The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

I dismissed this series as shallow when it first came out. Maybe I was dazzled by the settings and costumes and didn't stick with it (though I love mysteries). I've just seen several repeats and I'm hooked. Mrs Bradley and George Moody are real, 3-D characters.

Much is suggested but not said. Rigg and Dudgeon are wonderful actors (also Phyllida Law in one episode) and Rigg has all the style of her Avengers days. Only Peter Davidson's character seems a little colourless. The plots are preposterous (the worsted viper????), but who cares? Why are Gladys Mitchell's books out of print? (By the way, folks, it's set in the 20s, not the 30s. The helmet-like cloche hats and waistless short dresses should be a clue.)

There are five episodes in this series, but sadly only the first one is available right now at Britbox and Amazon, with a Britbox subscription. (Something about expired rights.) That's too bad, because I'm picky about the British mysteries I watch, and here was one of the few Britbox ones that I actually found highly watchable.

Mrs. Bradley is a divorcee with a loyal chauffeur who helps her solve murders. She is unorthodox to say the least, not the least bit sentimental, and embarrasses her grown son to no end. She threw cigars on his father's coffin at the cemetary. (Her ex-husband loved cigars.)

In this first story, Mrs. Bradley is staying the weekend at the home of family friends who are celebrating the engagement of her goddaughter. Only her fiance drowns in the bathtub, and something very strange is revealed about him after the drowning.

Was it an accident or murder? Of course, we know it was murder and so does Mrs. Bradley. Now she just has to prove it, as well as figure out why other odd things are going on in the home. I figured out who the murderer was before the end, without even trying to do so. I never try to do so, because I just watch mysteries for a hopefully intelligent and enjoyable ride. I like the cozy type and this series fits the bill.

If you like your mysteries with style, grace, a touch of humor, and a dash of ragtime, then you're going to like "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries". This superb 1998 BBC production starring Diana Rigg ("The Avengers" & "Game Of Thrones") and Neil Dudgeon ("Midsomer Murders") is based on characters created by Gladys Mitchell and marvelously captures 1920's English society, complete with cigarette holders, flapper skirts, bobbed hair, and those marvelous vintage cars, including Mrs. Bradley's own Rolls Royce. The settings are elegantly English, the crimes are clever, and the suspects decidedly decadent. Particularly playful are Mrs. Bradley's observations on the moralities of the the day which she delivers directly to the audience. My wife and I have watched this series many times, discovering something new and entertaining with each viewing. If you like vintage mysteries, you will thoroughly enjoy "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries".

I don't know what it is about the British, but they seem to have the most entertaining mysteries on television. This one is sort of like the American series, "Murder, She Wrote". Clever female author with a male sidekick but this program takes place in the 1930's. Great acting from Dame Diana Rigg and Neil Dudgeon. This program has everything--drama, a bit of humor and mystery, all in one!!

Great costumes and make-up also. I love this show!!

..but sadly, i found the writing not nearly up to snuff of most BBC mysteries. Combined with directing at a snail's pace, I longed for Miss Fisher mysteries set in the same era where the pace didn't put me to sleep. The acting is good as you would expect from these veterans, but they just don't have much to work with in terms of script.