I appreciate the portayal of the effects on those who survived the Great War which is so often overlooked. Great acting and attention to period detail.
I may repair radiators and install mufflers now, but I have just petitioned my request to heaven that when I come back, I come back as a proper English gentleman.
Aspiration is not limited to means, if you are courteous and honorable you are a gentleman. After all a gentleman is nothing more then a man who puts others at their ease. I am sure you are what you aspire to be.
I enjoy the books and the radio adaptations very much but these are a treat. It’s great to see how similar or different the people cast are from how you imagined the characters. Thank you for posting these gems!
George only gets 90 minutes for lunch. Mussels and something simple - Share a chateaubriand? and a green salad. Chablis 1921 with the mussels. Chateau Margaux with the steak.
@@texasred2702 Feminism (a.k.a. women's "liberation") has destroyed society ... instead of improving it ... but nowadays you arent allowed to say anything against that ideology or you immediately get outcast ... without any actual proof of being evil. Typical authoritarian behaviour of dictators.
You can blame feminism for the decay of courtesy ... because the animosity towards men / EVERYONE ELSE was the first thing "self-reliant women who wanted to prove themselves" developed.
I am a big fan of Lord Peter, I have these and the Edward Petherbridge performances on DVD and both do a great job. My only quibble with the Ian Carmichael portrayal is that he was almost 20 years older than he should be, but other than that these are timeless.
Very true. Petherbridge looked like I imagined Wimsey while reading the books - a slender blonde man with a slightly comical face and a diffident manner. Carmichael is charming in his own way but not much like Sayer's character.
Petherbridge was too old as well. I remember an interview with Petherbridge when the series first aired where he was talking about the difficulty the make-up team had dyeing his grey hair an appropriate Wimsey blond.
Sayers' description of PDBW's appearance in one of the earlier stories was "fair, forty, and foolish," and since by the final story he had acquired a wife and child, she evidently didn't want to treat him as immune from the passage of time. Carmichael is undoubtedly a bit old for the early version of the character, but I don't think it's unforgivable. Note that the ancient members of the Bellona Club accept him as one of their own, so portraying him as a brash young upstart would not have done at all...
“Bought his own furniture” is the classic upper class insult. It implies you did not inherit “old money” but had to make your own, usually by, shock horror, “trade”! *shivers*
Splendid performance by all. I did think that the railway station/mistaken identity was super funny as similar happened to me. Roll on Part 3 with all the answers. Thanks once more for this cracking download.
Actually ... the whole poison started with the French Revolution, because that is when all the current "group X has been treated badly by group Y" concept was started ... expanded upon by Karl Marx ... and also the suffrage / women's "liberation" movement.
It’s not hard to wonder why George’s wife has headaches. George is giving me a headache with all his little fits. This is a great series. It’s been years since I saw it. Thank you for the download.
@@ccammor8474 George Carlin has a segment about "Soft Language" ... and talks about how SHELL SHOCK (WWI) became BATTLE FATIGUE (WWII), OPERATIONAL DISORDER (or something like that, Korea), POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (Vietnam) ... [and now it is PTSD, which is claimed by "everyone", because it has become fashionable to have it ... and because it is a great excuse for bad behaviour]. Seeing him react that way is a great reminder of the REAL TRAUMA which soldiers who have seen combat suffer ... and which civilians cant really imagine.
I see the cast included Carelton Hobbs, as Mr Oliver, who used to play Sherlock Holmes on the radio and Norman Shelley, who played Watson, was the pathologist.
Bunter is miscast but Ian Carmichael will always be in my opinion the most believable and best Lord Wimsey. The other actor (Edward Pethorage) seemed always to be posing for a photograph.
To my mind, the ideal actor to play Lord Peter Wimsey (NOT 'Lord Wimsey'!) would have been the young Martin Jarvis, who played Jo Forsyte's younger son Jon in the Forsyte Saga (1967). At least, as far as looks are concerned, he does fit in with my idea of what Peter should look like (or rather, he did back in 1967!)
@hoodiewoman louisiana Well no, I wouldn't say Peter was affected. Frivolous, yes (in a positive sense, of course). And highly intelligent and sincere. If he were affected I am sure he would never have been able to win Harriet Vane's love.
7:40 "Lawyers fees ..." There was a case of a significant inheritance which was "eaten up" completely by lawyer's fees over many decades of the parties arguing about it.
“You know I only get 90 minutes fir lunch.” Listen up fellow Americans: most of you get 30-60 min for lunch and it’s 100 years later. Stop thinking our shite don’t stink.
