Search - The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries - Series 1 (Speedy Death / The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/1/2024...

Articulate stories!

Tammy K. (TK942)
Reviewed on 11/12/2019...

This is actually the complete series. There were only ever 5 episodes made and they're all included in the set.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

"Scary biscuits!" says a character after a murder in a bath

C. O. DeRiemer | San Antonio, Texas, USA | 08/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The countryside? A place where the birds and animals wander about uncooked." That's Mrs. Adela Bradley speaking. The mystery is titled Speedy Death, the first of five in this set. The place is an English country manor home. The time is the 1920s. And the who include an old friend of Mrs. Bradley, the wealthy Alastair Bing; his daughter Eleanor, who is Mrs. Bradley's god-daughter, confined to a wheelchair since an auto accident two years earlier and who will come into a fortune when she marries; Eleanor's fiancee, Everard Mountjoy; his son, Garde; Garde's best friend (who was driving when Eleanor was crippled), Bertie Philipson; and Garde's house guest, Dorothy Manners. Of course, there are assorted servants as well as Mrs. Bradley's chauffeur, George Moody (Neil Dudgeon). George is big, capable man who dislikes boredom as much as Mrs. Bradley does.



Adela Bradley (Diana Rigg) is a wealthy woman of a certain age, a divorcee, a psychoanalyst, a catcher of criminals, a woman who drives about in a Rolls Royce, enjoys cocktails, is skeptical about many things, especially love and husbands, and who some might say is, in one of the great descriptive words of the Twenties, louche. "I'm never entirely sure if I'm famous or notorious," she confides to us in one of her asides spoken into the camera. "Someone once said famous is to live in poverty and end up as a statue. Naturally, I prefer to be notorious."



Little does Mrs. Bradley realize that during her weekend at the Bing estate, where Eleanor's engagement to Mountjoy will be formally announced, she will encounter murder. That's in addition to calculated emotional manipulation, pre-planned adultery, psychotic obsession and a shocking discovery that takes place in a bath tub. Several people also wind up getting happily married, a state that neither we nor Mrs. Bradley expect to last for long.



In addition to the 90-minute Speedy Death, the set includes the four 60-minute stories that made up Mrs. Bradley's second (and last) season. We have Death at the Opera, where a person at a posh finishing school for proper young ladies is finished off properly and permanently; The Rising of the Moon, which involves a traveling circus; Laurels Are Poison, where a haunted house may include too many ghosts from WWI; and The Worsted Viper, a tale of ritual murder in a cozy coastal village which involves the daughter of Mrs. Bradley's chauffeur, George.



Does this all sound a bit over the top? Or just "Scary biscuits!" as one character says in Speedy Death? While the mysteries are variable, the series are a good deal of fun, thanks to Diana Rigg. She brings to the role authority and skeptical amusement. One or two of the stories become a bit too serious for their own good, but Mrs. Bradley soldiers on.



Diana Rigg was 60 when she made Speedy Death. She's a first-rate actress to begin with; she looks a knock-out in some almost outlandishly sleek Twenties dresses and hats; and she doesn't hesitate to show us the character, meaning herself, without make-up. If you like stylish mysteries, you'll most likely enjoy these. The DVD transfers are excellent. Extras include a key cast biographies and a cast list."

Be Careful Before Purchasing This Item!!

David Nardone | Boston, MA USA | 12/04/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"2009/12/04



OK, up front I have to say that I am reviewing this item without watching it because it is a Chanukkah gift, and so I still have a week to go before I can see it! That said, I purchased this for my wife because we watched it on WGBH Boston and we both liked it when we saw it on TV.



The reason why I am reviewing this now is because I want to caution Amazon shoppers that this product, which is a 3 DVD set, is being sold by Amazon ALONG WITH the individual DVD sets as if they were all different!



The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries Series 1 consists of "Speedy Death" which is one DVD and also "The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries (Death at the Opera, The Rising of the Moon, Laurels Are Poison, and The Worsted Viper)", which is two DVDs.



Then Amazon says: "Frequently Bought Together" and then lists the individual components that make up this 3 DVD set along WITH the 3 DVD set!



So Amazon is selling the 3 DVD set and they suggest that you buy the 1 DVD set and the 2 DVD set, but the 1 DVD set PLUS the 2 DVD set make up the 3 DVD set, so you would be buying everything all over again if you take their suggestion! I know, because I bought the 3 DVD set AND the 2 DVD set, thinking that I was getting another series - I didn't realize that I was only duplicating my purchase!



That is why I'm writing this review not based on having watched the DVDs, but just to tell Amazon shoppers to BEWARE - and NOT make the same mistake that I did!"

Excellent

Severn Reader | Severn, MD | 08/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Diana Rigg is superb as Mrs. Bradley, the 1920's liberated society woman who solves crimes with the assistance of her chauffeur. Costumes are true to period."