Hannay
1988
📺 2 Seasons
🎬 13 Episodes
📅 Ended
🌐 EN
⏱️ 42 min/episode
DramaAction & AdventureCrimeMystery
Hannay was a 1988 spin-off from the 1978 film version of John Buchan's novel The Thirty-Nine Steps which had starred Robert Powell as Richard Hannay.
In the series, Powell reprised the role of Hannay, an Edwardian mining engineer from Rhodesia of Scottish origin. It features his adventures in pre-World War I Great Britain. These stories had little in common with John Buchan's novels about the character, although some character names are taken from his other novels.
There were two series, the first with six episodes, the second with seven. The combined 13 episodes ran for a total of 652 minutes.
One episode, A Point of Honour, was based on a story of the same name by Dornford Yates that appeared in his 1914 book The Brother of Daphne, although Yates was not credited.
Another episode used a plot device from the Leslie Charteris Saint story The Unblemished Bootlegger, from the 1933 book The Brighter Buccaneer, again uncredited.
Seasons
Season 1
The year is 1912. Richard Hannay, a thirty year old Mining Engineer is on his way from South Africa to England on the steamship 'Union Castle'. Whilst on board ship he encounters Lord Haslemere and his beautiful daughter, Lady Anne, and is invited to Lady Anne's coming-of-age party in London.
Upon arriving in England, Hannay tells his good friend Reggie Armitage that whilst working in Rhodesia some months previously, he had been shot and left for dead by Count Von Schwabing and a curious black stone had been left in his right hand. Reggie tells him that five agents, all of them working for Military Intelligence, had been found murdered under similar circumstances.
Hannay finds a mysterious package has been left in his cabin trunk on board the ship, but when he tries to deliver the package he is assaulted and left for dead in a cellar in Limehouse.
During the course of the next day or so Hannay finds himself charged with two murders of which he is innocent, and with the assistance of
Season 2
Richard Hannay meets Sybil Verney, a beautiful woman who is also of South African origin. Unlike Hannay, who feels 'surrounded' in London and prefers the wide-open spaces of Africa, Sybil is very fond of England and of its society.
Very quickly, Richard Hannay falls under her spell; he falls desperately in love for the first time in his life, but Sybil Verney has a secret. She is being blackmailed by Sir Marcus Leonard, a ruthless gambler and racehorse owner, who has a hold over Sybil. The secret is to be found in some letters which Sir Marcus has securely locked away in his safe.
Richard Hannay offers to get the letters for Sybil, but in order to do so must take some lessons in safe-breaking from Sal Alford. He is an apt pupil, managing to break into Sir Marcus's safe, while Sal acts as guard outside. Unfortunately, he is caught by Sir Marcus, but Sal escapes with the incriminating letters.
Sir Marcus convinces Hannay that Sybil is a liar and a cheat. Who is telling the truth?
Network
ITV1