British Network Television
‘Father Brown’: S03.E14. “The Deadly Seal”
Bishop Talbot, attending a shooting party, is in grave danger
The Deadly Seal, the third series penultimate episode, finds Father Brown (Mark Williams) being warned that Bishop Talbot (Malcolm Storry) will be murdered during a shooting party.
Before Father Brown can get anymore information from the mysterious individual, with the person having left St Mary’s Catholic Church in a hurry, the priest is left with very little to go on.
Bridgette McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack), seemingly annoyed with Bishop Talbot, informs Father Brown that the bishop will not be at St Mary’s for the following day’s church service as he will be out shooting birds. This news, certainly cause for concern, leads Father Brown to visiting Bishop Talbot at his residence.
Father Brown learns from the bishop, even though he seemingly loathes the theatre, he is attending a shooting party put on by theatrical impresario Bentley Duke (Aden Gillett).
Mr Duke, well known within the theatrical community for risque plays, has agreed to fund restoring the tower of St George. Whilst Bishop Talbot considers Mr Duke’s money “ill-gotten gains,” not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, he is prepared to take the funds.
Father Brown, unable to reveal his reasoning, wants the bishop to not attend the shooting party. The seal of the confessional prevents Father Brown from divulging any information to anyone.
Noting how Lady Felicia Montague (Nancy Carroll) is also attending the shoot, taking advantage of his close relationship with her ladyship, Father Brown calls in a favour. Lady Felicia is only too happy to speak with Natasha Farrango (Yolanda Kettle) on his behalf.
Bishop Talbot, seeing Father Brown at the shoot, is immediately frustrated by his presence as it is immediately assumed he is there to prevent St George from receiving the funds it needs for the tower. His anger is readily apparent. The bishop, even if he tried, couldn’t be further from the truth.
The priest, in brief conversation with Lady Felicia, learns that the Lord Chamberlain band Mr Duke’s last play from London’s West End because it was apparently too racy. The play, sold out for months, cost the theatrical impresario a significant amount of money.
It isn’t surprising, with Bishop Talbot having the Lord Chamberlain’s ear, that Mr Duke’s play was pulled from the West End. The bishop, every bit as conservative as Mrs McCarthy, doesn’t see the value in theatrical productions. Later, when Father Brown discovers Bishop Talbot owns a collection of band plays, the bishop’s relationship with the Lord Chamberlain is revealed. Father Brown, as we all know, doesn’t appreciate censorship.
Peter Redhill (Bill Buckhurst), an accomplished theatre director and thespian, is noticed by Father Brown. Lady Felicia, with a hot bit of gossip, tells the priest of Mr Redhill’s affair with Miss Farrango. Miss Farrango, a thespian, is in Mr Duke’s latest play.
The confrontation between Mr Redhill and Bishop Talbot, remembering the affair, was only a matter of time. The bishop, well known for his views on adultery, is explicitly forthcoming with his understanding of the subject. The scene was becoming somewhat entertaining. Albert Davies (Chris Wilson), seeing the bishop needing his help, steps between the two men and punches Mr Redhill.
Not long thereafter, somewhere on a woodland path, Father Brown becomes increasingly agitated. The priest, trying to get Bishop Talbot out of harm’s way, is restrained by the confessional seal. Father Brown is unable to explain his unusual behaviour. Seeing danger quickly approaching, as Father Brown pushes the bishop to the ground, gunfire can be heard. Mr Davies is hit. It doesn’t take long for the bishop’s butler to succumb to his injury.
Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers), confronted by Bishop Talbot, reveals the killer was someone in the shooting party. The police inspector, noting how everyone seemed to be separated at the time, recognises no one has a concrete alibi.
The bishop, remembering Father Brown’s erratic behaviour, believes the shot was meant for him. The priest remains silent. Bishop Talbot is frustrated with Father Brown when he is seemingly unable to divulge any information. It’s not until much later doesn’t Bishop Talbot realise the reason for Father Brown’s silence. The confessional seal requires it of him.
The next time we see Father Brown, standing next to Ethel Davies (Kate Anthony), it is Mr Davies’ funeral. There is, with the absence of any real grief in Mrs Davies’ facial expression, something odd about this scene. Father Brown is concerned that Mrs Davies, moving forwards, will not manage financially.
Mr Davies, even though he wasn’t a drinker when he married his wife, was a frequent visitor to The Red Lion. Whilst this information comes from Sidney “Sid” Carter (Alex Price), noting how frequently Lady Felicia’s chauffeur likes a drink, it sounds truthful. Mr Davies apparently spent more time in The Red Lion than he did at work. Father Brown soon narrows the suspect list down to the “theatre heathen.”
Mr Duke is surprised to find Father Brown wanting to sit on on rehearsals of his latest play. The theatrical impresario, having no intention of funding St George’s restoration, only invited Bishop Talbot to the shoot to get under Mr Redhill’s skin. Father Brown, admitting he read the script to A Rather Private Affair, found it most enjoyable. There is genuine surprise in Mr Duke’s facial expression.
