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Father Brown
The Detective
UK 1954
produced by Paul Finder Moss for Facet Productions
directed by Robert Hamer
starring Alec Guiness, Peter Finch, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Sidney James, Gérard Oury, Ernest Clark, Aubrey Woods, John Salew, Sam Kydd, John Horsley, Jack McNaughton, Hugh Dempster, Eugene Deckers, Betty Bascomb, Diana Van Proosdy, Dino Galvani, Launce Maraschal, Noel Howlett, Marne Maitland, Austin Trevor, Ernest Thesiger, Hugo Schuster, Guido Lorraine, Jim Gérald, Daniel Clérice, Everley Gregg, Fanny Carby
screenplay by Thelma Schnee, Maurice Rapf, Robert Hamer, based on stories by G.K. Chesterton, music by Georges Auric
Father Brown
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Father Brown (Alec Guiness) is to deliver the priceless Cross of St
Augustin to the Vatican, knowing that masterthief Flambeau (Peter Finch),
a master of disguise, is after the cross and will try to steal it. So
father Brown takes any precaution in the book and uses the power of
deduction to guard the cross from Flambeau, as whoever he will appear,
only to eventually have to find out the thief is actually a fellow priest
travelling with him. And despite of all of his efforts, Flambeau gets the
cross. Father Brown is disappointed, not so much for losing the cross
but for not having been able to talk Flambeau out of stealing it. So he
sets up a trap for Flambeau when he persuades Lady Warren (Joan Greenwood)
to put up her priceless chess game for auction. Flambeau of course shows
up in disguise to steal it, and again Father Brown can do nothing to
prevent it, but when he and Lady Warren return to Lady Warren's home, they
find Flambeau there - who has come to return the chessgame. Brown is so
impressed by his sudden act of righteousness that he helps Flambeau escape
the police that's already hot on Flambeau's trail. Father Brown promises
Flambeau they'll meet again and then he will save Flambeau's soul, but
Flambeau insists that will never happen. For having helped Flambeau to
escape, Father Brown soon becomes a wanted man in Great Britain, but he
has to go to France anyways to track down Flambeau, while at the same time
being on the run from Scotland Yard detective Valentine (Bernard Lee) and
French inspecteur Dubois (Gérard Oury), but manages to evade them time
and again until his quest comes to an end at a decaying castle, once the
home of a noble family, now struck by obvious poverty. There, Brown finds
a secret room, in which someone, Flambeau of course, keeps a vast
collection of priceless masterpieces of art from all centuries, just for
his private amusement. Brown realizes that Flambeau is not really the
mastercriminal everybody thinks him to be, just someone who has never
outgrown his childhood, and who now collects all these pieces of art as
surrogate for toys. He tries to talk sense into Flambeau but can't, so
disappointed, he wants to leave empty-handed, even refusing to take back
the cross Flambeau is offering ... when the police arrives. Flambeau
manages to make a hasty escape, but all of his loot stays behind, and
Father Brown is credited with retrieving it. And a few weeks later, during
services, he even spots Flambeau in the crowd of listeners ...
In probably the most popular big screen adaptation of Father
Brown, Alec Guiness gives a likeable interpretation of the
character, and so does Peter Finch as his adversary - but as a whole, the
two of them as well as the whole film are a bit too harmless. In part
that's due to the rather original approach that puts Father Brown's faith
over his crimesolving abilities and makes it an imperative for him to
convert a sinner rahter than catch a criminal ... but unfortunately, as
unorthodox, even interesting this approach might be, it's just not very
cinematic. That's not to say Father Brown is a bad film, it's
brilliantly acted, beautifully directed and moves along very swiftly for
most of the time ... it just seems to miss a certain spark that would make
it really good.
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