Brat Farrar (Leonard Lewis 1986)

[Timmy Lea]

I've been meaning to review this excellent 80s miniseries for some time, but what with Christmas and a slew of other work on, haven't got round to it- until now.

Based on the novel of the same name by Josephine Tey (although transferred to a 'contemporary' setting), this adaptation is far more faithful than Hammer's horrorized version Paranoiac (1964) preferring to remain firmly in the mystery/suspense genre. As a result it was screened in the late afternoon/early evening on a Saturday, and probably didn't attract the right audience, but those wise enough to know they were onto a good thing were hooked for all three instalments.

In short, the story tells of a penniless, unemployed young man, the Brat Farrar of the title (Mark Greenstreet, great-nephew of Sydney) who is accosted on his way out of the job centre by screamingly camp, floral-shirted old thesp Alec Loding (Francis Matthews in a role that by rights should have gone to Peter Wyngarde) and informed he is the 'spitting image' of one Patrick Ashby, who "committed suicide" in mysterious circumstances at the age of 12 some ten years ago, shortly after the accidental death of his parents.

Patrick should have been the heir presumptive to a massive estate by now, but owing to his death his twin brother Simon (also played by Greenstreet, this time with a moustache) now stands to cop the whole fortune. This angers Loding, whose family have been feuding over something long-entrenched with the Ashbys for decades. You can see why Hammer optioned it, it sounds like a Jimmy Sangster script already.

The plan's simple: Farrar has to make an appearance in front of the family lawyer (sleazy Colin Jeavons- yaaaaay!) proclaiming himself to be the 'deceased' brother, make up some schpiel about how he faked his own death and ran away to America (thus explaining his Transatlantic accent, although not to us, as Greenstreet is English through and through), then be accepted by the clan in time to stop Simon from claiming the loot, which Farrar/Patrick and Loding will split between them periodically. And of course, being an actor, Loding can tutor Brat in the ways of convincing impersonation, as well as fill him in on all the salient details. What could go wrong?

Well, plenty. For a start, Simon is a raving psychopath, who seems to know beyond all doubt that our man is not his brother for some reason, and prone to fits of violent, drunken rage (when not deflowering horsey village girls) Brat also has a conscience (a real crippler for a confidence trickster) and doesn't like taking advantage of lovely Aunt Bea (Angela Browne) who is only too happy to have her "nephew" back. Plus there's the matter of the boys' sister, Eleanor (Dominique Barnes, seen the same year in Ray Davies' exploitation oddity RETURN TO WATERLOO) who's drop-dead gorgeous, and stirs the loins of our young pretender in a way that could be extremely difficult to explain should anyone find out. Even more worryingly, it's reciprocated. Then there's Loding's brother, the local parson (who else but the thoroughly "vicular" Frederick Treves) who knows his own sibling too well, not to mention his fair knowledge of other people's, to ignore that something fishy is clearly going on.

In spite of its dodgy 80s hairdos and sub-TO THE MANOR BORN-meets-BLACK BEAUTY theme tune (actually the work of veteran progger Dave Greenslade, also responsible for the music to the uber-rare GANGSTERS) this is a slice of excellent BBC TV. Although my guesses as to how the ending would turn out were not exactly wrong (albeit with a surprise or two thrown in) it was engrossing stuff alll the way, and I was completely hooked within five minutes. Matthews (straight as a die in real life and actually married to Browne) delivers an ultralouche performance that's engaging enough, all "dear boy"s and "old thing"s, with the promise of unrequited homosexual desire for Brat everpresent in the air, but most of the credit for the sheer watchability has to go to Greenstreet.

Initially coming across as your average cheesy 80s leading man, all sculpted hair, yuppie chinos and cricket whites (where are you now, Christopher Villiers?) he soon reveals himself to be an actor of incredible versatility, playing the clearly unhinged yet outwardly respectable Simon Ashby simultaneously with nary a flicker. Ultimately, if proof of his skill were needed, it comes from the realisation that you've just watched a two-man argument played out by one man, yet it never ocurred to you once during the exchange. He really is that good.