The priest seems truly disappointed that it had been pulled from the West End. Mr Duke, remembering how the bishop sees Father Brown as his “blackest sheep,” allows the priest to sit in on the rehearsals. Mr Redhill, a lapsed Catholic, isn’t amused with this arrangement. Mr Duke is only allowing Father Brown to observe rehearsals because he knows the bishop will be livid. Room for Three, Mr Duke’s latest play, isn’t something the bishop would appreciate.
Father Brown, underestimating how vengeful women can be, seems to think Mr Davies was shot by a man. Women, noting how there were a few at the shoot, are every bit as capable of murder as men. Father Brown learns from Lady Felicia that Winston Grater (Tom Knight), Natasha’s uncle, did unspeakable things to his niece when she was only a little girl.
The operative word in the phrase “scene of the crime,” as Father Brown suddenly realises, isn’t as much crime as it is scene. It turns of that Inspector Sullivan, for the first time since he arrived in Kembleford, correctly assessed the situation. Mr Davies was the intended target. The killer needed Father Brown there to see what he would do.
Sid, after a long day of drinking, discovers that it wasn’t marriage that drove Mr Davies to drink as much as he did. It was the thought of gambling debts. It doesn’t take long for Father Brown to figure out Mr Davies had gambled away his wife’s entire savings.
Needing to confirm this belief, having visited the Davies residence, Father Brown is told by Mrs Davies of her financial burden. It is during this same visit that Father Brown notices Mrs Davies makes some marvellous embroideries. The importance of these embroideries, especially the one with shaking hands, is not immediately apparent. There is something about this particular embroidery which suggests an agreement between two women.
Inspector Sullivan, his usual smug self, and Sergeant Daniel Goodfellow (John Burton) are waiting for Father Brown when he exits the Davies residence. The police inspector, once again getting the wrong end of the stick, races off to the theatre to arrest the wrong person.
Inspector Sullivan, having arrested Mr Duke, knows it was Bishop Talbot that influenced Lord Chamberlain’s decision to ban A Rather Private Affair from the West End. Mr Duke, having zero respect for the bishop, isn’t likely to risk being hung when he has far worse enemies.
Father Brown, back stage, discovers something most interesting. The clothes used by the individual in the confessional, coupled with a performance during the play, points Father Brown in the right direction. Natasha, when faking a male voice, gives the game away. It was her that killed Mr Davies. What could possibly have driven Natasha to have killed Mr Davies?
If anyone had a reason to kill Mr Davies, noting how he had stolen his wife’s savings, it would have been Mrs Davies. Mrs Davies, having a cast iron alibi, was at work the morning her husband was killed. Father Brown, after the play, complements Natasha on her convincing performance in the confessional. Father Brown soon notices one of Mrs Davies’ embroideries.
The following morning, back stage at the theatre, Natasha finds Father Brown waiting for her and he has questions. The confessional box costume Natasha wore earlier in the episode can be seen hanging on the back of a door near to where Father Brown is seated. Mrs Davies was a temporary wardrobe mistress at the theatre.
Natasha, having Father Brown hear her confession, speaks of her uncle having taken away from her everything she had. She, convincing Father Brown with her part of the truth, is obviously a great acting talent. This truth becomes apparent when Father Brown is confronted by Inspector Sullivan outside the church. The police inspector, seeing no other choice, is forced to take the priest to the police station for further questioning.
Father Brown, on route to the police station, sees Mrs Davies heading to the train station. Mrs Davies, having noticed Father Brown in the back of the police car, hastens her step towards the train station.
It is at the police station, when Inspector Sullivan questions him, Father Brown realises the significance of the embroideries. It is a pact to cloak motives.
Whilst Natasha had no motive to kill Mr Davies, when it comes to Mr Grater, the same is true of Mrs Davies. There is however motivations for Natasha and Mrs Davies seeing Mr Grater and Mr Davies dead, respectively.
This story is beginning to feel a lot like Patricia Highsmith’s 1950 novel Strangers on a Train.
In Strangers on a Train, for people not familiar with the novel, the characters Guy Haines and Charles Bruno have reason to kill certain people in their respective lives.
Instead of carrying out their own murders, noting the implausibility of the situation, they agree to “swap” intended victims. The plan, as Bruno sees it, is for him to kill Guy’s wife. He does exactly that. Haines, initially thinking Bruno, finds himself in a sticky situation. Guy was required to kill Bruno’s father.
Mrs Davies, with Natasha having killed Mr Davies, feels obligated to kill Mr Grater. Father Brown, with Inspector Sullivan distracted by a call from the superintendent, takes advantage of the situation and escapes from the police station almost unseen. Father Brown, with help from Lady Felicia and Sid, get to the Grater residence about the same time as Mrs Davies.
The priest stops Mrs Davies from killing Mr Grater. Father Brown, even though he doesn’t explicitly state Mr Grater’s crime, knows what happened between him and his niece. The priest, after returning to the theatre, tells Natasha that Mrs Davies will not be killing her uncle as previously arranged.
Natasha, having told Father Brown in the confessional that the bishop would be murdered, wanted to see if he would be prepared to break the seal. She had always believed her uncle was confessing to his sins, his crime of abuse, in Father Brown’s confessional box. Mr Grater never confessed anything to Father Brown.
The episode closes with Lady Felicia trying out for Natasha’s part in Mr Duke’s play. It’s a great ending to a fabulous episode.