The Typewriter
1962, ITV
Role: Pascal and Maxim

In this play by Jean Cocteau, Jeremy played two parts -- twin brothers, Pascal and Maxim. Jeremy rehearsed tirelessly for the roles, preparing to become the delicate, self-centered Pascal as well as the rough, ex-convict Maxim who bears a grudge because he had been cast out by his family.

His efforts met with critical success, with one noting: "Jeremy Brett portrayed both parts with singular ambidexterity. The greatest triumph was his."

The plot follows the criminal investigation of an anonymous "poison pen" campaign in a small French town. The anonymous letters reveal some hidden misdeed in an outwardly respectable person's past and lead several recipients to commit suicide.

A police detective, Fred, is assigned to find the culprit, who signs each letter, "The Typewriter."

Here is a further plot summary from the book, The Drama of Fallen France:

Fred stays at the home of his old friend Didier, where he meets Didier's upright son, Pascal, his capricious ward, Margot, and an older, attractive widow, Solange, from the nearby chateau Malemort.

After the death of his first wife, Didier had considered marrying Solange, but Pascal's objections that it would be improper (a view shared by the townsfolk) stopped him. Alone, now that her own son has gone off to school, Solange has fallen in love with Pascal's twin, Maxim, who has just been released from prison and has secretly returned to town. Maxim has fallen ill while hiding in the woods and has been taken in by Solange at Malemort.

Margot is an aspiring dramatist and is bored with her country life and impending marriage to the proper Pascal. However, she loves Maxim and he loves her in return. Both Margo and Maxim confess to being The Typewriter, but Fred rejects their confessions because a great many people have made the same confession.

In Act III, Fred confronts Solange with the fact that Maxim and she cannot go on as lovers because Margot and Maxim are destined for each other. He also knows that Solange is the perpetrator. But he is in love with Solange and is sympathetic with her desire to seek revenge from the town's moralistic hypocrites who ruined her own happiness. Therefore, he has prepared someone else to take the fall: Monique, the girl who works in the post office and has already happily confessed to sending the letters. 

However, when it comes time for her to turn herself in, Monique announces that she and Pascal have been lovers for years. When Margot learns this, she sees that her fiance's uprightness has been a fraudulent pose, and she announces her love for Maxim. With everything put together, Fred offers to take Solange away from the town. Yet Solange, unable to go on with her deceptions, shoots herself.

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