Strong Poison: Episode One
- Episode aired 1987
- 52m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
298
YOUR RATING
Lord Peter Wimsey investigates after the novelist Harriet Vane is accused of poisoning her former lover.Lord Peter Wimsey investigates after the novelist Harriet Vane is accused of poisoning her former lover.Lord Peter Wimsey investigates after the novelist Harriet Vane is accused of poisoning her former lover.
- Director
- Writers
- Philip Broadley
- Dorothy L. Sayers(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring rehearsals for the scene where Wimsey (Edward Petherbridge) and Climpson (Shirley Cain) have tea together, Wimsey's monocle fell into his tea. Despite numerous attempts, they could not recreate this hilarious incident for the camera.
- GoofsAt the conclusion of the first trial the judge tells the jury that there will be a re-trial. But whether to put the prisoner on trial a second time is a decision for the prosecution, not the judge.
- Quotes
[Thinking about Harriet Vane]
Lord Peter Wimsey: She has a sense of humor... and brains... life wouldn't be dull. One would wake up, and there would be a whole day full of jolly things to do. And then we would come home and go to bed... and that would be jolly too.
- ConnectionsReferences Blackmail (1929)
Featured review
It's a fairly good effort in all respects by the BBC to bring us the Harriet/Peter love affair
Either from the novel or this film you might come away wondering why Lord Peter fell in love with Harriet Vane at first sight of her in the dock at the Old Bailey. Probably only Dorothy L. Sayers could explain that, and she tries throughout all three stories in this series. That he would be interested in the case, was his nature as Dorothy has presented him to us, but Harriet in the dock and afterward was such a "distant" woman to Peter's adoring advances. Would any normal suitor continue in the face of this "battlement"? Well, Lord Peter is not exactly normal. He says, repeatedly, that he admires her character and intelligence, even if she isn't "beautiful". Harriet Walter reflects all three throughout the series. Some commentators have said that Dorothy L. Sayers fell in love with "Lord Peter" and that "Harriet Vane" is a reflection of herself. It may be so, but luckily for us, Harriet Walter looks nothing like Dorothy.
The BBC has done a good job of giving us STRONG POISON (about which film these remarks are mainly directed), HAVE HIS CARCASE, and GAUDY NIGHT, with a "Harriet Vane" acted by a lady who would seem to have been born for the part. Petherbridge looks the part almost ideally, but his interpretation is somewhat more subdued than my conception of "Lord Peter" from having read the "canon" through at least half-a-dozen times since I first encountered Dorothy's sleuth about 1940. The "Bunter" we get seems a bit young, but these are minor cavils. A few strange changes were made from the novels in this otherwise faithful adaptation. For example, the action in the novel takes place around Christmas and after, with the murder having occurred in June. In the film, this sequence is reversed. I wonder why.
I suppose there are some who will see these films who have not read Sayers, so I must be careful not to spoil her rather clever denouement. My advice is, if such an one wants to play detective, to get a good poison reference source and read up on arsenic poisoning and its history. That might prove as fascinating as the film and novel!
The BBC has done a good job of giving us STRONG POISON (about which film these remarks are mainly directed), HAVE HIS CARCASE, and GAUDY NIGHT, with a "Harriet Vane" acted by a lady who would seem to have been born for the part. Petherbridge looks the part almost ideally, but his interpretation is somewhat more subdued than my conception of "Lord Peter" from having read the "canon" through at least half-a-dozen times since I first encountered Dorothy's sleuth about 1940. The "Bunter" we get seems a bit young, but these are minor cavils. A few strange changes were made from the novels in this otherwise faithful adaptation. For example, the action in the novel takes place around Christmas and after, with the murder having occurred in June. In the film, this sequence is reversed. I wonder why.
I suppose there are some who will see these films who have not read Sayers, so I must be careful not to spoil her rather clever denouement. My advice is, if such an one wants to play detective, to get a good poison reference source and read up on arsenic poisoning and its history. That might prove as fascinating as the film and novel!
helpful•170
- fisherforrest
- Jan 15, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries - Strong Poison - movie No.1
- Filming locations
- St. George's Hall, Liverpool, England, UK(Courtroom)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Strong Poison: Episode One (1987) in Australia?
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