Father Brown

If, like my wife and myself, you have run through the BBC's various Christie series, these are a good find. They are a bit dated, but I prefer a good story to a click production. More is an excellent Father Brown, soft-spoken, witty, but sharp and persistent.

These stories are from a bit earlier in the mystery genre than most adaptations, and this dates the series as much as the productions. Chesterfield's stories tend to be more "howdunit" than "whodunit", with the focus less on the characters than on the murder itself. This can be a problem, at times, but it can be very good, especially when combined with good characters.

First-rate adaptations in their time of G. K. Chesterton's clerical detective Father Brown. The series which aired in 1974 unfortunately has only 13 episodes in it. Having re-watched them all again(having seen them probably in the late 70s on Mystery I think), the stories, the detective, and the productions all hold up today with rather small problems. Yes, these episodes are somewhat stagy and plodding at times - much like the stories can be. Father Brown is no Sherlock Holmes when it comes to action nor does he have the hubris one associates with Hercule Poirot or a Lord Peter Whimsey. He is more like an accelerated Miss Marple in both action and demeanor. Kenneth More plays the priest to perfection I think. Father Brown was a very inconspicuous character in the stories, but that just won't do for television if you want any viewers. More gives Brown some warmth, charisma(as earlier stated by another reviewer), and roundness as a priest and as a human being. He makes this series work and is incredibly fun to watch. The episodes are very faithful in most cases to the source material with some changes, but each episode has solid direction, good character acting, a puzzle albeit at sometimes a complicatedly-woven one, and More at its center. Some of the stellar episodes are: The Eye of Apollo in which Father Brown matches wits with a religious huckster, The Three Tools of Death which is about death from a very intriguing manner, and The Arrow of Heaven - again a rather neat little mystery. Throughout the episodes you will see the likes of actors such as: Ferdy Mayne(The Fearless Vampire Killers - vampire), Benard Lee(M in James Bond films), Shelia Keith(Pete Walker films like House of Whipcord and Frightmare and one scary actress just in general), and Dennis Burgess plays Hercule Flambeau in several episodes. If you are the mood for a thought-provoking mystery, try a little priest.

I've been listening to the BBC radio adaptations of the Father Brown stories with Andrew Sachs in the lead role. I have to say I much prefer Sachs' version of Father Brown, but this series is perfectly good with Kenneth More in the role. Considering when the series was made, the production is reasonably good, and the acting, while occasionally stiff, is fine overall. Some changes are made from the stories, which I have no problem with. Of the episodes I've seen so far, none have been damaged by the changes. It is important that Father Brown is a Catholic priest, and not just another amateur detective, and in this sense some of the religious reference seem to have been taken out of the stories. This subtracts from the distinctive flavor of the stories, but it plays fine on television.

You won't get the production values or the acting found in the later Christie series, but these are well worth trying if you favor British detective/mystery series. I'm certainly happy I found them, and I'll be watching them one per night until I've through the lot.

Interesting adaptation of Chestertons popular creation. the series looks its age now but is more faithful to the original books than the current BBC version. I have had this series in my archive for a number of years now and was moved to re-watch it agin after the finale of the 7th series of the current Mark Williams led series last week. Kenneth More was a fine actor and played Father Brown much closer to the book version than either Alec Guinness or Mark Williams. Less humourous than the other adaptations but still very entertining especially for fans of period dramas.

Recommended

The 1974 version of G. K. Chesterson's Father Brown is chef's kiss aesthetically and intellectually. I have seen a few episodes of the 2000s remake, which is brightly lit and has a certain middle class sensibility compared to the mysterious darkness of this series, and that 21st century revamp is flat, bland and twee - like it was literally dumbed down for Americans. The 1970s original is magnificent BBC drama, replete with claustrophobic smoking parlours, be-wigged barristers in stuffy court rooms and delightful ornate antique light fixtures.

The Father Dowling Mysteries were an Americanized and modernized attempt at the original 1920s Chesterson books, and are for all intents and purposes absolute moronic trash in comparison (unless you were eight years old in 1989).

But this THIS is art and I am delighted that numerous episodes are available on streaming. Highly recommended to serious mystery fans.