Il genio criminale di Mr. Reeder

Series one of this programme was made before July 1969 and as ITV (in this case Thames Television) and BBC1 only transmitted in black and white it was produced in monochrome.

Series 2 was made in 1971. At this time ITV had a technician strike regarding working the new colour cameras. As such many programmes were recorded in Black and White until the dispute was resolved. Upstairs Downstairs was similarly affected. (London Weekend Television).

Mr JG Reeder is the diametric opposite of Sam Spade, Philip Marlow and Mike Hammer. He is a shabbily dressed, diffident civil servant who prefers a cup of tea and a slice of seed cake to a shot of something stronger.

Despite his outward appearance - of course - Reeder is a master detective with a razor sharp brain. In fact his mind gives him great cause for sorrow. He has, he claims, a criminal mind which allows him insight into motive and method denied to other men.

These stories were well-presented (sadly in black and white) and Hugh Burden had the part of a life-time as Reeder, well supported by Willoughby Goddard as his expansive (in more ways than one) chief, Jason Toovey.

Worth a video release for nostalgia buffs.

I think this late 1960s series captures the feeling of the 1920s depicted. Of course, it may misreprent history, but it creates a convincing account that is great entertainment.

All episodes of this series are now available on DVD from Network (www.networkdvd.net). (Region 2/PAL only.) Some are even in colour.

This seems to be definitely worth buying. However, I don't have a copy yet so I can't comment on the quality. This is the first time it has been released on any home video format so I hope it hasn't been rushed out from duff masters.

The role of Reeder's boss (Sir Jason Toovey, played by the wonderfully named Willoughby Goddard) is a bit of cliché these day because, as I recall, he was always raising objections to Reeder theories or methods Strangely, IMDb states that the series is in colour but Vaughan Birbeck's comment suggests B&W.

The Mind of Mr.J.G.Reeder was a unique British series. Based on the Edgar Wallace novels it features Hugh Burden as the mild, meek and seemingly bumbling investigator. Of course in reality he is highly efficient, he always gets his man! Burden is quite brilliant and the series has an evocative atmosphere that lingers in the mind. Willoughby Goddard is also superb as his arrogant, doubting boss, he is quite happy to take the credit for Reeder's successfully solved cases. One of the running gags is that there is a different secretary in every episode. Presumably the boss is too much for them. There were only 16 episodes, two are in colour. At the time colour TV was in it's infancy on British TV. We can assume that either only 2 episodes were filmed in colour or that the colour prints for the rest of the series no longer exist and only survive in black and white. However we are presented with a thoroughly enjoyable series that really does capture the flavour of Wallace's books. Reeder investigates all aspects of crime ranging from murder, through blackmail to burglary.Sit back, relax and enjoy.