The Forgotten Case of Charles McLaughlin
Endell Esq
Charles Endell Esq... though his birth name was actually Angus McIntyre.
He changed identity by Deed Poll after leaving his old Glasgow manor to set up in London; actions made essential by a certain American geezer with the name of King Jorgenson, who wanted him dead after "Angus" burnt his Miami gaming club down following an expensive losing streak whilst on vacation there.
However, Charlie later set a trap for Jorgenson by arranging for him to be directed to a house in Dublin, Ireland, (where the American had been led to believe that Angus McIntyre was staying), but instead Charlie's henchmen were waiting for him.
There, Jorgenson swiftly had his feet nailed to the floor ...and he now resides peacefully deep beneath the Irish sea, wearing a sporty concrete overcoat .
With Jorgenson out of the way, things were going fine for a while, until someone decided to pass incriminating evidence about Charlie to one Detective Inspector Bryant; the result was a long stretch at Her Majesties pleasure for Mr Endell.
But there was something of a surprise when, one year later, D.I. Bryant himself was jailed for corruption resulting from the Charles Endell case. (please read-on for the full story).
Below is an extract from a tabloid newspaper concerning this very famous trial
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Endell trial lifted lid
on porn squad bribery The outcry
over the trial of Charles McLaughlin Endell, aged 54, who was jailed
for 10 years by an Old Bailey judge in November last year, sparked a
major corruption inquiry in Whitehall which ended in the jailing
of Detective Inspector Bryant, the senior officer responsible for the
prosecution, newly released confidential Whitehall documents reveal.
The home office papers published today show the public
backlash to the savage sentencing of Charles Endell and the
unprecedented confiscation of criminal assets, helped precipitate Scotland
Yard's biggest ever anti-corruption drive in which 40 officers, including
a deputy assistant commissioner, were imprisoned or left the force.
The head of the Metropolitan police's obscene publications
squad, who targeted the capital's burgeoning pornographic industry, also
ended up behind bars. The papers were not due to be made public until 1997,
but have been released early under a new government initiative. They show
that home secretary Reginald Maudling, was so stung by the accusation
that the police were singling out certain individuals for prosecution
while many other notorious Soho pornographers were being let off the hook,
that he ordered a major inquiry. Detective Inspector Bryant, then in charge of the "dirty"
squad, told Mr Maudling that pornography could not be stamped out because
it had existed for centuries, and justified his targeting of Endell
Enterprises and the "backroom" books and films that it supplied to
"special" customers upon request, as indecent publications which were
aimed at and advocated "the alternative society".
Bryant disputed the home office's claim
that certain Soho bookshops were operating with impunity. "I would
rather question the assertion that pornography was on 'open sale' in Soho
or indeed anywhere else in London on a large scale. I would, however,
agree that it can be found in various bookshops when it is particularly
asked for." Home office civil servants said this weasel explanation "left
a good deal to be desired". Detailed allegations were made of police corruption soon
after the Endell inquiry. Bryant was eventually jailed for
10 years as the "chief architect" of the biggest ever Met corruption ring
in which the Soho porn merchants had some of the most senior police
officers in Britain on their weekly payroll. The Charles Endell case at the Old Bailey was the
largest obscenity trial in British legal history.
|
The Coming Out of Charles Endell
Esquire
So anyway, 7 years later, (with 3 years reduction of his
sentance for good behaviour), in 1979, Chas gets out of nick and emerges
into a radically different world.
Soho, (which had become his business empire), was now being governed by a new criminal gang.
These were a type of underclass that you just don't mess with... making his old mob look like pussycats in comparison.
Charlie had been left with very little in the way of ill-gotten gains after the vice squad had finished, confiscating most of Endell Enterprises' assets in the process; the dirty bookshops, clubs etc, now all had new owners.
The only option for him was a return to his old patch in Glasgow in an attempt at re-establishing himself.
There he discovers one Hamish MacIntyre, running a rocky mini-cab firm with the pretentious name World-Wide Cab Hire.
Hamish, (or World-Wide, as he became
known), is adopted by Endell as his bodyguard come-chauffeur. 
Endell needs him in his efforts to gain a piece of the action on Glasgow's mean streets.
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Here is the only broadcasting information that I have for this series, covering just five episodes from the six that were made.
Show Stars: Charlie Endell, (Iain Cuthbertson) and partner-in-crime Hamish McIntyre jr. (Tony Osoba ),
Episode 1 of Season 1 of
"Charles Endell Esquire"
Glasgow Belongs To Me
Writer: Robert
Holmes.
Show Stars: Phil McCall (Det. Sgt. Dickson), Rikki Fulton (Alastair Vint), Annie Ross (Dixie), Bill Denniston ('King' Croall), Julie Ann Fullarton (Janet), Rohan McCullough (Kate Moncrieff), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona Croall) Guest Stars: Desmond McNamara (Sleeper attendant), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona Croall), Katy Gardiner (Miss Rhind), Jonathan Carr (Bowie), Andrew Melville (Head Waiter), Boyd Nelson (Logan), Glenn Cunningham (Chisholm), Bernard Archard (Archibald Telfer)
Fresh out of jail, Charlie Endell returns home to Glasgow, convinced that the city belongs to him. But things don't work out as planned. Life can be cruel on the outside.
