Lord Peter Wimsey
Titlescreen
GenreMystery
Period drama
StarringIan Carmichael
Glyn Houston
Mark Eden
ComposerHerbert Chappell
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes21
Production
ProducersRichard Beynon, Bill Sellars
Running time44-60 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release5 April 1972 (1972-04-05) –
13 August 1975 (1975-08-13)

Lord Peter Wimsey is a series of television serial adaptations of five Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers starring Ian Carmichael broadcast on BBC One between 1972 and 1975, beginning with Clouds of Witness in April 1972.[1]

Cast

Production

The adaptations star Ian Carmichael as aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, the second son of the Duke of Denver. Not wanting for money, charm or intelligence, Wimsey takes up detective work as an amateur pursuit, using his connections and social status to assist the police in their investigations.

Carmichael played the role concurrently in a series of BBC Radio 4 adaptations from 1973, which eventually completed the whole sequence of Sayers's novels. In The Radio Detectives (1999), Carmichael recalls that he had hoped to continue with further television adaptations, but acknowledged that by 1975 he was too old to play the part onscreen for the sequence of more romantic novels featuring crime writer Harriet Vane.[2] He felt that as a result of a technician strike, production of the fifth adaptation under a new producer, Bill Sellars, was not as successful, after which the series was not renewed.[2] (Three later television adaptations of the Harriet Vane stories were produced as A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery with Edward Petherbridge as Wimsey in 1987.[3])

Glyn Houston played Wimsey's loyal valet and assistant Mervyn Bunter in three adaptations[4] and Derek Newark in The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (the character does not appear in Murder Must Advertise). Mark Eden played Inspector Charles Parker, Lord Peter's friend and contact at Scotland Yard in four adaptations.

The series was recorded in the then-standard format of videotape for studio sequences (recorded at Television Centre, London and Pebble Mill Birmingham from the second serial[5]) and 16mm film for exterior location scenes.

Locations

Locations included St Peter's Church, Walpole St Peter and Terrington St John, Norfolk for The Nine Tailors[6][7] and Kirkcudbright, Galloway in Scotland for The Five Red Herrings, the latter almost entirely shot on film due to a technician strike, with only a few studio sequences taped in studios in Glasgow.[8]

Music

The 1930s-style theme tune was written by Herbert Chappell. The BBC record of Herbert Chappell's theme tune featured a second track "Size Ten Shuffle" which in re-arranged form was used as the theme for FilmFair's adaptation of Paddington Bear (1976–1980).[9][10]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1–5"Clouds of Witness"Hugh DavidDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Anthony Steven5 April 1972 (1972-04-05)—3 May 1972 (1972-05-03)
Lord Peter's amateur sleuthing hobby ends up closer to home, as he finds himself with only weeks to save his own brother, the Duke of Denver, who is due to be tried by his peers of a murder in Yorkshire.[1]
6–9"The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"Ronald WilsonDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by John Bowen and Anthony Steven1 February 1973 (1973-02-01)—26 February 1973 (1973-02-26)
On Armistice Day, a retired general is found dead at the Bellona Club, a London club for war veterans. A complicated will means any number of people may have a motive for murder.[11]
10–13"Murder Must Advertise"Rodney BennettDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Bill Craig30 November 1973 (1973-11-30)—21 December 1973 (1973-12-21)
An unpopular copywriter is found dead at Pym's Publicity under suspicious circumstances. Lord Peter goes undercover as "Death Bredon" and uncovers a tangled web linked to the London drug-smuggling underworld.[12]
14–17"The Nine Tailors"Raymond MenmuirDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Anthony Steven22 April 1974 (1974-04-22)—13 May 1974 (1974-05-13)
Stranded in the Fenland village of Fenchurch St Paul on a snowy New Year's Eve, Lord Peter finds himself drawn into the lore of bell-ringing. But the discovery of a body in a freshly-dug grave finds him uncovering a conspiracy involving a stolen set of emeralds, swapped identities and a First World War deserter.[13]
18–21"Five Red Herrings"Robert TronsonDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Anthony Steven17 July 1975 (1975-07-17)—13 August 1975 (1975-08-13)
Lord Peter's fishing holiday in Galloway is disrupted when a talented but quarrelsome painter is found dead. Any one of six fellow artists may have committed the crime.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Clouds of Witness". BBC Genome. 5 April 1972. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The Radio Detectives: As My Whimsy Takes Me". BBC Genome. 18 May 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Mystery! presents Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey". New York Times. 2 October 1987.
  4. ^ "Glyn Houston obituary". The Guardian. 8 July 2019.
  5. ^ Fairclough, Robert (2011). This Charming Man: The Life of Ian Carmichael. Aurum Press Ltd.
  6. ^ "History". Walpole St Peter's Church. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  7. ^ In Search of St Paul’s Church Fenchurch St Paul. Retrieved 25 September 2023
  8. ^ Carmichael, Ian (1979). Will the Real Ian Carmichael: An Autobiography. Macmillan. p. 383.
  9. ^ "Boyfriends – Lord Peter Wimsey Theme". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. ^ "RESL 7". 45cat.com. 45cat. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  11. ^ "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club". BBC Genome. 1 February 1973. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Murder Must Advertise". BBC Genome. 13 May 1987. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  13. ^ "The Nine Tailors". BBC Genome. 22 April 1974. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Five Red Herrings". BBC Genome. 17 July 1975. Retrieved 20 October 2019.

External links

Lord Peter Wimsey stories by Dorothy L. Sayers
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