For Release: 2008-04-07 13:17:00
Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe stars as a young man obsessed with serving his country and escaping from the shadow of his famous father in “My Boy Jack,” based on the true story of Rudyard Kipling’s only son. The Masterpiece Classic drama airs Sunday, April 20 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 and Thursday, April 24 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2.Radcliffe plays John “Jack” Kipling. Underage and hopelessly myopic at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Jack desperately wants to join the fight, which is unfolding with unspeakable horror in France. Also starring are David Haig (Four Weddings and a Funeral) as Rudyard Kipling, the most beloved English author of the day and a fervent spokesman for the British Empire, and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) as Kipling’s American wife, Carrie, who foresees the fate that awaits her son.
A hard-line proponent of the war, Kipling passed on this same sense of unquestioned duty to his son. As events unfold, Jack twice fails his induction eye exam, and Kipling ultimately uses his friendship with a celebrated field marshal to get the boy an officer’s commission in the Irish Guards, an infantry unit destined for the front lines. Kipling even gives permission for Jack to go into combat before he’s 18.
A few days later, a telegram arrives at the Kipling estate. Jack is missing, presumed injured. The Kiplings try every connection among their influential friends to find out whether Jack is dead or alive. Inquiries are fruitless and it is only through the recollections of shell-shocked survivors from Jack’s unit that the story of his fate in the battle emerges.
Masterpiece “My Boy Jack” is produced by WGBH/Boston and Ecosse Films. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Ellen Soileau
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