Customer Reviews

The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries: Set 2

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dorothy Sayers created a rather unusual sleuth in Lord Peter Wimsey -- think Bertie Wooster, except with a formidable crime-solving brain and a haunted past. And "The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries: Set 2" brings together a second round of the solid BBC adaptations of her works, which are hampered mainly by the fact that the cast is a bit old for their roles.

"Murder Must Advertise" when an employee at an advertising agency falls down a spiral staircase and breaks his neck. Using the name "Death Bredon," Lord Peter goes undercover at the agency, and quickly discovers that he has a natural talent for it. He also discovers that the agency is involved somehow in a seedy drug smuggling ring, and has links to an upper-class party crowd. Oh yeah, and there are more murders.

Then in "Five Red Herrings," a fishing/painting vacation to an arty little village in Scotland goes horribly awry. Bunter and Wimsey stumble across the body of Sandy Campbell -- a violent, malicious, verbally-abusive painter who has alienated almost everybody in Galloway -- face-down in the pond. At first it appears to be an accident, but Wimsey soon realizes that it was murder. Now he has to figure out who actually murdered the man everyone wanted to throttle.

And finally, in "The Nine Tailors" Wimsey helps out the bellringers at a remote village by helping them ring in the New Year... and of course, a corpse is found the next day. As Wimsey investigates the identity of the mystery man, he discovers that it's connected to stolen emeralds from several years ago -- AND the biggest mystery is not just who killed the man, but HOW.

The BBC did an excellent job preserving the spirit of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novels, steeped in the atmosphere of post-World War I England -- gentlemen's clubs, tweed jackets, wood-paneled manorhouses and flapper dresses. There's incisive wit in the dialogue, clever humor ("Every time I get my pay packet, I glow with honest pride!"), and an array of characters including fusty old gentry, office drones, feisty artists to drug-addled flappers.

Even better, these are genuine whodunnits. All three mysteries are tangles of lies, deceptions, infidelities, errors and the occasional bizarre twist such as a Nosferatu-esque man scaring a maidservant into a few grey hairs. In "Nine Tailors" and "Five Red Herrings" there are plenty of motives and suspects, and "Murder Must Advertise" has only a few of both. But as the plot unfolds Peter wrangles out a sensible solution that explains everything (and usually without too many disasters along the way).

Perhaps the biggest problem of the story is that Ian Carmichael Carmichael is old enough to be his own character's dad.But despite being in his mid-fifties, Ian Carmichael plays Wimsey with a light, incisive touch and a clever tongue, and he's a good detective who can be steely when the occasion demands it. Glyn Houston is a warmly jolly Bunter, and he's sorely missed in "Murder Must Advertise."

"The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries: Set 2" brings together a solid trio of murder mysteries -- lots of jolly good writing, befuddling murders, and the occasional "vampire rising from the grave."

It's interesting to me to see the points of view of the various reviewers here. Though there are only three of them (prior to this review), all are extremely experienced reviewers. However, it's easy to tell that all three are Americans. Being brought up in Britain, my view is a little different.

Dorothy L. Sayers is one of the best mystery writers Britain has produced. She's also, along with Reginald Hill and P.D. James, one of the most literate. Her detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, is an aristocrat, but not the typical member of the aristocracy. He's sensitive, vulnerable, at times tortured and somewhat rebellious. As the series of stories develops, from Whose Body?, written in 1923, to Busman's Honeymoon in the mid-1930s, his character becomes more and more developed. Many believe that Dorothy L. Sayers fell in love with him and it's true that Harriet Vane, who eventually becomes Wimsey's wife, bore more than a passing resemblance to Sayers herself.

Carmichael's Wimsey, unfortunately, misses almost all of the more human elements of Wimsey. He's basically a bit of a silly ass- Bertie Wooster playing detective. It's a million miles away from Sayers' conception of the character. In fact, the series portrays what I believe many Americans see as a typical member of the English upper-class, hence the reason the other reviewers find him convincing. To someone from Britain, he's a caricature.

Now I'm not usually a fan of comparing anything done for the big or small screen to the book from which it is drawn, as my other reviews make clear. However, in this case there is another TV series with which to compare this. In the 1980s Wimsey was revisited in a series starring Edward Petherbridge. The three stories told there (Strong Poison, Have His Carcase and Gaudy Night) show Wimsey as he really should be. In comparison to that, this series is very one-dimensional. This series is not bad, just nowhere near as good. It's worth three stars- but I encourage anyone who wants to see the real Wimsey to watch the other series.

Bonnie fine PI mystery, init? Bonnie but not wee, as EACH story is over 3 hours, each divided into 4 parts. Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey plays a perfect gentleman of the 1920s/30s with all the pomp and finesse that an aristocrat can emit. Glyn Houston plays Bunter, the gentleman's gentleman, Watson-like in investigations, a fine chef, and as spiffy stuffy as any English butler can be. The series has a parade of fine period vehicles; cars, bus, even a period ambulance.

