IQ of 2, but a happy smile withall.

'BODY: A pleasant looking lad.

'MRS. MITCHELL: About 195. Is almost totally deaf, and wears pebble lenses so thick that any step she takes becomes, for her, the equivalent of Hilary conquering Everest.

'CAT: A mangy beast that keeps the mortuary free of rats.'