Die seltsamen Wege des Pater Brown

Of all the names in the pantheon of great literary detectives, G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown is easily the most overlooked. The character has appeared in only a handful of films and a 13 episode television series in the early seventies. Of the films, The Detective(US title) is the best. Alec Guinness plays the affable cleric with an insatiable appetite for puzzles very nicely. Guinness shows us the heart and dedication Father Brown has to his calling spiritually over any temporal considerations. He also shows us that Father Brown is a character with depth as he takes lessons in karate and truly learns what the lives of his less than well-off parishioners are like. The heart of this film is Gunness's subtle comedic performance as a man challenging himself to catch a thief named Flambeau in the act of stealing his own church's cross that belonged to St. Augustine. Father Brown wants to save the soul of this man as well as the cross. The cat and mouse game between the two is fun fluff, and is vastly entertaining as that rather than a true mystery. Flambeau is played by a very young Peter Finch with class and style.The film boasts a fine array of British character actors with the likes of Bernard Lee(M from James Bond fame), Cecil Parker(King Roderick from The Court Jester and more), Joan Greenwood(Kind Hearts and Coronets), and my personal favourite, Ernest Thesiger from The Bride of Frankenstein. Thesiger has little screen time yet is very amusing in his role. A nice little mystery once again showcasing the comedic talent of one of our century's best actors...Sir Alec Guinness.

This is another of the often ignored 'small' Guinness films from the early and mid-50's that rarely get the attention they deserve. While it had a brief revival last fall at Britain's National Film Theatre, it doesn't seem to show up that often in Guinness retrospectives.

A number of elements in this gently comic film that are worthy of notice: Sir AlecÕs performance is deft, subtle and delightfully wry whether he is playing the sleuth or spouting philosophy to the villain Flambeau.

An added treat is a cast that includes Peter Finch, who won an Oscar for Network, Joan Greenwood, who was Lady Balleston in Tom Jones and Bernard Lee who portrayed M in the James Bond series. Guinness, Greenwood and Cecil Parker (The Bishop) also appeared together in the Ealing Studio comedy, The Man in the White Suit.

Another interesting aspect is that a large part of the film was shot on location in Paris and rural France, apparently a rarity for the British films of that era.

Finally a bit of trivia: After his portrayal of Father Brown, Guinness converted to Catholicism

A cross is stolen from Father Brown's (Alec Guinness) church by master of disguise criminal genius Flambeau (Peter Finch) so amateur detective Brown seeks him out to try and get it back and save Flambeau's soul at the same time.

Jolly little piece of whimsical fluff from the Ealing school with Guinness perhaps a little more indulgent in his characterisation than usual. This doesn't distract though and it all makes for a pleasant enough bit of afternoon matinee viewing including a few solid laughs. Finch impresses as the worldly wise but rather sadly misguided thief with English stalwarts Sid James, Joan Greenwood and Bernard Lee providing solid support.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton has never been ignored or forgotten since his death in 1936. Yet his contemporary, Rudyard Kipling, was as controversial as he was and is better remembered and read to this day. I am not sure if the reason is that Chesterton's twin attractions, his love of paradox (almost to a questionable mania) and his vigorous championing of Catholicism are the reasons for this. He is, in the latter aspect, a strong predecessor of Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, but both of those writers seem to have more of a readership today. But then they didn't adopt paradox.

In his novel "Manalive" there is a moment when the appeal of his paradox reaches a point that is both understandable and questionable. The hero explains that the phrase "All that glitters is not gold" is false - all that glitters is gold. He starts pontificating on how many rarer elements (platinum?) exist that don't glitter as much, so that it is the attraction of the glitter of gold that makes it matter. One reads this discussion hoping that Chesterton is pulling our leg (a hope I still have, but it is very faint). The point of the phrase is that there are more valuable things in the universe than wealth producing items like gold - things like kindness, generosity, love. If Mr. C. was fooling us, I congratulate him on the still hit-on-the-head blow of the paradox. But if he meant it I really pity him.

I leave it to his fans to explain it to me (if they wish). "The Detective" is one of the few movies based on Chesterton's huge output. It is based on the first story of his tales of the Roman Catholic priest and detective, Father Brown: "The Blue Cross". The story is a good one (the first of the first series of "Father Brown" tales), and introduces us to Flambeau, the master thief that Brown eventually saves. But for it to be done properly (not the way the movie quite does it) several of the stories have to be put together. The first three stories of the series deal with Brown, Flambeau, and the head of the Paris police. The last commits a murder in the second story, and commits suicide before Brown exposes him. So much for a guardian of the law. Flambeau is stopped by Brown reasoning with him that he is not a bad man but a man who is on the verge of becoming one if he lets an innocent man take the blame for a theft he committed. Flambeau does repent, and subsequently becomes a detective (and an assistant to Brown).

This is a film which could have been reduced in length. Parts of the movie are quite amusing (the scene of Ernst Theisinger and Guiness breaking each other's eyeglasses is cute). The acting is also good (especially Guiness and Peter Finch as Flambeau). But the moments that move the viewer (and approach Chesterton's Catholicism) are when Guiness gives parables to explain behavior and human weakness. Witness his tale of the bad woman who fails to get pulled out of hell.

I wish the film was not so dull in so many spots, but it is definitely worth a look.

I really enjoyed this film, "Father Brown" or "The Detective" from 1954 starring Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, and Cecil Parker.

Based on the G. K. Chesterton character, Guinness playss Father Brown as somewhat dotty, the owner of a St. Augustine cross which is traveling to a religious convention. However, there are fears that the great criminal Flambeau (Finch) will try to steal it.

Brown wraps up several packages to bring along so no one will know which is the cross. Alas, the cross is stolen by Flambeau, whom Brown spots although he is in disguise. He decides that he wants the cross back but that he also wants to save Flambeau's soul and encourage him to return everything he's stolen.

He enlists the help of lovely Joan Greenwood to put a beautiful chess set for auction, hoping to entice Flambeau to steal it. Things take a turn from there.

Very enjoyable, with a very sweet ending.