Murder Must Advertise (1973–1974) User Reviews

If you have only seen the A&E presentations of the 1990's, forget then and see the new DVD's.

[fisherforrest · 8/10 · 19 January 2005]

When A&E presented Ian Carmichael's five "Lord Peter" stories back in the 1990's, they cut about 10 minutes out of each of the 4 episodes, in each of the five stories. Outrageous! But of course, they had to have time for 18 minutes of commercials in each hour presentation. Now with the release of the complete BBC films in either VHS or DVD, you can see them all complete with about 52 minutes per episode. Plus there is a charming interview with Ian Carmichael, recorded in 2000. I don't think my remarks near the end of this piece is really a spoiler, but if you haven't seen the film, or known the novel, you might want to stop before the last paragraph, even though it doesn't expose the actual murderer.

The BBC has told Dorothy's story very faithfully and with little extrapolation or omission. Whether you like Ian Carmichael in the role, is likely a matter of taste. He doesn't look like my own visualisation of "Lord Peter", but he surely acts much as I have pictured "his lordship". Edward Petherbridge, in the 3 "Harriet Vane" related films made about 10 years after these 5, looks to me physically more like Dorothy's impossibly accomplished "rennaissance man". My, oh my! "Lord Peter" could spot the inferior 1908 Champagne just by smelling it, was a dead shot, even deadlier swordsman and jiu jitsu fighter, had muscles of steel, knew ancient Greek and Latin better than Socrates or Caesar, and wowed the ladies just by adjusting his monocle! (all but "Harriet" that is). Well, heck! I liked them both, but for different reasons.

I seem to be wandering a bit from a discussion of MURDER MUST ADVERTISE, but there are comments elsewhere better than mine. One point I would like to emphasise, though, is that in this novel, Dorothy was writing about a background she knew well: the advertising business. She was in fact probably still working for "Benson's" when she wrote this story. She knew little or nothing first hand about the aristocrats who make up many of her characters, but she surely knew people involved in advertising. She even put herself into MURDER MUST ADVERTISE as the character "Miss Meteyard". Note that "Miss Meteyard" seems to have developed quite a yen for "Death Bredon" as the story proceeds. There are those who say that Dorothy fell in love with her aristocratic sleuth and put herself into other novels as "Harriet Vane".

A terrific series, great story.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 29 July 2021]

Lord Peter goes undercover at Pym's, an advertising agency, his mission, to discover who caused the death of employee Victor Dean, who plunged to his death down a spiral staircase.

Such a great watch, I've always thought it a real shame that we only have five stories with Carmichael's wonderful Wimsey, the aristocratic investigator would appear annually for five years, next up The Nine Tailors.

This really is a great watch, it's a fantastic story, tremendously adapted from a great book, it is very deep, highly absorbing and deliciously intriguing.

What starts off as a simple whodunnit, soon turns into something a whole lot more engaging.

Awesome production values as you will have come to expect on the show, great costumes, lavish sets, true quality associated with The BBC at the time.

Phenomenal acting, Carmichael as I've mentioned at his best, he plays the two roles with real vigour, but we also see the best of Paul Darrow, and some great acting from Fiona Walker and Peter Bowles.

My advice, get through part one, it is a little slow, and feels a little studio bound, once you're past that it really does open up into a cracking watch.

Excellent, 9/10.

Welcome back after 27 years!

[behrens-2 · 4 August 2000]

It took only a quarter century to catch up with Lord Peter Wimsey: Murder Must Advertise and I am eternally grateful to Acorn Media for making it available, along with "Clouds of Witness" and "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club." Yes, "Five Red Herrings" and "The Nine Tailors" are due soon.

Having read the book several times, I can say that the dramatization is not only faithful to the plot but also to the comic tone of the original. Sayers herself did work in an advertising agency and she perfectly catches the chaos, the frustrations, and the high spirits that pervade such an establishment.

Even more on video than in the novel is each character fully realized. When Wimsey (working under an alias) first enters the secretaries' room, the more flamboyant of the women (played by Fiona Walker) is found coffee cup high in the air and sheet of advertising copy low in hand, thereby establishing her character perfectly. She can also quote Latin tags and Shakespeare with colloquial ease. The stuffy head of the firm, Mr. Pym, is played by Peter Pratt, well known to Gilbert & Sullivan buffs as the comic lead at the D'Oyly Carte several generations ago.

The ubiquitous Peter Bowles plays the villainous Major Milligan as a dope dealer to the "bright young things" who still knows when to apologize for rudeness. Mark Eden continues his role as Chief Inspector Parker, now Wimsey's brother-in-law since marrying into the family after the "Clouds of Witness" case. If I cannot warm up to Lady Mary (Rachel Herbert), it is perhaps because of her smugness that tries to be charming but (for me) just misses.

Possibly the best realized character is Bridget Armstrong's Dian de Momerie, the fading sexpot who knows she is doomed by her associates, her drug taking, and the ravages of time. Armstrong turns what could have been an utterly cliched role into a sympathetic and believable one.

And of course, Ian Carmichael is the same bubbling amateur sleuth of the first two mysteries, always ready to apologize for forgetting he has advantages over most of the others.

