Based on the detective novels of Colin Watson, Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle follows the work of Detective Inspector Purbright (Anton Rodgers) who solves crimes one just wouldn’t expect to find in such a sleepy English town as Flaxborough.
This series first aired in 1977, and for its age holds up rather well in storytelling. Once the viewer gets past the style of the 70’s look and sound, and by that I mean costume and phrases rather than clarity and dolby, the story pulls you in and you simply have to see how it will turn out.
It has a bit of the stage play feel at times, but again, once immersed in the stories, the delivery of lines is not a drawback. DI Purbright is a gentleman, well spoken and humorous at times, but with a coldness of purpose for anyone who breaks the law. He quietly observes, and then makes his judgments based on evidence.
He is ably assisted by Detective Sergeant Love (Christopher Timothy) whose youthful perspective plays off Purbright’s more seasoned and experienced manner. They both report to the “sometimes helpful” Chief Constable Chubb (Moray Watson) who adds a touch of comedy with his consuming interest, his “hounds,” which rather than noble hunting beasts, seem to be more of the small barking type dogs.
It is fun to see this series again after all these years. It is very different from the modern British detective stories of the 21st century, owing more to a post World War II tradition than late 20th Century style.
The episodes are not self-contained stories, the investigations bleed into each other, as one is solved, the next has already been introduced, and it gives the series a feel of reality. These aren’t stars that pop onto your television once a week to clean up all the problems within the space of an hour, these are policemen who may spend months working on a single case.
Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle is presented on three discs containing seven episodes. Running time is over 344 minutes. Modern mystery watchers may find the action a bit slow at times, but the development of the story, and the characterizations are good.
Due to the age of the originals, the DVDs may not have the clarity of modern television series, and there is the distinct difference between indoor and outdoor scene graininess that is bothersome to a few viewers. The episodes are also presented in full frame format, but again this becomes less noticeable as one becomes involved with the story.
Murder Most English is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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