I dont remember that line in the book and I would doubt if 90 mins for lunch was considered a poor deal. Most people nowadays only get 30 to 60 mins for lunch..
@@glen7318 British and American working styles do not, or did not before the Americanisation of everything, have a lot in common. Quite a few places (offices) in London when I was there did not open until 10:00 -- 9:00 or earlier is more common in the US. Lunches are longer, and so is annual leave.
@@VLind-uk6mb yes, especially about the leave ... I have been with the same firm here in England for 10 years & get 7 weeks / 35 days of leave plus the 8 bank holidays ...
@@anneroy4560 Mind you, given the state of the British economy, the disaster of rail service, etc. one has to wonder if that is entirely a good model. I remember reading in a book when I was a student, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, "If the British would get up at eight in the morning they too could produce Toyotas." I speak as an ex-pat Brit, very pro-Britain, but I was eternally frustrated by the sheer inability to get things done there.
Almost never ... for the simple reason: *_using the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law_* is a core part of their mindset and thus they are NOT "pursuing justice".
What is shocking now is the amount of alcohol that people drank- and strong stuff too! Tradition, from a time when water wasn't safe to drink. I would love to know what railway station was used
Not too much wine for the French, though. They drank all day as did the Italians. Small bottles of wine with food was the continental custom adopted in England by those who did not work in the afternoon. Others had tea!
Did he order 3 bottles of wine for lunch? Even if it’s 2 people that’s a bit excessive I would imagine. Or is it my modern sensibilities that makes it seem odd?
Watching Ian Carmichael just not playing the piano, I wonder if Hugh Laurie might have made a good Wimsey? After all, he and Carmichael both played Bertie Wooster. Although I must agree that Petherbridge is the ideal Wimsey (playing younger), Hugh Laurie would have been an intriguing choice, with a lot going for him. Ah well, he's lost to that awful House, what a waste.
I gave up watching House after one episode. It's a pity the plot was so bad, because the character really brought out the quality of Hugh Laurie's acting. Although a great fan of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie weren't quite right for them. IMHO.
Thanks for these uploads. But I am having issues with the casting. The actor playing Lord Peter in no way resembles Miss Sayers invention,and I find it impossible to get become involved , but I’m finding if I watch and concentratedly ignore nudges from my memory, it is much better. I try to think of the character as being a new detective, nothing to do with the stammering, monocle wearing, “whimsical” creation. This guy is by contrast rather podgy and energetic, and the actors playing Major Robert Fentiman and the Coroner would have been better choices. There could have been a straight swap between the castings of Lord Peter and Major Robert, @25:00 That’s George from George n Mildred,! -there’s no difference in his looks at all- it seems he had a most unfortunate type casting.
If I remember correctly, Wimsey could be very energetic at times. I think that a thirty-something David Niven with much lighter colored hair would be the quintessential Wimsey. Both for looks and mannerisms. But Ian Carmichael is excellent as far as bearing and speech. I just think he was a bit too old to portray a young Wimsey and maybe lacked a bit of Wimsey's energy. But he was still very good.
@@doylegaines1319 Wimsey is indeed very energetic, He rides, plays cricket and shoots, he's an energetic sort. and Ian C is nice looking, if not strictly good looking.. which is what Wimsey's meant to be....
Hodson is stiff, humorless, waxen, sour and a person who could not be invited to any party or social event unless the host intentionally wanted the party to be subdued. Carmichael embodies the humor, the accurate 1920's slang that was all the rage, "Thanky" and a complete reflection of what speech was before other forms of entertainment replaced the art of prose in conversation.
I appreciate the portayal of the effects on those who survived the Great War which is so often overlooked. Great acting and attention to period detail.
If you pay attention Lord Peter does do a bit of drinking compared to what we might call social drinking today.
I may repair radiators and install mufflers now, but I have just petitioned my request to heaven that when I come back, I come back as a proper English gentleman.
My sentiments also. I am pleased to know there are others who aim to reach high, rather than gutter-low as many, many do
Nothing stopping you from behaving like one.
Aspiration is not limited to means, if you are courteous and honorable you are a gentleman. After all a gentleman is nothing more then a man who puts others at their ease. I am sure you are what you aspire to be.
@@pe003 well said!
Good Show
Ian Carmichael is my favorite Lord Peter. He nails it for me!
I agree !
I enjoy the books and the radio adaptations very much but these are a treat. It’s great to see how similar or different the people cast are from how you imagined the characters. Thank you for posting these gems!
