Lord Peter Wimsey Clouds of Witness   Starring: Ian Carmichael, Glyn Houston, Mark Eden and Rachel Herbert. Acorn Media UK RRP: £19.99 AV9714 Certificate: 12 Available 03 August 2009

When Captain Cathcart, the fiance of Lord Peter's sister, is murdered and Lord Peter's own brother is accused of the murder, Lord Peter Wimsey decides to join in the investigation in order to find out what really happened. A mysterious letter from Egypt, a grieving fiancée with a suitcase and a bullet destined for one very special Wimsey are uncovered but who is the real murderer...?

Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey in this classic BBC adaptation of the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers. Wimsey is the archetypal British gentleman detective - a man of his time, his time being the 1920s to '30s - who simply seeks to solve crimes as a hobby, as pastime for the not-so-idle rich. This BBC series was originally broadcast in five 40 minute episodes in 1972.

Clouds of Witness finds Wimsey grappling with a murder in the family when his sister's fiancée is found dead with Wimsey's brother's revolver, found at the scene, being the murder weapon. As Wimsey's brother discovered the body the finger of suspicion rests on him. The race is on for Wimsey to discover who the real murderer is.

Since the original book was published the main twist has been a little over used in film and television productions, so the more keen eyed detectives will probably guess the story's conclusion well before the last episode of this production. However, that doesn't detract from how well constructed this drama is.

Notable stars include Mark Eden (who would go on to play Alan Bradley in Coronation Street) and Toke Townley (who most people will remember as Sam Pearson in Emmerdale Farm) also makes a very big impression as a friendly, chatty pub landlord. As for Rachel Herbert, who plays Wimsey's sister, I couldn't help thinking of Pippa Haywood (The Brittas Empire) when I saw her.

Extras include Ian Carmichael Interview (7 min, 46 sec interview conducted in 2000 - it's amazing how young he still looks); and a collection of text based featurettes on the author Dorothy L. Sayers and filmographies for the main cast.

I also thought I'd mention the packaging. The DVD spindles are truly awful and the discs were rattling around in the case when the DVD arrived. Sadly this seems to be something of a design fault, as even when I put the discs back in the box, the slightest knock dislodged them from the spindles once again. And, as this happened for both discs, it's not as though I managed to receive a DVD with a faulty spindle - it appears this is how they are manufactured.

Despite the age of this production and the noticeable drop in picture quality, Clouds of Witness remains a good old fashioned period drama which still has plenty to offer for a modern audience.

7

Darren Rea