Father Brown: The Complete Series 1 and 2

13 BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations

By: G. K. Chesterton

Narrated by: Andrew Sachs, full cast

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Andrew Sachs stars as G.K. Chesterton's crime-solving cleric, whose unlikely methods make him one of the great heroes of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction

With his black hat, huge umbrella, unworldly simplicity and 'beaming but breathless geniality', Father Brown is one of fiction's best-loved amateur detectives. Short and tatty, but with the wisdom and insight to unravel the most wayward of criminal minds, he has entertained generations.

In this collection of 13 full-cast dramatisations, the high priest of detection becomes involved in seven intriguing cases that will tax even his mental powers to the limit. The episodes are:

The Blue Cross
The Queer Feet
The Eye of Apollo
The Invisible Man
The Honour of Israel Gow
The Hammer of God
The Sins of Prince Saradine
The Perishing of the Pendragons
The Arrow of Heaven
The Mistake of the Machine
The Curse of the Golden Cross
Actor and Alibi
The Absence of Mr Glass

Also included in this collection is a bonus documentary programme, The Mystery of Father Brown, in which Ann Widdecombe explores the enduring impact of the shambolic priest, and looks into the life of his creator G.K. Chesterton.

Dramatised by John Scotney and produced by Alec Reid.

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

excellent and funny

This is a dramatization of several famous short stories wherein Father Brown solves real or imaginary crimes, my favorite being the absence of Mr. Glass. The BBC at its best

All Hail Father Brown

A wonderful cast does justice to this enduring and endearing character. The scripts do a very good job of capturing the flavor and keeping the plots cohesive. Andrew Sachs is a delightful Father Brown, just the right blend of clever and fuzzy. The supporting casts are uniformly strong and overall it's a light and frothy delight.

Absolutely Wonderful!!!

Let’s just face it, Father Brown might be better the. Sherlock Holmes. I know that as I am typing there is going to be a crowd of Sherlock fans at my doorstep protesting against this review 😜

Bring's Chesterton's Father Brown to life

It's been a while since I read any Father Brown stories, and I was disappointed that the television series, though enjoyable, updated it in terms of sexuality and 21 century values in a 19 century character. This drama, starring the always-amazing Andrew Sachs, was exactly how I remember father Brown.

The stories are told in 30 minute episodes and are very well written. I love that I can take this show in nice, short bites or I can binge the whole thing at once. Most of the mysteries are not mysteries, but comments on the human condition disguised, and that's part of the fun.

My only complaint is that there are times in several episodes, definitely the first episode, when there are too many voices speaking at once and it becomes a bit cacophonous. Maybe just a bit too loud. Still, this doesn't take away too much from the fun of this series. It's not perfect but it's pretty darn good. And BBC drama is top notch production!