You will enjoy the dialects, both English and Scot, with the subtitling available but unnecessary for the accent. Scenery is wonderful, costumes perfection. A period delight in all ways. Some book adaptations can fail the author's classic skill. Not so here, the BBC adapted Dorothy L. Sayers Wimsey novels very well, thank you.

MURDER MUST ADVERTISE--1973 airing -book published 1933
Advertising copywriter, Dean, was associating with a wealthy group who used drugs. Was his death fall down a spiral stairs truly accidental? Sister Pamela (Gwen Taylor-"A Bit of a Do", "Heartbeat","Barbara") says he's not a drug user. Did he know something? How is Msajor Milligan (Peter Bowles-"To the Manor Born","Lytton's Diary","Rumpole of the Bailey") connected? One annoying over-played blonde actress in this story, but bang-on good, regardless. As true to the series, a surprise, very uncommon ending, but satisfying after 3 hours.

FIVE RED HERRINGS--1975 airing -book published 1931
Wimsey is told of Bunter's art hobby while riding a train to Gallway area, Scotland, for a holiday in the fishing area frequented by artists. Later Mr. Campbell is ejected from a golf club and has a drunken fight in a local pub. While painting beside a stream which Wimsey is fishing, he notices an abandoned easel, and upon investigation a body is discovered. So much for vacation. There are enough artist murder suspects to fill the Glasgow Gallery. 1 killer and `five red herrings' (distractions). The investigation surrounding the town of Kirkcudbright takes place in 1931, according to the date on a police suspect's statement. This was in earlier policing times because PI Wimsey, in self-appointing himself to find the killer, totally contaminates the crime scene evidence by handling every item prior to a police search. Oh well, TV could get away with mistakes like that 35 years ago. Regardless, this is a fantastically dramatized Sayers book. Wonderful landscape film artistry; and that's no red herring. Over 3 hours of mystery realism.

THE NINE TAILORS--1974 airing -book published 1934
According to bonus material, this was the most anticipated/desired Sayers story to be adapted. The title refers to church bells being rung 9 times for the old year, or for a man's death. 6 times for a woman's death. About 1914 in Fenchurch St. Paul, a Norfolk village, emeralds were stolen from a wedding guest. Maj. Wimsey goes off to WWI, his bunker is hit, then is pulled to safety by Sgt. Bunter in 1918 and sent home. Later, about 1924, Wimsey and now butler Bunter have a car accident on a snowy road outside Fenchurch St. Paul. Wimsey volunteers to fill in as a bell ringer for the New Year Peal. Again, after considerable time, about 1930s, a hand-less body found caused Wimsey to again search for the emeralds. A finely woven mystery over a couple of decades. "By Jove; and bless your black button gaiters; jolly good," as Wimsey would say. Again, over 3 hours long, the length of 2 feature-length movies in each story.

Bonus: Three different Sep. 2000 interviews with Carmichael, text bios for Dorothy L. Sayers & Carmichael, Sayers bibliography, text production notes, subtitles. Not rated but family friendly.

I'd never heard of this series before. I was pleasantly pleased. It held my interest, has humor and is non violent.

I first came to Lord Peter Wimsey on TV through the 1988 Edward Petherbridge versions. And like some viewers, when I saw Ian Carmichael's version, I did not at first like it, finding him (a) too old and (b) too flippant as the sleuth. But Carmichael has grown on me over the years, and I now enjoy him thoroughly as Lord Peter Wimsey.

Yes, at the time of filming, Carmichael was about 10 years too old for the part (which is why this review gives 4 stars instead of 5). One either gets past that or one doesn't. I have, and there are many virtues to appreciate in his portrayal. I find Petherbridge's and Carmichael's respective Lord Peters to be complimentary: Petherbridge has the gravitas but lacks the light-hearted craziness; the reverse is true with Carmichael. I would not want to be without either.

The adaptations themselves are excellent, with superb scripts that stay faithful to the books, and uniformly wonderful supporting casts (well, except maybe for Derek Newark's stale, flat Bunter, fortunately seen only in "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"). Isabel Jeans' Dowager Duchess (in "Clouds of Witness") is a special treat. ("Well, he won't do muhduh heah - I won't have it!"). David Langdon's Duke of Denver (also in "C.O.W.") is excellent, too, although I keep seeing Richard Bellamy of "Upstairs, Downstairs" and so lose a bit of the not-too-bright country squire character that Sayers wrote. Donald Eccles is perfect as the kindly, absent-minded Rev. Venables in "The Nine Tailors." And there is luxury casting with Sheila Keith as a frosty, formidable housekeeper in "Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club."

The DVD transfers are excellent, better than the previous DVD iteration.