Episode 2 of Season 1 of
"Charles Endell Esquire"
As One Door Closes Another Slams in Your Face
Writer: Bill Craig
Director: Gerry Mill
Show Stars: Iain Cuthbertson (Charlie Endell),
Tony Osoba (Hamish McIntyre jr.), Phil McCall (Det. Sgt. Dickson), Rikki Fulton
(Alastair Vint), Annie Ross (Dixie), Bill Denniston ('King' Croall), Julie Ann
Fullarton (Janet), Rohan McCullough (Kate Moncrieff), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona
Croall)
Guest Stars: Hugh Evans (Roberts), Glenn Cunningham (Chisholm),
Bernard Gallagher (Major Forbes-Forbes), Jeff Norton (Bryce), Boyd Nelson
(Logan)
Convinced that the sinister Archibald Telfer is still alive, Charlie goes in search of him and the missing money. He finds an ally in the dapper Major Forbes-Forbes and an enemy in "King" Kenny Croall.
Episode 3 of Season 1 of
"Charles Endell Esquire"
Slaughter on Piano Street
Writer: Robert Banks
Stewart
Show Stars: Iain Cuthbertson (Charlie Endell),
Tony Osoba (Hamish McIntyre jr.), Phil McCall (Det. Sgt. Dickson), Rikki Fulton
(Alastair Vint), Annie Ross (Dixie), Bill Denniston ('King' Croall), Julie Ann
Fullarton (Janet), Rohan McCullough (Kate Moncrieff), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona
Croall)
Guest Stars: Beverley Hewitt (Receptionist), Jake D'arcy (Jackie Mc
Sharron), Ann-Louise Ross (Ella), Jonathan Carr (George Bowie), Martin Cochrane
(Frank Leishman), Lesley Mackie (Sheonagh), James Kennedy (Porteous), Willy Joss
('Father' MacIntyre), Boyd Nelson (Logan), Neil Connery (Prison Officer), Simon
Tait (Stuart), Glenn Cummingham (Chisholm), Ron Emslie (Rory), Freddie Boardley
(Davie), Pat Doyle (Andy)
On a quiet Sunday morning Charlie Endell's peaceful sleep is shattered by the thundering rock music of Blunt Instrument. But it's not like him to miss the chance of making a pound or two - even from that.
Episode 4 of Season 1 of
"Charles Endell Esquire"
The Moon Shines Bright on Charlie Endell
Originally aired: Saturday August 18, 1979 on ITV1
Writer: Terence
Feeley
Director: David Andrews
Show Stars: Iain Cuthbertson (Charlie Endell),
Tony Osoba (Hamish McIntyre jr.), Phil McCall (Det. Sgt. Dickson), Rikki Fulton
(Alastair Vint), Annie Ross (Dixie), Bill Denniston ('King' Croall), Julie Ann
Fullarton (Janet), Rohan McCullough (Kate Moncrieff), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona
Croall)
Guest Stars: Russell Hunter (Jack Leakey) , Ray Jeffries (Pollock) ,
Joan Fitzpatrick (Mrs. McTeague) , Patrick Lewsley (O'Hagan) , John Casey (PC
Cregan) , Peter Barry (Head waiter).
A true entrepreneur of the free enterprise society ex-prisoner Charlie Endell is strong on organisation. A quiet drink with an old friend, a bottle of mature malt whisky and Charlie's instincts come into play.
Episode 5 of Season 1 of
"Charles Endell Esquire"
Stuff Me a Flamingo.
Show Stars: Iain Cuthbertson (Charlie Endell),
Tony Osoba (Hamish McIntyre jr.), Phil McCall (Det. Sgt. Dickson), Rikki Fulton
(Alastair Vint), Annie Ross (Dixie), Bill Denniston ('King' Croall), Julie Ann
Fullarton (Janet), Rohan McCullough (Kate Moncrieff), Gillian Gillespie (Fiona
Croall)
Guest Stars: Ron Paterson (Joe McTurk), John Murtagh (Walker), Alec
Monteath (DS Stirling), David Swift (Tully), Gerald Kelly (Kennel boy), Patricia
Denys (Linda Croall), Jimmy Logan (Sammy McPhee), Nick Coppin (Hamilton), Dan
Crerar (Vet)
'King' Croall, an underworld boss, has to go to prison for a spell: He puts his affairs in order and asks Charlie Endell to look after Linda.
Despite being an excellent concept, "Charles Endell Esq" was never put on sell-through or screened again anywhere as far as I know...making this Scottish Television Production series just about as rare as hen's teeth to get hold of!
Picture courtesy of the TV Times
