The Nine Tailors

In the 1970's several of Dorothy L. Sayers's "Lord Peter Wimsey" mysteries were made into TV series, starring Ian Carmichael. This is probably the best of them.

There is, to a purist, one error; in the book, the identity of the corpse (an obligatory element of whodunnits) is carefully concealed by means of red herrings and misleading information, while in the TV series, the viewer is given so much information in the first episode that the identity is almost too easy to guess. Even with this lead, there is enough for the viewer to puzzle over and try to work out.

There is some very good acting, especially by Carmichael, who successfully portrays a twenty-something young officer and a fortyish sleuth in the same episode. The location shots give a good idea of the flatness and bleakness of the Fen country of Eastern England.

This series is well worth watching, for its content.

Of all the novels by Dorothy Sayers, this is the best for mystery and surprise. This Masterpiece Theater production does it full justice. Carmichael is almost tolerable as the insufferable Peter Wimsey and a competent cast supports well, but the real star is the plot and is thoroughly engrossing and entertaining.

This is undoubtedly the best of the LPW adaptations from the 1970s. The location shooting is beautiful, in particular the church interiors and, as other reviewers have noted, the countryside. There is a truly epic feel to this production, with many years elapsing during the course of its 4 episode duration. Acting is incredible as always.

What really strikes me though about this particular production is the way in which it uses its epic quality to construct an entire believable, romantic, nostalgic, world, where criminals and coppers have thick cockneys, our UC heroes speak perfect Beeb English, and even the first World War has a bit of a romantic glow about it! You half expect Wimsey's Sergeants to apologize for the bombing interrupting his pipe! It's as easy to get hypnotized by this world as it is with the beautiful bell-ringing.

Glyn Houston is the perfect Bunter, BYW. One of the joys of 70s BBC productions is looking out for great actors. Here we have Maude Grimes from Coronation Street and Gan from Blake's 7!

Some rate THE NINE TAILORS as Dorothy's best "Lord Peter" novel. It is certainly very good, but I like GAUDY NIGHT for that encomium. Well, no matter, this BBC film may be the best in Ian Carmichael's 5 film series. It has quite a bit going for it, including giving one a chance to hear what the cacophony of change ringing really sounds like. There's some nice camera glimpses of the "Fen Country" of eastern England, spotted with a generous selection of local characters excellently portrayed by BBC's cast. The introductory material is good of itself. In the novel, most of what we actually see here is related in conversations and interrogations. BBC shows the action taking place, with the result that Ian Carmichael plays young "Lord Peter" as a subaltern about to ship over the channel to take part in The Great War, and the adult 15 or so years later, solving a mystery that had its roots in the wedding party he attended in 1914! We also get to see "Sgt. Bunter" rescuing "Major Wimsey" after he was buried when an artillery shell scored a direct hit on his dugout. Later, we see "Bunter" applying for the job as his lordship's valet, and getting it. It's a very effective adaptation.

Dorothy's tale as it unfolds in THE NINE TAILORS is a complicated one, which it is almost impossible to discuss without giving away plot elements important to beating "Lord Peter" to solving the mystery. I will say nothing beyond that it reminds me of many of Ross MacDonald's "Archer" novels, all of which involved events of usually many years previous to the current mystery, and which were responsible in good part for those current events.

Oh, what was Dorothy's egregious error relating to change ringing? Well, the rules are strict that the ringers who start the peal must complete it without any help or relief. Otherwise,the "record" cannot be certified. Vicar "Venables" stood in for several ringers during their 9 hour peal.

The Nine Tailors is an engaging four part mystery. In my opinion it's the best of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, and perhaps the best of the dramatisations. It's an intriguing mystery, which spans two decades, Wimsey returns twenty years later to Fenchurch St Paul, where a set of valuable emeralds are stolen.

It's a gorgeous production, it looks fabulous, terrific scenes inside and out of the Church, and also the scenes of the water rising up. Carmichael as always is excellent as Wimsey, he's very well supported by the great cast, Glyn Houston marvellous as always as Bunter, I thought Donald Eccles was particularly good as The Vicar.

It's a wonderfully engaging mystery, there are stacks of red herrings, twists and turns, you think you know what's happening, but expect the unexpected. 9/10