King Of Prussia

Treatment Deck
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Status: Development
English, Cornish
Feature Film or Limited Series

Co-Production Countries:
UK, Ireland, Canada

Screenplay By
Tom Edgerton

Genre
Social Commentary, Crime, Caper

Comparables
I Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You, Bait, Lock Stock Two Smoking Barrels

When a down and out fisherman uncovers an ancestry of smuggling, he sees a way out for his family. But it puts them on a collision course with a resolute investigator, and public opinion that struggles to align legality and morality.

Tired of risking his life for less than a living wage, generational Cornish fisherman Ollie Carter is desperate. A visit to his Mother’s house, in the picturesque Prussia Cove, is supposed to be a reminder of why he endures at all.

Instead it reveals a buried history on the origins of the family business, at one time fish only for appearances sake. Their surname was in fact associated with a highly successful smuggling outfit, leaving Ollie less concerned about abandoning his waining trade.

Reluctant to take on unnecessary risk, Ollie uses his newfound genealogy to sell tours but just a few encounters with the average tourist pushes him to try it for real, re-engaging the long forgotten practice.

Using his knowledge of the local cave systems and friendly market sellers he effectively undercuts sky high import duties and rampant inflation to turn a tidy profit. But as the flow of cigarettes from Guernsey and wine from Portugal advertise their services to more nefarious actors, new and lucrative trade routes are offered up to Captain and crew.

The arrival of an ambitious young Officer from the National Crime Agency only adds Ollie’s trepidation. And when the perfect storm of disloyal greed, and a happenstance encounter with a stricken migrant boat put him on the front cover of the tabloids, he can’t help but wonder if he’d been better off running tourists around town after all.

Equal parts humorous and harrowing, King Of Prussia builds on a long tradition of British social commentary, confronting a troublesome hidden dilemma and portraying forgotten communities with a blend of realism and satire.

Inspired By
Harry Carter

Capitain Carter of Prussia Cove, Cornwall was born in 1749. His memoirs The Autobiography of a Cornish Smuggler is one of few first hand, ethnographical accounts of the county’s most infamous export.

Following the activities of his family, he paints a picture of a high stakes, well organized, wickedly lucrative, trans-continental racket. Naval pursuits, goods seizures and well publicized trials are all detailed, the sentence for many of his crew and family members was execution.

After a stint in a French Prison, Harry returned home to his family. When an early incantation of gentrification forced them from their home, he became a preacher. He died in 1809.

Source Material

  • Full Text – Project Gutenburg
  • Edited and Introduced by John Cornish, Second Edition Published 1900.

Further Reading