Customer Reviews

The Detective (aka "Father Brown") [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
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In some ways, this is a charming but minor British comedy, most memorable for yet another in a seemingly infinite collection of excellent
comedic performances by Alec Guinness and for the opportunity to see a couple of great character actors in unusual roles : Bernard Lee (M in
the Bond Movies), as a police inspector and Peter Finch (of Network fame) as the debonair thief, Flambeau. You can take it for just that and
enjoy the film thoroughly.

But, on another level, the movie offers a relatively rare instance of cinema taking religious ideas seriously. The more obvious concept that
plays out here is that of redemption. Father Brown (Guinness) is not just another in the long line of British amateur sleuths who solves crimes
as a hobby, he's also a priest, concerned with saving the malefactors' souls. For those of us raised on Dirty Harry movies, the very notion that
criminals have souls is disturbing enough. But there's an even grander idea at play here; for Father Brown believes--quite rightly--that his life
as a priest, rather than insulating him from the rough and tumble of the "real" world makes him uniquely qualified to understand it and to
comprehend the darkest parts of the human heart. He explains to Flambeau that he hears things in the confessional that reveal all our faults and
failings and :

The more you learn about other people, the more you understand yourself;
and the more you understand yourself, the more you understand other people.

In fact, part of Father Brown's technique is a kind of early form of profiling; time and again he places himself in the criminal's mind and works
out how he might be thinking. And this is fitting because it is the signal insight of Judeo-Christianity, specifically, and, thereby, of
conservatism generally, that lurking within even the best of us (like a Father Brown) is all of the capacity and desire for sin that defines the
worst of us. The film has great fun with this as Father Brown enacts or reenacts the very crimes he's supposed to be investigating, and as it
does we see the thin line that separates him, or any of us, from the heinous.

As always, Alec Guinness inhabits his role to almost supernatural perfection--he's every bit the pudgy, too clever, cleric, managing to be both
endearingly sweet and scampishly wise in the ways of the world. Watching him perform one of these trademark screen transformations, I'm
always reminded of the line from Leonard Maltin's review of The Ladykillers "even his teeth are funny!" Unfortunately the story meanders a
little bit--G. K. Chesterton's original Father Brown adventures are just short stories, perhaps for good reason--and certain actions of the good
Father are difficult to reconcile with his character (like fooling the police into arresting an innocent man). Still and all, it's a good deal of fun
and the moral issues it addresses give it an unexpected, but welcome, gravity.

GRADE : B

Alec Guinness gives a wonderful performance as the priest-turned-sleuth in 'The Detective', called 'Father Brown' in the UK. Guinness is fairly young in this film, and it is wonderful for any fan of his other work ('Kind Hearts and Coronets' and 'Captain's Paradise' come to mind as earlier examples, or later work when he had become more well-known here in America,) to see him as a younger man. He is also accompanied by a marvellous cast, with Joan Greenwood and Peter Finch. The plot line is not complex, it is a classic sleuth sort of film, with an art thief (played by Finch) whom Father Brown is determined to catch, not only to bring justice, but also to, in his priest's duty, save the man's soul. It is admittedly not full of high drama twists and turns, but it is a mystery in the classic sense, and Guinness makes it more than worth it. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves mysteries, old movies, Alec Guinness, or all of the above!

"What are you really after, your cross or my soul?" asks the international art thief, Flambeau, of Father Brown.
"Both, of course," Father Brown replies.
"Well, come and find us," Flambeau says. "I'll make you a bargain. Whatever you can find you shall have."
"I accept your bargain," Father Brown says, and we're off into a gentle, amusing and thoughtful movie which stars Alec Guinness as Father Brown and Peter Finch as Flambeau.

Father Brown is a parish priest in an English village. He takes care of his flock, saves the souls he can, and tries to put the erring members on more wholesome paths. He also is eccentric -- or at least very honest. He practices karate, loves mysteries, is very near-sighted, is no one's fool and has great but realistic empathy. "I'm disappointed in you, Bert." he tells one of his flock who is a petty thief. "I'm sorry, Father, it was just..." "Firstly," Father Brown interrupts, "because you did wrong. Secondly, because you did wrong in the wrong way. Frankly, you are an incompetent thief." "Well, I wouldn't go that far," Bert says. "I would," Father Brown says. "You are clearly incapable of earning a dishonest living. Why not experiment with an honest one?"

