Father Brown

G. K. Chesterton wrote after Conan Doyle invented Sherlock Holmes but (mostly) before Agatha Christie's reign. His detective Father Brown is an inoffensive little priest who knows a lot about crime, from years of hearing confessions. So he can see what others can't.

Here's an example (and since this story wasn't in the series it's not a spoiler). A headless man is found. His house is scattered with snuff; with clockwork like destroyed toys of the period; and with other bizarre things.

Father Brown (I won't give away how) figures out that the man left everything in the Will is scrupulously honest. He was left all the man's "gold." So he takes the man's collection of gold snuff boxes but not the snuff; he takes the man's gold watch-cases but not the watches; and as for beheading the man, since he was dead anyway it was easier to remove the man's gold teeth.

Chesterton's stories are less who-dun-its than puzzles to be solved. And they may have a theological point. Often this is said it's because Chesterton was such a strong Catholic, but his conversion to Catholicism came after he'd created Father Brown and had written most of his stories.

Whether Father Brown's stories could make a viable series like Brett's "Sherlock Holmes" or Suchet's "Poirot" or Hickson's "Miss Marple" is debatable. Some of Chesterton's Father Brown stories (which I love) are great while others are slight to plump out an hour apiece. And since Chesterton liked to serve everything up with a taste of humor he's often presented as a silly rather than a serous writer. Serious writers, it seems, shouldn't have a sense of humor. Baloney.

(Forget the Mark Williams reboot; all it has in common with Chesterton's stories is the main title).

This series has some poor production values and acting. Even the great Kenneth More appears miscast as Father Brown. A fine actor, More's performances have always been of characters who are sharp and smart, not low-key characters who appear silly on the outside, even if they are cleverer than everyone else on the inside. I've always appreciated Kenneth More's acting, but he's not that good at hiding his light under a bushel the Father Brown way.

When I first caught this in high school (fifteen years before I cared to read Chesterton, now one if my favorite authors) I was accustomed to British TV presentation with great actors performing in long takes on videotape on cheap-looking sets and with outdoors scenes on grainy film. Nowadays I'm more accustomed to slicker productions where the actors practically whisper. So the series looks old and creaky. Too bad. Chesterton deserves better.

Kenneth More plays father Brown in this series based on G. K. Chesterton's books. I cannot tell you how close this comes to the books themselves as I have not read them yet.

Each episode is a complete story in itself where we meet the characters, build up the mystery, try to second-guess father Brown, and wrap up in the end. The ending of his stories is not that neatly wrapped as he usually leaves it to the culprit to do the right thing.

Dennis Burgess plays Hercule Flambeau (Father Brown's friend); he is advertised throughout the DVD but does not show up for several episodes.

I have to admit that several times on my first viewing I had them stop and think about where I have seen the actor(s) before.

As with many series, there are guest actors. Some of the guest actors show once and others are peppered throughout the series.

The quality of each story varies widely so there will be some favorites and some duds depending on what you want to see. The production itself looks quite inexpensive and locations and production sets. The quality of the recording leaves something to be desired; I am not sure if it is the original recording or the media. In any case, you will be so wrapped up in the story that you will care about the production quality.

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

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.

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.