Father Brown, Detective
                              
Director: Edward Sedgewick
Year: 1934
Rating: 5.0
This first film adaptation of a Father Brown story is based on G.K. Chesterton's first Father Brown story, the 1910 The Blue Cross. It also seems to take bits from the 1911 Flying Stars. Chesterton was a prolific essayist on philosophy and theology and already quite well known when he wrote his first Father Brown short story. 52 others were to follow and Chesterton is now remembered primarily for his creation of the Father Brown character. A humble innocuous British country priest with a razor sharp mind and using his knowledge of human nature to solve crimes of all sorts. This one follows the short story to some degree but with a love story wedged in for no good reason. It is also not much of a mystery as the narrative becomes more an exploration of the tug of war between the good and bad within each of us. God and goodness wins but the film is a dull trudge to get there.



Master thief Hercule Flambeau (Paul Lukas) announces in letters that he plans to steal the ten Flying Stars, valuable diamonds. Six are with a wealthy man, four are being held by Father Brown (Walter Connolly). Flambeau wants to steal them to give them to a lady (Gertrude Michael) that he has fallen in love with. Flambeau was to become a recurring character in the Father Brown stories, first as a thief and then as a reformed friend of Father Brown. Here Father Brown uses his four stars to trap Flambeau. Not for the police but for his soul.