A master art thief has been stealing works of art throughout Europe and one day manages to steal a priceless cross from Father Brown's church. With the assistance of Lady Warren (Joan Greenwood) and over the exasperated objections of his bishop, Father Brown is determined to find the cross, locate Flambeau and in the process, if he can, save Flambeau's soul. The search takes Father Brown to Paris and the French country side, down into catacombs and into Flambeau's chateau. At last there is a confrontation, and then a resolution that involves Lady Warren as well as Flambeau.

There are some first-rate, clever set pieces in the movie. An amusing triple exchange of packages takes place at a Parisian table. An excursion deep into the catacombs is complicated by the French police following Father Brown who is trying to follow Flambeau. Ernest Thesiger makes a brief but very funny appearance as an aged fellow assisting Father Brown in locating a document very high up on a shelf. In the process they break both their glasses. There also are a number of thoughtful exchanges between Flambeau and Father Brown as the one explains his philosophy of life and thievery and the other explains his philosophy of faith.

The movie can get a bit talky at times, but who cares when the talking is by three such first-rate actors as Guinness, Finch and Greenwood. I like this movie a lot. It's available only on VHS and looks very good. It needs to come out on DVD. In the U.S. the VHS was released as The Detective; elsewhere it's known as Father Brown.

G. K. Chesterton's clerical sleuth Father Brown is one of the great creations of British detective fiction. The Father Brown stories are a delightful mixture of wit, intrigue, and
philosophical reflection. In 1954, Father Brown came to the silver screen in the person of the versatile Alec Guiness in Robert Hamer's classy adaptation. Although Chesterton's stories are set in the Edwardian era, the film updates the action (very stylishly, I think) to the 1950's. The screenplay, basically an expanded version of the story "The Blue Cross", has Father Brown chasing after stolen art treasures and trying to convert the thief, the flamboyant Flambeau. The movie does a nice job of distilling Father Brown's world; we even get to see him preaching a sermon at Mass and visiting his bishop, things which are only referred to in the stories. Though (I think) little of the dialogue comes directly from Chesterton, the writers have managed to come up with some very Chestertonian lines (some examples: "The first thing you noticed when you came in the room was what was not there", "It's all so nonsensical, it must make sense", and "The only visible door leads nowhere...perhaps there is an invisible door leading somewhere"). Alec Guiness is truly a marvel, miraculously transforming himself into this bespectacled, round-faced priest whose foolish countenace conceals a keen detective mind. (Guiness, incidentally, became a Catholic shortly after making this film.) The musical score is by Georges Auric, a noted French composer who also wrote the score for Coctueau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE. This is altogether a delightful British comedy-mystery.

I really wanted this film, being a huge fan of British films of the 1950s (Eiling Studios and such) and also of the Father Brown stories (both in book form and the Kenneth More TV miniseries). The Detective is not available on DVD - a big disappointment - but I did get a used VHS that was in really good condition.

The film itself stars Alec Guinness (as Father Brown) and Peter Finch (as Flambeau) and is a prequel to the stories. It shows how Brown and Flambeau met and eventually became unlikely sidekicks in solving murders and crimes (though I have to admit Flambeau never did much of the solving, and like Dr. Watson was mostly useless except as a sounding board). Joan Greenwood is another welcome member of the cast as is Cecil Parker. Locations, particularly the Paris Catacombs, were scenic and sometimes thrilling. The story is very much a typical Father Brown case.

Anyone want to sign a petition to have this released on DVD (though the VHS is NOT copy protected)?

Excellent product. Although an amalgam of GK Chesterton's works and not 100% faithful to the plot of any one story.

I ordered this because I have been reading G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown Stories. I received the video in good condition and very quickly. I recommend this seller.

I first watched THE DETECTIVE a few years ago after having thoroughly enjoyed G. K. Chesterton's stories about the English detective-priest Father Brown. At first I was put off by it because, although some of the characters were Chesterton's and the plot line was loosely based on one of the short stories, the movie wasn't close enough to the originals to suit me.

However, separated from the tales, I find that this film stands quite well on its own, and is true enough to give an accurate picture of the delightful, very comic and very serious character of Father Brown. Alec Guinness, of course, was one of the best actors of the last century, and he brings the Father to life. His authenticity validates this film, to my thinking. Flambeau, the sophisticated thief (played by Peter Finch) who underestimates his quirky adversary's worldly wisdom, is equally well drawn. The movie should also be honored for a quality you will rarely find in films today: respect for religion.

My only bone to pick is that THE DETECTIVE is not available on DVD! How long, O, how long will it be? I hope it'll be before my VHS player wears out!