So glad I eventually found my way here. How did I miss this for all these years. Thank you for posting.
"I only get 90 minutes for lunch you know. Barbarous arrangement."
I'd say that was very generous back then...
Hee hee those were the days..
@@jennygrim2057 I would imagien that typists etc only got 30 mins. George was lucky
@@glen7318 Upper class people would have been allowed at least two hours for lunch.
Upper class people didn't usually have jobs, and G was lucky to get a job selling cars. @@VLind-uk6mb
ON the Other Hand, I DO love Attorney Murbles! What a period piece he is!
George only gets 90 minutes for lunch. Mussels and something simple - Share a chateaubriand? and a green salad. Chablis 1921 with the mussels. Chateau Margaux with the steak.
No he lunches at the ABC or Lyons . Lord Peter ordered the lunch at his own favourite restaurant. ( The sound is not good)
At 3:05: "He is a gentleman, not a person. Even in 1922 there are forms of politeness! "
That woman/niece is absolutely horrible in her lack of manners.
@@Muck006 she has her reasons. Watch on.
The liberated mores of the 1920s didn't really suit all women. Or really, most women.
@@texasred2702 Feminism (a.k.a. women's "liberation") has destroyed society ... instead of improving it ... but nowadays you arent allowed to say anything against that ideology or you immediately get outcast ... without any actual proof of being evil. Typical authoritarian behaviour of dictators.
This is 1922 I don’t have to b gracious
Now it’s 2022 I vote for a little gracious
You can blame feminism for the decay of courtesy ... because the animosity towards men / EVERYONE ELSE was the first thing "self-reliant women who wanted to prove themselves" developed.
@@Muck006I’m very sorry I have to agree with you 😢
That comment got my attention too !
I am a big fan of Lord Peter, I have these and the Edward Petherbridge performances on DVD and both do a great job. My only quibble with the Ian Carmichael portrayal is that he was almost 20 years older than he should be, but other than that these are timeless.
and about 40 lbs heavier
Very true. Petherbridge looked like I imagined Wimsey while reading the books - a slender blonde man with a slightly comical face and a diffident manner. Carmichael is charming in his own way but not much like Sayer's character.
Petherbridge was too old as well. I remember an interview with Petherbridge when the series first aired where he was talking about the difficulty the make-up team had dyeing his grey hair an appropriate Wimsey blond.
Sayers' description of PDBW's appearance in one of the earlier stories was "fair, forty, and foolish," and since by the final story he had acquired a wife and child, she evidently didn't want to treat him as immune from the passage of time. Carmichael is undoubtedly a bit old for the early version of the character, but I don't think it's unforgivable. Note that the ancient members of the Bellona Club accept him as one of their own, so portraying him as a brash young upstart would not have done at all...
@@marye813 In manner and speech, I thought Carmichael was Wimsey to the life, although I agree he was way too old for the part.
Would be an excellent radio play.
There is one with the same actor as Wimsey.
“He wears paper collars”. Must remember that one if I want to behave like a snob.
“Bought his own furniture” is the classic upper class insult. It implies you did not inherit “old money” but had to make your own, usually by, shock horror, “trade”! *shivers*
Splendid performance by all. I did think that the railway station/mistaken identity was super funny as similar happened to me. Roll on Part 3 with all the answers. Thanks once more for this cracking download.
"What's graciousness got to do with it? This is 1922. I don't have to be gracious."
The poison is a century old.
Actually ... the whole poison started with the French Revolution, because that is when all the current "group X has been treated badly by group Y" concept was started ... expanded upon by Karl Marx ... and also the suffrage / women's "liberation" movement.
Then add a huge portion of "Cultural Marxism". Rousseau, the socialist, set the seeds of the French Revolution.
@@Muck006Can’t get laid,huh?Relax you probably couldn’t please a woman in bed anyway.
Non-sequitur? @@steveg8322
"It's 1922, I don't have to be gracious."
That comment got my attention too !
It’s not hard to wonder why George’s wife has headaches. George is giving me a headache with all his little fits.
This is a great series. It’s been years since I saw it. Thank you for the download.
George is suffering from shsell shock and physical illnesses
@@glen7318 yes, thanks, I understood that, and the actor did a great job…just got annoying, that’s all.
@@ccammor8474 George Carlin has a segment about "Soft Language" ... and talks about how SHELL SHOCK (WWI) became BATTLE FATIGUE (WWII), OPERATIONAL DISORDER (or something like that, Korea), POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (Vietnam) ... [and now it is PTSD, which is claimed by "everyone", because it has become fashionable to have it ... and because it is a great excuse for bad behaviour].
