Lord Peter Wimsey: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
April 30, 2008
“I’m investigating when a man died of natural causes,” states aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, “but it’s beginning to look more interesting everyday.” So it is in this impeccably mounted 1972 BBC miniseries, which would make Dorothy L. Sayers’s peerless literary creation proud.
Ian Carmichael stars in his signature role as the stylish, cultured, and erudite Wimsey, whose investigation into the death of General Fentiman is as irresistible as “poking sticks into a peaceful and mysterious-looking pond to see what was on the bottom.” Fentiman died in his favorite chair at the staid Bellona Club. Oddly enough, his sister died the same day. Wimsey agrees to try and determine when Fentiman died (”I shall enjoy it,” he exults). In a nutshell, as one character states (which is always helpful in increasingly complicated cases like this), dispersion of the inheritance will become “uncommonly awkward” depending on who died first.
The “whendunit” becomes a whodunit when it is revealed that the general was poisoned. The unflappable Wimsey has a colorful gallery of suspects to consider, including the increasingly unhinged George, one of the general’s grandsons (why is he smashing a bottle of digitalis?), and Ann Dorland, who stands to benefit most if the general died first (what’s the deal with the books on chemistry and poisons she has recently purchased?). Other memorable characters further enliven the proceedings, among them the Munns, George’s bickering (and at one point blackmailing) landlords.
As the very British title suggests, this is not a crime thriller to set the pulse racing (the discovery of Fentiman’s body is referred to as “something rather unpleasant”). But as the mystery unfolds over the course of 180 minutes (and 4 volumes), it is as captivating as a good late-night read. –Donald Liebenson
Customer Review: The Test of Time
Well, this isn’t something I’d watch multi-times if I had it at home. Like all BBC productions from 70s, it is cheaply made, though probably exact on the details, but stagebound, in that it’s all set in rooms, the set decor really nice, but somewhat claustrophic. Cheap/regular video rather than film. Makes it look sketchy on screen instead of precise. I don’t find the lead character to be that interesting. Though it is still a cozy mystery (takes place betw the two World Wars) it is excessively talky, the actors physically plain, sometimes irritating, and lacking in charm. Makes it more REAL that way, but less FUN. It’s nice to see something NEW, but at the same time, if given a choice between seeing again my least favorite Midsomer ep or any Miss Marple or Poirot or one of the lesser-known sleuths, or watching one of these Wimsey’s, I wouldn’t be grabbing for Lord Peter.
Customer Review: “Waiter take away Lord what’s-his name”
“He’s been dead for two days…”
We are introduced to the Bellona club were young Captain George Fentiman (John Quentin) and Lord Peter Wimsey (Ian Carmichael) two war survivors are talking a little too loud about General Fentiman (Ralph Truman), Georges grandfather. General Fentiman is not responding and for good reason he is dead. Upon further investigation we find that the general’s sister Lady Dormer has also died the very same day. Poor George will only inherit 2000 pounds. However who gets the lion’s share of the estate all hinges on who died first. Lord peter as a friend and a snoopy armature sleuth must ascertain the answer and if there is foul play the perpetrator. In any case this is a most unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.
I think sometime these programs are made for those that have already read the book because you can not put everything from the book into the series the highlights and major information is all there but some of the how they got to the information is missing in obvious gaps. Still the essence is captures quite well.
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