The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

Diana Rigg is back in top form as the larger than life (but firmly grounded on human misdemeanours) character of Mrs. Bradley. Neil Dudgeon and Peter Davison provide a solid counterweight to her flights of fancy and intuition, which is a bit ironic for Davison - who made part of his career out of playing Margery Allingham's super-sleuth(and upper class to boot) Campion. I have only had access to three episodes, but they are lengthy enough for characters to develop and for the interplay between them to become a given. I think the acting, art direction, sets and music will take anyone to heaven. This is way above (& beyond) any Agatha Christie screen adaptation - and Diana Rigg *is* Mrs. Bradley, much in the same way that Jeremy Brett *was* Sherlock Holmes. Bravo!

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!!

Produced in 1999 length 1 hr. 22 min. Based on the novel "Speedy Death" by Gladys Mitchell.

Mrs. Adela Bradley (Diana Rigg), an amateur sleuth has her Bunter, oops, I mean chauffeur George (Neil Dudgeon). The pair plays off on another as if they could read each other's minds.

It is the year 1929. We are privy to Mrs. Bradley going to her ex-husband's funeral as background. "Today, a funeral, tomorrow, an engagement party. Life goes on, n'est-pas?" says Mrs. Bradley as she has been invited to her Goddaughter Eleanor's (Emma Fielding) engagement party. There, as in all good mysteries, we are introduced to the main characters (soon to be suspects) as Eleanor's affianced is mysteriously dispatched that evening. Who could have done it and why? The investigating doctor must prepare for a real shocker and so do we.

People who are used to this type of British mystery will have pretty much guessed the answer by this time. However, it is fun to see how the characters slowly realize what happened. By the way, will anybody else be dispatched in the process?

"Speedy Death" is a part of a series of Mrs. Bradley on film.

"Speedy Death" takes one DVD There are two more DVDs each with two complete standalone stories for a total of five.

You may be spending time saying where have I seen that actor before as they are immensely popular in the British mystery series.

Death at the Opera The Rising of the Moon Laurels Are Poison The Worsted Viper.

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.)

..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.