Seeing him react that way is a great reminder of the REAL TRAUMA which soldiers who have seen combat suffer ... and which civilians cant really imagine.
@@Muck006 Beautifully put.
I had not watched this in a year or two... and the character of George was the reason. Wives put up with so much .
That is a very interesting period detective!
At 10:55: "Unfortunately public boxes are disastrously private"!
The cab driver was a Policeman in two episodes of Citizen Smith, in about 1978. Same accent...same acting style ...
It's always fun to see familiar faces in different places. Thanks for a very enjoyable bit of trivia!
I'm not familiar with Citizen Smith, but I did recognize the actor and the character.
thanks for posting.
I see the cast included Carelton Hobbs, as Mr Oliver, who used to play Sherlock Holmes on the radio and Norman Shelley, who played Watson, was the pathologist.
What a fantastic bit of trivia. Thank you!
Interesting.
Never knew it was ever on telly, top hole, don't you know
I say, absolutely top hole indeed ol' boy!
Note to self: Bellona Club is not a good watch whilst trying to fall asleep. George's outbursts are quite loud and unsettling. 🤣
Look, it's George, from George and Mildred!!!!
just spotted that too!!
Bunter is miscast but Ian Carmichael will always be in my opinion the most believable and best Lord Wimsey. The other actor (Edward Pethorage) seemed always to be posing for a photograph.
Edward Petherbridge. Architypical Lord Peter. Carmichael whilst pleasant is too affected, too old and too stout. Lord Peter was a young man.
Both had their strengths, also I loved the skinnier Bunter of the 80's :)
@hoodiewoman louisiana Bunter not Butter. ;)
To my mind, the ideal actor to play Lord Peter Wimsey (NOT 'Lord Wimsey'!) would have been the young Martin Jarvis, who played Jo Forsyte's younger son Jon in the Forsyte Saga (1967). At least, as far as looks are concerned, he does fit in with my idea of what Peter should look like (or rather, he did back in 1967!)
@hoodiewoman louisiana Well no, I wouldn't say Peter was affected. Frivolous, yes (in a positive sense, of course). And highly intelligent and sincere. If he were affected I am sure he would never have been able to win Harriet Vane's love.
The actor playing the Doctor , looks like the actor who played Watson in one of the Sherlock Holmes TV shows
It was-Norman Shelley, mainly on the radio.Sherlock Holmes was played by the man cast as Mr Oliver.
7:40 "Lawyers fees ..." There was a case of a significant inheritance which was "eaten up" completely by lawyer's fees over many decades of the parties arguing about it.
Jarndyce v Jarndyce, Bleak House, Charles Dickens, 1853.
@@M3411M Fiction thought I suppose based on a real case
Jennens vs Jennens. Case began in the 1790's and was finally abandoned in 1915.
@@decodolly1535 I didn't know that! How fascinating - 120 years; that's scary.
@@d.4236 Yep. And they only stopped because the entire estate had been used up on lawyers' fees - there was nothing left.
“You know I only get 90 minutes fir lunch.” Listen up fellow Americans: most of you get 30-60 min for lunch and it’s 100 years later. Stop thinking our shite don’t stink.
I dont remember that line in the book and I would doubt if 90 mins for lunch was considered a poor deal. Most people nowadays only get 30 to 60 mins for lunch..
@@glen7318 British and American working styles do not, or did not before the Americanisation of everything, have a lot in common. Quite a few places (offices) in London when I was there did not open until 10:00 -- 9:00 or earlier is more common in the US. Lunches are longer, and so is annual leave.
@@VLind-uk6mb yes, especially about the leave ... I have been with the same firm here in England for 10 years & get 7 weeks / 35 days of leave plus the 8 bank holidays ...
@@anneroy4560 Mind you, given the state of the British economy, the disaster of rail service, etc. one has to wonder if that is entirely a good model. I remember reading in a book when I was a student, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, "If the British would get up at eight in the morning they too could produce Toyotas." I speak as an ex-pat Brit, very pro-Britain, but I was eternally frustrated by the sheer inability to get things done there.
8:25 do lawyers ever go to heaven?
Almost never ... for the simple reason: *_using the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law_* is a core part of their mindset and thus they are NOT "pursuing justice".
Should they do you think?
too bad the quality is so poor--but thanks for the upload of this wonderful Brit mystery.
Wuerde ich gerne wieder sehen aber in deutscher Sprache...