The plot combines a simple whodunit with a complex howsitdun; and if you pay close attention to the most seemingly inconsequential lines in the first episodes, you will appreciate all the more the solution in the last one. I will reveal none of the plot here, except to say it is a lot of fun.

The production budget is below that of the Poirot series, but the period feel is just as good. By the way, when Wimsey (in disguise) is compared with Bertie Wooster, the script writer might be indulging in an inside joke: Ian Carmichael did play Wooster in a series on British TV and that association nearly cost him getting Wimsey after he himself suggested it to the powers that be!

One of the greatest from this series.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 10/10 · 16 April 2017]

Ian Carmichael made the character of Lord Peter Wimsey his own with this BBC TV series.

It is necessary for the overall story to be so long, simply because it is very detailed.

Peter Bowles - a fine actor in his own right - is brilliant as one of the villains.

The usual poor production values don't hamper my enjoyment and neither should they anyone else's.

Victor Dean spirals to his death

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 24 December 2023]

Victor Dean (Robert Hamilton) writes "Something is going on in the organization that is very undesirable and might lead to serious consequences,"

Shortly after that Victor Dean spirals to his death. An accident?

It may be a coincidence but to be on the safe side Mr. Pym (Peter Pratt) of Pym's Advertising Agency heirs a private detective "Death Breen" to secretly find the answer. Mr. Breen poses as a beginning copywriter and gets to know the staff. We notice that Mr. Breen is too well dressed for the part and looking closer we recognize him as...

Lord Peter (Ian Carmichael) used the address of the empty apartment owned by his brother-in-law Chief Inspector Parker (Mark Eden) and sister Lady Mary (Rachel Herbert)

While Lord Peter is doing his investigation of the mysterious doings at Pym's, Chief Inspector Parker is investigating dope smuggling. Their paths cross frequently.

Is there a link?

And was Victor Dean just a victim of an accident?

Watch and find out.

You may notice that Ian Carmichael is showing his age in this film and is just a tad old for the part.

They took the time to put just about everything relevant from the book into this production. There were a few exceptions but not worth bothering about. The production is complete enough that you do not have to read the book.

Dorothy L. Sayers writes many non-fiction books however among her best fiction is the Lord Peter Wimsey series.

I came to this series sort of through the back door. My first taste was the BBC productions with Petherbridge as Lord Peter, which can now be found on DVD and as a set of Lord Peter stories.

So, I read all of Dorothy's books containing the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.

Now it is time to go through the whole series. I am still working on reading it all. In the mean time this presentation is TV television serial adaptations of five Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers starring Ian Carmichael broadcast on BBC One between 1972 and 1975,

This item is worth purchasing as you will want to replay it often.

Excruciatingly overlong

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 13 September 2015]

If you're a fan of old-fashioned, British-to-the-bone, period-set, BBC-produced murder mysteries, you'll probably find "Murder Must Advertise" a cozy, comfortable delight. If you're not, you'll probably find it stuffy, stodgy and stagey. Me, I was on the fence about the first two installments of the "Lord Peter Wimsey" series ("Clouds of Witness" and "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"), but this one is the weakest of the lot so far, even if there is more outdoors "action" than in the others. The method of the murder is silly and highly unreliable. There are huge chunks of time with little to no plot advancement. Carmichael is hard to buy as a "lady killer", and it's equally, if not more, hard to believe that people would be so gullible as to believe that he could also be his i-d-e-n-t-i-c-a-l cousin! The characters are difficult to tell apart; only Fiona Walker makes an impression, but her part is minor. As in the previous entry, the last 10 minutes, dealing with the confession and the subsequent fate of the murderer, are well-done, and Carmichael does his strongest acting there. But you'll have to make it through approximately 170 minutes of chitter-chatter before you get to that point. *1/2 out of 4.

Decent Adaptation, though Carmichael's a bit too old

[dj_bassett · 4 March 2005]

Wimsey should be about in his mid-thirties at the time of MURDER, lean and athletic. Carmichael seems here to be in his mid/late forties and a bit stout. This causes odd problems, such as every member of the agency referring to him without comment as a "junior copywriter" and the whole harlequin sequence at the party. Wimsey climbs a statue and does a dangerous dive into a small pool of water....well, Carmichael isn't plausible doing that. So we get some intercuts of Carmichael's face and the stunt double, none too believably either. Wimsey needs to be sexy in parts of this story, as well: Carmichael is a fine gentleman, but not exactly "sexy".

If you can suspend your disbelief in regards to that, fans will find this an extremely enjoyable adaptation, with the bulk of the dialog taken directly from Sayers's classic novel. This was obviously a low-budget affair, but in a story that mostly takes place in and around offices that's not a big deal. The BBC could always rely on a fine cast, too, and there's a lot of good acting here.

Carmichael, it also should be said, does have a lot of the necessary pep and energy the character needs.

Worthwhile, especially for it's interesting picture of advertising in the mid-thirties: this was a world Sayers knew well. I also think this has one of Sayers best plots -- the ending, while not exactly unexpected, is nicely sad and very very British. Recommended for fans of this type of material: just be prepared to suspend your disbelief.