Lord Peter Wimsey - Gaudy Night [1987]

Gaudy Night is less faithful to the original books than the other two in the series but that is perhaps inevitable. Gaudy Night is a complex novel with the "mystery" serving only as a background to an exposition of Sayer's views on feminism and intellectual integrity, and has dated remarkably little with the passage of almost 70 years. Despite the omission of several elements present in the novel, such as St. George, the chess set and the dog collar, the atmosphere of an Oxford Women's College in the 1930's is well evoked with excellent attention to period detail. There is real chemistry between Harriet and Peter as the story comes to its satisfactory close, although it is a shame that the script writers couldn't have remained a little more faithful to the original, which is beautiful piece of prose.
I strongly recommend all three videos (Strong Poison, Have His Carcase and Gaudy Night) to any fan of Dorothy L. Sayers or as an introduction to those who do not yet know her, which is what the original series did for me - to my eternal gratitude.


Edward Petherbridge is brilliant!!   June 16, 2003
Annette M. Bond
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

One of the best TV series ever made!!

I recently acquired these DVD's (Strong Poison/Have His Carcass/Gaudy Night) and they are now my most treasured set. The performances by Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter are flawless!

This series is a MUST HAVE for all mystery buffs (especially Dorothy Sayer's fans!) For those who were disappointed in the Ian Carmichael series produced 10 years earlier, take heart--you have now found the answer to your prayers!

My only criticism is that there were no more titles produced in this series. I can't understand why they did not continue to make more of these wonderful productions. And furthermore, I can't understand why the BBC took so long to release this series onto Video/DVD. If I had known of the existance of this series sooner, I would have launched a campaign to demand that they make more episodes. Oh well...I guess we will just have to make do with the three gems that were made. (In fact you should probably buy two sets of these, as you may wear out your original DVD's from watching them over and over and over and ...ahem...oh yes back to the review...)

The first two films, Strong Poison and Have His Carcass, are faithful to the books and each is truly a pleasure to watch. The third, Gaudy Night (or "Gaudy Lite" as I have seen it referred to) skimps a bit in comparison to the novel. However, the extraordinary acting on the part of Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter more than make up for this, ensuring that this version of Gaudy Night is a highly entertaining one. This series should have segued into "Busman's Honeymoon." However BBC dropped the ball on obtaining the rites and left us all hanging.

Perhaps it isn't too late for a continuation of this series after all. It has ONLY been 16 years since the last episode. Surely if Ian Carmichael could have the audacity to play Lord Peter Wimsey at his age, Edward Petherbridge could pull it off for at least another 20 years or so (and do it brilliantly I might add!)

Needless to say, I have become an instant fan of Mr. Petherbridge and can only hope I may find more of his work on film. (This is a daunting task since he is a distinguished stage performer and seems to shy away from the camera. Something about acting for the love of the thing and not the money. Oh these serious actors!! By the way, isn't he WAY OVERDUE for some sort of Knighthood or something ...hmm??!!)

WARNING: Ordinary television will seem even more unsatisfactory after viewing these DVD's.

As I said before, you'd better get at least two copies of each of these DVD's (or to be on the safe side, you'd better make it three!!)

(NOTE: It seems that the UK version of the DVD's contain an interview with Edward Petherbridge as a bonus feature. Unfortunately for me, the American version does not. You lucky Brits!!)

Enjoy!


Gaudy Night   January 29, 2006
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
5 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is the third in a series of television movies based on Dorothy L. Sayers's famous mystery series featuring Harriet Vein and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. The first two programs are “Strong Poison” and “Have His Carcass.”

One of the strengths of the BBC production is that they do not try to dramatize so much that the story does not match the book. One of the advantages of this series is that it is long enough that most of the pertinent information is shown. They made an excellent choice when deciding to use Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. They match the book character descriptions perfectly. In fact if you see this program before you read the book their images will be in your mind.

Maybe due to time restraints or different directing, many of the most interesting book characters were left out of “Gaudy Night” A chess board plays a significant part in the book and is also left out of this version.

Harriet is invite to her university’s gaudy. She soon finds out that it is not an idle indentation. It seems that people are receiving poison pen letters and very nasty pranks. Not wanting the police to be involved they turn to Harriet (knowing of here reputation for solving crimes.) When Harriet receives a letter herself she confides in Lord Peter. Are these innocent pranks or will they lead to some thing more sinister? And who is the culprit?


Not as good as you'll remember, alas   October 10, 2003
N Payne (London)
4 out of 9 found this review helpful

Oh dear, I loved these adaptations as a teenager when they were originally shown in the 80s, and remember sitting up in bed till 2am, tired out but still breathlessly reading 'Gaudy Night' because I had to know what would happen! It's true that the central performances by Harriet Walter and Edward Petherbridge are excellent - I can't imagine a better Harriet and Peter - but we don't see nearly enough of them. It's frustrating.

People say that today's TV isn't as good as it used to be, and I'm sure that's often true. But this production is very dated. It's slow, cheaply made, static and unconvincing. You can't imagine anything being adapted or shot in such a turgid way these days.

Also, the 'extras' are useless. The interview with Edward Petherbridge is extraordinarily cursory. I expected a bit more effort from all involved with that.

If you loved these the first time round, or are a Dorothy L Sayers fan, I know that nothing I can say will put you off. I bought the 'Strong Poison' DVD and, even though I was really disappointed with it, came back for more with 'Gaudy Night', so I know how hard it is to face the reality!

But really, don't buy these DVDs. They're not worthy of your affection. I'd re-read the books instead.


Off the mark - characters and story   April 14, 2008
Steen Hartov
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Having thoroughly enjoyed the early Peter Wimsey TV adaptations featuring Ian Carmichael in the title role, I recently moved on to the later cast with Edward Petherbridge playing Peter Wimsey. I braced myself for a different experience, told myself to have an open mind and enjoy the series for what it was. Nonetheless I am disappointed. The story is rushed through in three episodes, leaving out much of the detail that makes the book so enjoyable - no St. George, no side lines about Harriet Vane's young admirer, no ms. Schuster-Slatt, and I could go on.
Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane is quite plausible, but Edward Petherbridge does not convey the Wimsey character at all. He is too underplayed, too anonymous and he is not shining (allowed to shine?) in the dinner scene. His sharp wits are not allowed to develop at all. All in all a wet rag. And Bunter is totally out of character. In the books he is respectful and supporting whereas this adaptation of Gaudy Night describes him as brazen and insolent. Definitely not my cup of tea.