Who Killed the Playboy Earl?
About the film
In the weeks after he vanished, the colourful theories of what had become of the man the French press dubbed 'le lord disparu', rivalled those of Lord Lucan.
Speculation
Had he had been mesmerised by a gang of confidence tricksters? Was it an underworld hit, a staged disappearance, or an identity theft? People speculated that the Shaftesbury family curse, that had afflicted previous Earls, had hit again.
Discovery of the body
In April 2005 the French police's search for the 'Lost Earl' led to a remote ravine on the French Riviera. A skeleton and a few rags were all that remained of the flamboyant playboy, whose body had been eaten by wild animals. A murder hunt ensued.
As the film unravels the mystery of who was behind the Earl's death, and delves into the deeper theme of the decline of the British aristocracy (the Earl became an emblem of the defunct hereditary peers Blair abolished in 1999).
Jamila M'Barek
Just as the lonely aristocrat was spiralling down into self-destruction, his latest girl-friend was fighting her way up. Jamila, an immigrant who had become an escort girl, wanted the money and social status the Earl could give her. They met in the no-man's land of France's vice dens, they quickly became 'Lord and Lady Shaftesbury', but their unusual marriage was destined to end in tragedy.
Who Killed The Playboy Earl? has all the trappings of a gritty noir thriller, but it is also spiced with black humour, a vivid cast of characters, and a pair of murderers who had somehow contrived to commit the imperfect crime.
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