Main Cast: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee
Release Year: 1954
Country: UK
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Alec Guinness stars as Father Brown, full-time priest and part-time sleuth, in this comic mystery based on the character created by novelist G.K. Chesterton. When Father Brown is entrusted with transporting a valuable religious artifact from London to Rome, he's understandably upset when it's stolen from him. Brown has reason to believe that a notorious international thief lifted the cross he was carrying, and the good Father finds himself on a dual-purpose mission: to recover the stolen goods and to compel the thief to repent before God. The supporting cast includes Peter Finch, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker as the Bishop. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown is one of the most beloved characters in the mystery/thriller literary canon. If The Detective, which brings him to film in the person of Alec Guinness is not quite a top-notch mystery film, it's certainly not for lack of trying on the actor's part. Guinness is an ideal Father Brown, and from the moment he is first discovered onscreen -- putting money back in a safe as a flashlight blinds him -- Chesterton aficionados (as well as just plain movie fans) know that they are in good hands. The actor puts on a mask of timid bemusement, his face seeming to suggest that his eyes are still trying to become accustomed to his nose and none of them really seem to know what to make of this strange mouth that insists on hanging around them. But all features spring to attention when he is on the trail, aiding one of the gentlest sleuths in the cinema's history. Guinness is aided by a strong performance from a young Peter Finch and the traditionally solid work of the unique Joan Greenwood, underutilized here, but welcome nonetheless. If the screenplay could be livelier in places, it still hits its marks, and Robert Hamer's direction is serviceable, if not as imaginative as one might wish. These failings keep Detective from being the first-rate film it could have been, but with Guinness around, it's hard to care. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Sidney James - Bert Parkinson; Gérard Oury - Insp. Dubois; Ernst Thesiger - Vicomte; Austin Trevor - Herald; Noel Howlett - Auctioneer; Marne Maitland - Maharajah; John Salew - Station sergeant; John Horsley - Inspector Wilkins; Launce Maraschal - Texan; Eugene Deckers - French Cavalry Officer; Hugh Dempster - Man in bowler; Dino Galvani - Italian Professor; Jim Gérald - French Stationmaster; Everley Gregg - Governess; Sam Kydd - Scotland Yard sergeant; Guido Lorraine - Cafe Patron; Jack McNaughton - Railway Guard; Aubrey Woods - Charlie; Ernest Clark - Secretary; Betty Baskcomb
Credit
Julia Squire - Costume Designer, Max Varnel - First Assistant Director, Robert Hamer - Director, Gordon Hales - Editor, Georges Auric - Composer (Music Score), James Bawden - Camera Operator, John Hawkesworth - Production Designer, Harry Waxman - Cinematographer, Leigh Aman - Production Manager, Vivian A. Cox - Producer, Paul Finder Moss - Producer, Robert Hamer - Screenwriter, Thelma Schnee - Screenwriter, G.K. Chesterton - Short Story Author
