White Mischief

Throughout the Second World War, the Happy Valley region of the Kenya Colony becomes a glittering enclave where a circle of aristocrats indulges in alcohol, drugs, and extramarital affairs. On 24 January 1941, Josslyn Hay, the Earl of Erroll, Charles Dance is found dead in his car in a secluded area, a stunning event that casts a long shadow over a social circle famed for its scandals.

One of the central figures is Diana Delves Broughton, Greta Scacchi, the beautiful wife of Sir John Henry Delves Broughton, commonly called “Jock” and markedly older than she is, who lives under a pre-nuptial understanding that either spouse may pursue other loves without derailing the marriage. Diana has indeed fallen for the roguish Earl of Erroll, whose other lovers include the drug‑addicted American heiress Alice de Janzé, Sarah Miles, and the more reserved Nina Soames, Geraldine Chaplin. The Earl’s insistence on formalizing their relationship presses Diana toward a doorway she is reluctant to cross, especially since she believes her finances are secure within her marriage even as Delves Broughton’s debts loom large behind the scenes.

At the Nairobi club, Delves Broughton Joss Ackland publicly toasts the couple’s affair, while privately he appears visibly intoxicated, masking a calculated patience as the night unfolds. After dropping off Diana, the Earl is shot dead in his car near Delves Broughton’s home, and the husband is soon charged with the murder. Diana is overwhelmed by grief for her lover, and Alice, too, is left shattered, even moving to the mortuary to be near the corpse.

Gilbert Colvile, a plantation owner whose only real friend is Delves Broughton, offers Diana quiet advice and a measure of solace, and shocks her by proposing marriage himself. The trial of Delves Broughton follows, with no direct witnesses and only circumstantial evidence to connect him to the crime; despite clear motive and means, he is found innocent, bringing the scandal to a close for a time. Alice de Janzé ultimately kills herself, and Diana uncovers further evidence suggesting her husband’s possible involvement in Erroll’s death.

In a climactic turn, Delves Broughton shoots himself in Diana’s presence after a tense confrontation in which he murders their dog and menaces her with a shotgun. The film closes with a fleeing, bloodstained Diana discovering the remaining Happy Valley set still partying around Alice de Janzé’s grave, a haunting image of a world that cannot be reconciled with the consequences of its excess.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:36