Customer Reviews

Inspector Morse: Service of the Dead [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Morse travels out of the city of Oxford into it's suburbs to try to track down the murderer of a church warden inside the church. During the course of his enquiries he becomes attached to the part-time cleaner, Ruth Rawlinson, not realising at the time of her key role in the mystery.

This is a curious perspective on Morse. At the church he seems smitten by Ruth at first glance and in a way the episode is about Morse persuing Ruth until he apparently succeeds only to be thwarted.

Service of all the Dead has all of the trappings of Colin Dexter's Oxford - the central role of ritual, social class, and the little details which make these shows so good - in this case the idea that there could be tramps in Oxford ( a recurring theme), the cycle riding middle classes, volunteerrism and carers. All good ingredients.

This particular drama is one of the most gruesome with six deaths all together. Also novel is the fact that the opening scene is found to be a set up. A lot of the death's seem to be red herrings too, to throw us off the scent.

There is a particulary sensitive scene which has some relevance to contemporary events in a different church where Morse perceives the vicar as a paedophile. Later on the child in question is found murdered although the exhumation of the body is not filmed.

Service of all the Dead is a gripping thriller replete with issues of blackmail, infidelity, revenge etc. Throughout it all Morse holds true to his feelings for Ruth and, despite the revelation that she loved someone else, he offers her a helping hand which, if discovered, could cost him his livelihood and his liberty.

As one of the characters puts it, an alpha.

Inspector Morse, as the forensic doctor exclaims, hits a record. There are six deaths in the film, all people who attended a religious service on what was allegedly St. Augustine's conversion date. Morse, for those who do not know, is the two pint of beer thinker who loves classical music and opera, who drives a beautiful red car, who is generally gruff, but very able to solve crimes in his city Oxford.

Two witnesses identify the first dead man - killed with an overdose of a drug and then stabbed - as the husband of a woman who early on in the film we see making out with the church organist. Morse suspects that the murderer is the priest of the church, who seems to be a pedophile. He finds out that unsubstantiated charges of being a pedophile were brought against the priest in the past. He tells the priest that he wants to talk to him. The priest has a brother who is a drunk. He has spent a lot of money. He seems to be blackmailed. The priest goes back into the church after being confronted by Morse to change his clothes, but jumps off the church roof, committing suicide. This would appear to be an admission of the murder, if the suicide was not followed by four more deaths.

Morse spends a lot of time thinking about the case and trying to date an attractive parishioner. She seems to be involved in the murder. We, but not Morse, see her lying in bed with an unidentified man.

The organist who was flirting with the wife of the first dead man is killed next, then his son, and the wife of the first dead man. The final death is the muderer.

This is a film that keeps its secret until the very end. Who committed the murders? Why? How will Morse deal with the woman he is trying to date? Is she involved? It is doubtful that anyone can guess the ending.

One of the more complex plots in the Morse mysteries, this episode is also one of the bloodiest, with six deaths, including that of a child. The church warden at St. Oswald's Church, the first to be murdered, was deeply in debt, though he had substantial cash with him at his death, and he is suspected of robbing the church collections. The priest may have a secret, kinky past, and the church organist has been having a torrid affair with the church warden's wife. Other complications involve the twin brother of the priest, a new love interest for Morse, a tramp who has been loitering in the church, a character with a secret love life, and the celebration of a Mass for St. Augustine which is not part of the church calendar.

Morse is attracted to Ruth Rawlinson, who takes care of the church and provides him with information, when she is not working or taking care of her mother. Two passionate kisses, rare in the series and initiated by Morse, suggest a romance in the offing. We see dramatically that Morse suffers terribly from acrophobia during his scenes in the church belltower. John Thaw (Morse) and Kevin Whately (his assistant Lewis) are as outstanding as ever in their roles, and one wishes that the plot had given them a better vehicle for their talents this time out.

