Armchair Theatre The Death of Glory (1956–1974) Online

Billy Turnbull is a junior payroll manager in a construction company, but his waking hours are dominated by thoughts of the army. He is self-disciplined and exacting, traits which make him less than popular with his workmates, who constantly deride him and seek to prick his bubble of pompousness. Warren Clarke judges the character of Billy to perfection, who has a chip on his shoulder and an aching desire to live up to the exploits of his ex-sergeant major father Reg, played by Bill Maynard. Although Billy is not the sort of chap that many people would warm to on first acquaintance, Clarke's sensitive portrayal of a fundamentally decent man, but with few social skills and an inferiority complex, leads the viewer to sympathise and empathise with him by the end, as not all is as it seems at first blush...

I got The Death of Glory on an Armchair Theatre DVD compilation a couple of years ago, and have watched it a few times now - I have to say that this ranks for me as the best single piece of short TV drama I've ever seen. This episode alone is well worth the price of the DVD. I always knew Warren Clarke was a fine actor, but he excels himself here. Catch it if you can.