Détective du bon Dieu

The police find a man dressed as a priest with his hands in a safe. They arrest him but he turns out to be Father Brown (Alec Guinness) who was returning the money stolen by a parishioner. The church is sending the Holy Cross of Saint Augustine to the Eucharistic Congress in Rome. The police tell them that elusive thief Flambeau is after the priceless artifact like the many treasures he has stolen in the last 10 years. Nobody knows what the master of disguise actually looks like. Father Brown determines that the police would be easy targets for Flambeau and transports the Cross himself. Eventually he is alone with Flambeau as intended and he tries to reform him. Flambeau refuses and escapes with the Cross. Despite the disappointment, he tries to entice Flambeau again with the help of Lady Warren.

Alec Guinness is great as Father Brown. It's a great character and Guinness is magnificent playing him. It's a fun mystery for awhile until Flambeau is revealed. Then it repeats again and again for Father Brown. It's fun to watch him in a caper to catch Flambeau. It's less fun to watch him try to convert Flambeau. Guinness always tries to keep his character light and fun.

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.

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.

This enjoyable feature does a good job of filming a creative, interesting story using G.K. Chesterton's "Father Brown" character. Alec Guinness is a very good realization of Father Brown, and Peter Finch provides him with a worthy foil. The story uses a good variety of interesting settings, with numerous interesting turns in the plot, and some good moments from the supporting cast.

What makes it more intriguing than the average crime/mystery movie is that from the start Father Brown is more interested in reforming the criminal than in punishing him. It leads to a story that has some of the same elements as a conventional crime film, but it also adds a creative dimension that makes it so much more interesting than the dreary, excessive spectacles of the present time that drown out any substance with undue amounts of violence and crudity.

The story could, of course, have easily become implausible and/or annoyingly moralistic, but thanks to Guinness's usual fine performance, and good direction from Robert Hamer, that is not at all the case. While there's nothing flashy here, it's an interesting and enjoyable little feature, and a nice change of pace.

I'm old enough to have seen this film on its release in the cinemas, and, whilst it's not easy to think of a film these days being a success unless millions have been spent on it, this film hung on two superlative performances from Alec Guinness and Peter Finch and the screenplay was worth two of anything you'd hear today. So why, I ask, has it not been released on DVD for a new generation to enjoy? Is it thought too dated? Not exciting enough? Too cerebral? Not a bit of it. It's a thoroughly enjoyable film with moments of high tension and a supporting cast rich in character (including Bernard Lee who was the first M in the Bond films)