|
| The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries - Series 1 (Speedy Death / The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Director: Audrey Cooke
Actor: Diana Rigg; Neil Dudgeon; John Alderton; Lynda Baron; Emma Fielding; Simeon Andrews; Tom Butcher; Tyler Butterworth; John Conroy (ii); Emma Davies; Sue Devaney; Tristan Gemmill; Andrew Hallett; Roger Grainger; Alec Linstead; Carmela Marner; William Oxborrow; Russell Tovey; Eleanor Tremain; Michael Troughton
Studio: WGBH BOSTON
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $22.10
You Save: $17.85 (45%)
New (26) Used (7) from $22.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 27036
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 3
Running Time: 330
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 38219
ISBN: 1593752202
UPC: 783421382190
EAN: 9781593752200
ASIN: B0002XVRXE
Theatrical Release Date: March 7, 1999
Release Date: November 23, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Five Star Seller!!! New, factory sealed US Region 1 DVD. Item is 100% guaranteed not to be a bootleg or import. Item is shipped directly from our warehouse. Easy exchange if item defective or damaged in shipped.
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This free adaptation of Gladys Mitchell's classic crime novel Speedy Death as a vehicle for a full-blooded performance by Diana Rigg as the louche 1920s analyst Mrs. Bradley is a splendid piece of period drama with an intriguing puzzle at its heart. Mrs. Bradley attends the engagement party of her crippled goddaughter Eleanor, only to find the home of her old beau, Eleanor's father Bing (John Alderson), a hotbed of intrigue and sudden death. Eleanor's unsatisfactory fiance Everard is found drowned in the bath after quarrelling with the former suitor whose bad driving crippled Eleanor; someone tries to shoot the fiancee of Eleanor's brother Gorde. Full of memorable characters like the sinister housekeeper Mrs. McNamara (Lynda Baron), Speedy Death is an impressive feature-length curtain-raiser to a popular series. For once, a detective has to investigate a crime where she has something seriously at stake--her sense of her own past and her own friends. --Roz Kaveney Diana Riggs glides through The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries like a true grand dame. Set in 1920s England, this mystery series wallows in swank cars, jaunty tunes, well-cut clothes, and extravagant hats--and every so often, Riggs turns to the camera and delivers sardonic observations with a wicked purr. Aided by her chauffer George Moody (Neil Dudgeon), scandalous divorcie Mrs. Bradley (Riggs) solves murders with her keen observations and psychological insight (along with a little pickpocketing and genteel extortion). Saucy storylines abound: Death at the Opera mixes lesbianism at a girls' school with a bread-slicing machine; The Rising of the Moon features knife-throwers, dwarves, and a hall of mirrors; in Laurels Are Poison, ghosts kill with poison-tipped arrows; and in The Worsted Viper, the revival of an ancient virgin-sacrificing cult threatens Moody's own daughter. The mysteries are more stylish than fair in their presentation of clues; anyone looking for a puzzle to solve will be frustrated as crucial information is withheld until after Mrs. Bradley has brought the villain to justice. But the heart of the show is the delightful rapport between Rigg and Dudgeon, which will win over any fan of British mysteries. --Bret Fetzer
Description
Emmy Award-winner Diana Rigg (Rebecca, The Avengers) stars as stylish and outspoken sleuth Mrs. Adela Bradley in these sophisticated 1920s whodunit filled with blackmail, a shooting and plenty of devious twists and turns. Mrs. Bradley is a well-traveled, well-appointed divorcee who dabbles in psychoanalysis and murder investigations. Assisted by her devoted chauffeur and confidant George Moody (Neil Dudgeon), Mrs. Bradley solves the most complicated crimes with a sly combination of charm, intelligence, and wit. In this set of five scintillating mysteries based on the novels by Gladys Mitchell, she gets the lowdown on the upper crust. Includes: Speedy Death, Death at the Opera; The Rising of the Moon; Laurels Are Poison; and The Worsted Viper. Special DVD features include: virtual tour of the Mystery! studio; selected filmographies; selected cast list; biography for Diana Rigg, star of Mrs. Bradley and host of Mystery!; link to the Mystery! Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired. On three DVD5 discs. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries August 22, 2008
This is for a Mom that has everything; she has many series and loves them.
 "Scary biscuits!" says a character after a murder in a bath tub. Thank goodness we have Diana Rigg handy August 26, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
"The countryside? A place where the birds and animals wander about uncooked." That's Mrs. Adela Bradley speaking. The mystery is titled Speedy Death, the first of five in this set. The place is an English country manor home. The time is the 1920s. And the who include an old friend of Mrs. Bradley, the wealthy Alastair Bing; his daughter Eleanor, who is Mrs. Bradley's god-daughter, confined to a wheelchair since an auto accident two years earlier and who will come into a fortune when she marries; Eleanor's fiancee, Everard Mountjoy; his son, Garde; Garde's best friend (who was driving when Eleanor was crippled), Bertie Philipson; and Garde's house guest, Dorothy Manners. Of course, there are assorted servants as well as Mrs. Bradley's chauffeur, George Moody (Neil Dudgeon). George is big, capable man who dislikes boredom as much as Mrs. Bradley does.
Adela Bradley (Diana Rigg) is a wealthy woman of a certain age, a divorcee, a psychoanalyst, a catcher of criminals, a woman who drives about in a Rolls Royce, enjoys cocktails, is skeptical about many things, especially love and husbands, and who some might say is, in one of the great descriptive words of the Twenties, louche. "I'm never entirely sure if I'm famous or notorious," she confides to us in one of her asides spoken into the camera. "Someone once said famous is to live in poverty and end up as a statue. Naturally, I prefer to be notorious."
Little does Mrs. Bradley realize that during her weekend at the Bing estate, where Eleanor's engagement to Mountjoy will be formally announced, she will encounter murder. That's in addition to calculated emotional manipulation, pre-planned adultery, psychotic obsession and a shocking discovery that takes place in a bath tub. Several people also wind up getting happily married, a state that neither we nor Mrs. Bradley expect to last for long.
In addition to the 90-minute Speedy Death, the set includes the four 60-minute stories that made up Mrs. Bradley's second (and last) season. We have Death at the Opera, where a person at a posh finishing school for proper young ladies is finished off properly and permanently; The Rising of the Moon, which involves a traveling circus; Laurels Are Poison, where a haunted house may include too many ghosts from WWI; and The Worsted Viper, a tale of ritual murder in a cozy coastal village which involves the daughter of Mrs. Bradley's chauffeur, George.
Does this all sound a bit over the top? Or just "Scary biscuits!" as one character says in Speedy Death? While the mysteries are variable, the series are a good deal of fun, thanks to Diana Rigg. She brings to the role authority and skeptical amusement. One or two of the stories become a bit too serious for their own good, but Mrs. Bradley soldiers on.
Diana Rigg was 60 when she made Speedy Death. She's a first-rate actress to begin with; she looks a knock-out in some almost outlandishly sleek Twenties dresses and hats; and she doesn't hesitate to show us the character, meaning herself, without make-up. If you like stylish mysteries, you'll most likely enjoy these. The DVD transfers are excellent. Extras include a key cast biographies and a cast list.
Excellent August 21, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Diana Rigg is superb as Mrs. Bradley, the 1920's liberated society woman who solves crimes with the assistance of her chauffeur. Costumes are true to period.
|
|
|
 Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
