The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 1 (1997)

Strong Suspense from a Mistress of the Genre

"The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Series 1," begins the long-awaited release on DVD of the popular British television psychological crime dramas based on the best-selling work of Ruth Rendell, surely one of the queens of current-day suspense/thrillers/mysteries/police procedurals. The series, which was made by the British TV firm Granada for Britain's Independent Television (ITV) debuted in Britain in 1987. It appeared in the United States in syndication on various public broadcasting stations in the late 1990's. The series at hand, a three-volume boxed set, gives us two full-length mysteries, and features Colin Firth in the first of them. They are:

1. "Master of the Moor." Since boyhood, Stephen Whalby (Colin Firth) has taken refuge on the village of Vangmoor's wild, windy, spacious moor, a landscape of rocks, heather and bogs, in order to escape trouble at home. But, trouble follows him there in his adulthood, as a series of women turn up brutally murdered. Based upon his intimate knowledge of the landscape, he is naturally the prime suspect. Firth ably carries this full-length thriller.
2. "Vanity Dies Hard." In the town of Salstead, the happy marriage of wealthy, aging heiress Alice Fielding (Eleanor David), to a much younger man destroys the heiress's friendship with a local florist, Nesta Drage, whose business fails, and who then disappears. The bride goes looking for her old friend. Also features Peter Egan and Leslie Phillips. Full-length.
3. "The Secret House of Death." Susan Townsend (Amanda Redman), a newly divorced single mother and working writer, prefers to remain aloof from the gossipy housewives of her upper-crust suburban subdivision. But when she discovers the bodies of adulterous lovers next door, her quiet life vanishes. About an hour and a half long.
4. "The Double." A shorter production (less than an hour long) and a less powerful one. Lovely, naïve young Lisa (Camilla Power) believes the old superstition that if a person's double appears, it signals the person's coming death. And suddenly Zoe, her apparent double appears, to make a play for Lisa's boyfriend Peter Milton (Jason Flemyng). What's going on, who is Zoe, and can Lisa survive?

The first three episodes are strong, and have staying power. I discover I've held them in passive memory since I saw them on a local PBS station. The last, "The Double," is sadly forgettable. But, finally, it wouldn't be me reviewing this boxed set if I didn't now give you the subtitle report. And, unfortunately there are none, while all of the author's well-bred characters speak softly. So some of us may have to struggle for comprehension. It's worth it though.
August 25, 2008

English Mystery Lives!

These are well-acted stories about everyday people who find themselves involved in a mystery. The settings are commonplace, but varied and interesting. The plots are not predictable, but not always satisfying. They vary in quality, and generally lack the pizzaz of Agatha Christie stories. The cast lacks glamor. January 4, 2008

Totally pointless

"The Double", which is the shortest episode in this set, is completely unsatisfactory. It has no particular structure, no particular ending, no particular character development. The sub-plot involving the stocks seems to be irrelevant. This is not ambiguity, which does have a place in literature and film; it is just frustration. January 4, 2008

POOR ADAPTION

I can't believe how they messed up Ruth Rendell's mystery, THE SECRET HOUSE OF DEATH. I bought the dvd set just to see this book brought to the screen, as it's my favorite of her many mysteries. I have read it over many times. What a disappointment! The video version left out one of the main male characters, who basically solves the mystery. He is captivated by the main female character, which gives added depth and meaning to the mystery. Ruth Rendell should be screaming BLOODY MURDER, and I was a fool for buying it. December 30, 2007

4 by Rendell

As a lifelong fan of Ruth Rendell's books, I agree with some of the other reviewers here--these 4 TV adaptations are a mixed bag. The best by far is MASTER OF THE MOOR, with (chubby!) Colin Firth's chilling portrayal of the weird central character, and a lot of good location filming on actual Yorkshire moors. 2 of the others, VANITY DIES HARD and THE SECRET HOUSE OF DEATH, are okay, though nowhere nearly as good as the books on which they're based. And the last, THE DOUBLE, is a very odd, rather pointless entry based on one of Rendell's less effective short stories, made even odder by weak casting in the crucial double role at the center of the story. The girl is pretty, but not much of an actress. Still, these are a good intro to the wonderful world of Ruth Rendell, and the best they can do is make you read her books. You won't regret it. April 24, 2007

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