Highly recommended, and essential to fans of Dorothy L. Sayers' mysteries - notwithstanding Ian Carmichael's wrinkles.

Dorothy L. Sayers writes many non-fiction books however among her best fiction is the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I came to this series somewhat though the back door. My first taste was the BBC productions with Petherbridge as Lord Peter, which can now be found on DVD and as a set of Lord Peter stories. Therefore, I read all of Dorothy's books containing the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Now it is time to go through the whole series.

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"Murderer Must Advertise"

Victor Dean spirals to his death

Victor Dean (Robert Hamilton) writes, "There is something going on in the organization that is very undesirable and might lead to serious consequences,"

Shortly after that, Victor Dean spirals to his death. An accident?

It may be coincidence but to be on the safe side Mr. Pym (Peter Pratt) of Pym's Advertising Agency heirs a privet detective "Death Breen" to secretly find the answer. Mr. Breen poses as a beginning copywriter and gets to know the staff. We notice that Mr. Breen is too well dressed for the part and looking closer, we recognize him as...


Lord Peter (Ian Carmichael) used the address of the empty apartment owned by his brother-in-law Chief Inspector Parker (Mark Eden) and sister Lady Mary (Rachel Herbert)

While Lord Peter is doing his investigation of the mysterious doings at Pym's, Chief Inspector Parker is investigation dope smuggling. Their paths cross frequently.

Is there a link?
And was Victor Dean just a victim of an accident?
Watch and find out.

You may notice that Ian Carmichael is really showing his age in this film and is just a tad old for the part.

They took the time to put just about everything relevant from the book in to this production. There were a few exceptions but not worth bothering about. The production is complete enough that you do not have to read the book.

This item is worth purchasing, as you will want to replay it often.
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"Five Red Herrings"

Well done Lord Peter Wimsey

Now I watched the one I missed on PBS. The first thing I notices was that Ian Carmichael talks much faster than Petherbridge. In addition, all the people seem older. Of course, Peter was supposed to be older when he met Harriet.

Campbell a local artist is being obnoxious and makes everybody's life miserable. Let us face it Campbell needs killing. You guessed it; he seems to have had an accident while painting. Lord Peter deduces that another painter could only stage the so-called accident. Yep there are six suspects and more if it is not a painter. Therefore, that leaves "Five Red Herrings"

As with all Sayers' stories nothing is simple there are overlapping plots and foolish deeds, as if Peter cannot figure them out. On the side, we learn a little about Scottish society and see the landscape.

They took the time to put just about everything relevant from the book in to this production. There were a few exceptions but not worth bothering about. The production is complete enough that you do not have to read the book. Yet you will want to for the differences and more dialogs.

I am glad they finally made a DVD version. However, the one I watched was the tape. This item is worth purchasing, as you will want to replay it often.

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"The Nine Tailors"

He sent forth a raven

A young Lord Peter (Ian Carmichael) in formal uniform on his way to the war. He is standing in for his brother The Duke of Denver at a wedding. Mischief is afoot and an emerald necklace was pinched. Where it was stored for safekeeping I cannot say. It looks like the perpetrator was winged by a well-placed shot. We get the inside story and know the truth.

All in the first chapter, we see the crime and the fate of the perpetrators. We also get a first hand view of the meeting and growing relationship and Wimsey and Bunter (Glyn Houston.) As fate would have it, Lord Peter finds himself once again in Fenchurch St. Pauli. This time as providence would have it just in time to replace a sick bell ringer on New Year's Eve.

Three months later a body is found in and Lord Peter is invited to the inquest.


Anthony Steven bases this film on a Dorothy L. Sayers novel of the same name with the screen adaptation.

At first, you are not sure that this is the same peter Wimsey when you see the blond hair and mustache. However if you look close they made little attempt to cover the wrinkled face.

If you have, an opportunity to view this film before reading the book you will not be distracted by the deviations and omissions form the written story.

product arrived in fine condition. it is wonderful to return to witty, intelligent dialogue and finely dressed characters. a wonderful visit to slower paced times.

PBS' long running Mystery program of BBC imports introduced the US to many high quality period mysteries. These Lord Peter Wimsey stories are among the best of those programs. The combination of Dorothy Sayer's wonderful puzzles, the BBC's faithful and detailed production of the period and most of all, Ian Carmichael's portrayal of Wimsey meld perfectly for a first rate viewing experience. A word of caution, these are intelligent, clever stories. You MUST listen and watch carefully as EVERYTHING you see is an important clue. My favorite is the Nine Tailors. Enjoy!

Well worth a look at, nice change of pace from the modern story line.Britsh period piece that remains entertaining, well produced and acted.

More British humor. Urbane, witty, and a pretty good detective. Best viewed from the beginning of the series. Very enjoyable with a minimum of violence and a maximum of thinking.