Though the plot can be followed without much difficulty for most of the episode, the ending presents a jumble of new revelations in very short order and solves the mysteries in totally unexpected ways, leaving the viewer blinking in disbelief. The brilliant cinematography by Clive Tickner, who did seven of the Morse series, makes the whole episode worth watching, however, despite the fact that some of the most startling scenes involve close-ups of bloody bodies. Tickner uses color in ways that most cinematographers do not. He sets off a golden crucifix with soft green and red shadows, and shows colorful reflections in the priest's glasses during a scene that is otherwise mostly black and white, for example. Reflections in windows show indoor and outdoor scenes simultaneously, and shots from odd angles provide visual excitement.

Though this is not the best of the series, plot-wise, it does contain the usual fine acting by Thaw and Whately and an outstanding supporting cast, especially Angela Morant as Ruth. Combine all that with some of the best cinematography in the entire series, and this is an episode well worth watching. n Mary Whipple

John Thaw is one of my all-time favorite actors in investigative dramas. Thaw's Morse is compelling to watch - he loves listening to operatic music, enjoys his quality pint of ale, is addicted to crosswords, and easily smitten by a pretty face and intelligence, not to mention meticulous and astute in his deductive reasoning. All in all, Morse exemplifies the consummate detective, and most of the Morse episodes are of superior quality in terms of writing and acting.

This is the third episode in the Morse series, and is quite a convoluted plot. It is also rather interesting in that the body count is rather alarming - six dead, five murdered! A church warden is found murdered, the setting being a serene country church. As Morse and Lewis investigate, Morse finds himself drawn to one of the potential suspects, a rather enigmatic woman who also happens to help out with cleaning duties at the church. Morse tries his hardest to get close to her, but finds his attention being gently rebuffed, though there is clearly some chemistry between the two.

This episode is rather intense in that Morse's personal feelings are very much involved; he gets so close that his very life is threatened at one point; and, as a point of interest, viewers discover that Morse is afraid of heights!

Here is the episode listing for the series:

First Series (1987)

The Dead of Jericho

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn

Service of All the Dead

Second Series (1988)

The Wolvercote Tongue

Last Seen Wearing

The Settling of the Sun

Last Bus to Woodstock

Third Series (1989)

Ghost in the Machine

The Last Enemy

Deceived by Flight

The Secret of Bay 5B

Fourth Series (1990)

The Infernal Serpent

The Sins of the Fathers

Driven to Distraction

Masonic Mysteries

Fifth Series (1991)

Second Time Around

Fat Chance

Who Killed Harry Field?

Greeks Bearing Gifts

Promised Land

Sixth Series (1992)

Dead on Time

Happy Families

The Death of the Self

Absolute Conviction

Cherubim and Seraphim

Seventh Series (1993)

Deadly Slumber

The Day of the Devil

Twilight of the Gods

Specials 1995-2000

The Way through the Woods

The Daughters of Cain

Death is Now My Neighbour

The Wench Is Dead

The Remorseful Day

This entry opens at a high mass, offered at a country church, with thirteen in attendance - one of which is killed during the service. The Vicar informs Morse that this was not an ordinary mass, but rather a special saint's feast day, (Saint Augustine,) which accounts for the small attendance, as opposed to a normal daily mass. From Max's pathology report Morse discovers the victim was killed by several different means. And thus our story's setting is in place and the mystery ready for the solving. Five more bodies require Morse's attention as does the Vicar, church warden, organist, custodian, as well as the Vicar's brother. We learn that Morse does not belong in the bell tower as he suffers from acrophobia. Along the way we have a possible pedophile, blackmail, adultery, and revenge. Morse's attention to detail reveals a most important clue i.e. identifying two Saint Augustines and their not having feast days recently. There is much more including a romance between Morse and the custodian, as well as a surprising twist as we reach the end. The empathy of Morse also arrives at the end. Not much of Morse's idiosyncrasies but an excellent plot to carry the tale to five stars.

This is one of the least inspired and entertaining mysteries I've encountered in years. The plot is ridiculously complex (and silly), the camera work is irritating, the hero is a raunchy oaf, and the writer has badly confused Anglo-Catholicism with Catholicism in his portrayal of an English church. Even the quality of the picture is not that great. Stay away from this one.