When George and Lord Peter are in the graveyard and someone sneezed, I think that was someone offset and not written in the script.
What is shocking now is the amount of alcohol that people drank- and strong stuff too! Tradition, from a time when water wasn't safe to drink. I would love to know what railway station was used
Not too much wine for the French, though. They drank all day as did the Italians.
Small bottles of
wine with food was the continental custom adopted in England by those who did not work in the afternoon. Others had tea!
The only one of the trio I like is George and he's "sick".
Did he order 3 bottles of wine for lunch? Even if it’s 2 people that’s a bit excessive I would imagine. Or is it my modern sensibilities that makes it seem odd?
I don't think they would drink the entire bottle, just a glass of each one to go with the different courses.
Not the Bunter that I love.
he couldn't make it.
Peter Jones I'm guessing.
@@julianwalch3567 Glynn Houston
Did they have filters on cigarettes in the 1920's?
Don't think so. 1931 for filter tips.
Cork tips were available, though. They look like filter tips.@@decodolly1535
Who Is the older gentleman that Peter is talking at the beginning?
Do you mean Colonel Marchbanks?
Trying to figure out why gaiters would be worn over dress shoes inside.
I think those are called spats.
@lou: if you mean those grey things Peter has on his feet, those are spats. An indispensable adjunct to a gentleman's costume in the 1920s.
@@julianwalch3567 You're right. They are spats.
Stretched format, why?
Watching Ian Carmichael just not playing the piano, I wonder if Hugh Laurie might have made a good Wimsey? After all, he and Carmichael both played Bertie Wooster. Although I must agree that Petherbridge is the ideal Wimsey (playing younger), Hugh Laurie would have been an intriguing choice, with a lot going for him. Ah well, he's lost to that awful House, what a waste.
Very true!
I gave up watching House after one episode. It's a pity the plot was so bad, because the character really brought out the quality of Hugh Laurie's acting. Although a great fan of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie weren't quite right for them. IMHO.
Wait a mo. Is this Glyn Houston playing Bunter or not? The name on the cast list's different but the actor does look very much like Glyn.
Mairwen 99 derek Newman 👍
Glyn Houston was unavailable for The Bellona Club. This Bunter was played by an actor named Derek Newark.
@@jpp144 Thanks :-)
Lawyer Pritchard looks like the proverbial boiled owl - which tells us that he is NOT one of God's Elect!
He also played Gestapo Officer, Kessler, in Secret Army
Carmicheal works best in his Wimsey radio plays as he has the voice but not the looks. Petherbridge is perfectly cast however.
Thanks for these uploads. But I am having issues with the casting. The actor playing Lord Peter in no way resembles Miss Sayers invention,and I find it impossible to get become involved , but I’m finding if I watch and concentratedly ignore nudges from my memory, it is much better. I try to think of the character as being a new detective, nothing to do with the stammering, monocle wearing, “whimsical” creation.
This guy is by contrast rather podgy and energetic, and the actors playing Major Robert Fentiman and the Coroner would have been better choices. There could have been a straight swap between the castings of Lord Peter and Major Robert,
@25:00 That’s George from George n Mildred,! -there’s no difference in his looks at all- it seems he had a most unfortunate type casting.
I like Ian Carmichael as Wimsey. I don't care what Sayers' books describe. I like this tv series just as it is.
If I remember correctly, Wimsey could be very energetic at times. I think that a thirty-something David Niven with much lighter colored hair would be the quintessential Wimsey. Both for looks and mannerisms. But Ian Carmichael is excellent as far as bearing and speech. I just think he was a bit too old to portray a young Wimsey and maybe lacked a bit of Wimsey's energy. But he was still very good.
@@doylegaines1319 Wimsey is indeed very energetic, He rides, plays cricket and shoots, he's an energetic sort. and Ian C is nice looking, if not strictly good looking.. which is what Wimsey's meant to be....
Hodson is stiff, humorless, waxen, sour and a person who could not be invited to any party or social event unless the host intentionally wanted the party to be subdued. Carmichael embodies the humor, the accurate 1920's slang that was all the rage, "Thanky" and a complete reflection of what speech was before other forms of entertainment replaced the art of prose in conversation.
Check out the series with Edward Petherbridge--he's got more of Wimsey's famous nerves. And he fits the description in the novels a bit better.
Bad picture. Horizontally stretched. Thumbs down.
George isn’t only a fool, but he’s such a failure.. that’s why he has anger in himself, he’s agitated with everything around him
He's only 'a failure' through almost giving all of himself for his country.