Inspector Morse: Last Seen Wearing
This 1988 British telefilm from the second series of the long-running mysteryInspector Morsesends Morse (John Thaw), that cultured curmudgeon of a police detective, on the six-month-old case of a missing schoolgirl. "She's dead," he proclaims, dismissing the case as a dead end and a waste of time, but true to form he investigates with his trademark relentlessness and uncovers something he didn't expect--a conspiracy at the girl's private school resulted in murder.Still early in the series (it lasted untilThe Remorseful Dayin  2000), we find Morse still getting comfortable with his young partner.  Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) is a family man who would rather head home at the end of the day than drink a pint with his partner. Morse is up to his old tricks, sneaking scotch in coffee mugs at crime scenes and taking beer breaks, and Thaw plays the loner detective without a hint of self-consciousness. And in the best tradition of British TV mysteries, this crime is solved not with shootouts or car chases, but by relentless investigation and sheer brainpower (helped along by a couple of pints of ale). Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers) and Julia Sawalha (Saffron fromAbsolutely Fabulous) have small parts as schoolgirls questioned by Morse and Lewis.--Sean Axmaker