It's a shame, then, that his profile never really reached the height it deserved. After BRAT FARRAR, he auditioned for the part of James Bond, something he would have been far better suited to than Timothy Dalton, who got the part. He had also wowed West End audiences as Mr Sloane and Sherlock Holmes, but nothing more concrete or widely visible came his way until offered the lead role of Mike Hardy in the HOWARDS' WAY spinoff TRAINER in 1991 (not of interest to genre fans except those familar with the Legz Akimbo Theatre Workshop), running for three series. Yet, after that, his TV and film career seemed to stall once again.

He now directs, but nothing that many people have seen- and it's tragic that more thriller/suspense roles didn't follow, as he was built for them. Ten years earlier he would have also made damn fine giallo material, but sadly that business too was on its knees by the time he was old enough.

Lewis' direction is TV-bound and glossy enough to appeal to the average casual non-genre viewer, but there's something in there for the cult buff too, a strangeness that would appeal to devotees of THE BOX OF DELIGHTS, MALICE AFORETHOUGHT, ARMCHAIR THRILLER, THE GREEN MAN or even THE OWL SERVICE- even a few 'spooky' sequences involving an old quarry manage to creep in. With source material from a writer like the late Tey, it's hard to go wrong anyway, but credit should be given to dramatist James Andrew Hall for successfully updating her story for the 80s whilst losing none of its skulduggery, intrigue or mystery. Oh, and the gold font against blue background on the opening credit sequence is a masterstroke. Honest.

The question is: when are the Beeb going to wake up and release it? It's no good just me and Marc owning faded old off-air copies, the public need to see this. There's been plenty of chatter on IMDB too, enough to suggest that interest would generate sales, as well as slightly more worrying talk of...you guessed it, a remake, starring Ben Affleck (aaaargh! Somebody stop him!!) which may either hinder or facilitate a domestic release. Yet the Men From Auntie remain tight-lipped about the subject.

So, am I in a minority? Only time, and response to this review will tell. Writer, almost 35, Glasgow-based but often travels to London, would like to hear from other Brats both near and afar(rar) Especially if they look like Dominique Barnes...

[MarcMorris]

Another nice review Timmy. I remember I was one of those who was hooked after the first episode, and watched it every Saturday afternoon. It really does need a DVD release.

I should point out/warn though that the music (by Dave Greenslade) is rather 80s cheapo sounding.

[mark meakin]

Are you talking about The 70s BBC series Gangsters Tim, as that's out on dvd from 2 Entertain as I own it. Boy is the second series of that surreal!

[Timmy Lea]

Do you mean you own the DVD, or you own 2Entertain?

Yes, that is the series to which I refer, and I'd like to see it- but I had no idea it had been released. No wonder all these companies are struggling, they never do any advertising!!

Shall add it to the ever growing list of future purchases, even though I'm so broke I can probably only afford two a month at most (actually none next month, as I'm off to London for me birthday).

[mark meakin]

If I owned the company Tim I'd sent you one for Free .It's been out a while but the first I knew of it was when it was in DVD Review.It's cheap at the moment as I paid £29.99 for mine !.

[MarcMorris]

I watched both series of Gangsters a couple of years ago when we last discussed it here.

[Timmy Lea]

Ah, the old forum. I missed out on all that. Don't know why, although I'm sure my nervous breakdown had something to do with it!!

[mark meakin]

Originally Posted by MarcMorris

I watched both series of Gangsters a couple of years ago when we last discussed it here.

Somehow I missed that thread but it seems people generally liked the series.

[Timmy Lea]

The question remains though, who liked or watched BRAT FARRAR?

[MarcMorris]

I re-watched it with the other half last night. She said to me "My mum would love this". Is that good or bad I ask myself?

I enjoyed it, but you must admit the ending is rather predictable and seems highly unlikely indeed - even so, I say if you get a chance to see it, then do. Your review sums it up very nicely I might add.

There were some humorous moments there too when Brat starts to eye-up his supposed sister.

I must re-watch Hammer's Paranoiac next.

[Timmy Lea]

Depends on what her Mum is into I suppose!! Mine probably would have watched it at the time, but wouldn't give it 'ouse room now- unless it had a cute gay man in it ala John Barrowman, or was reworked as a soap opera. Can this be the same woman who once worked on DOOMWATCH and stapled plastic rats to Robert Powell's legs? Sadly, it can.

[MarcMorris]

Well it *did* have Francis Matthews in it playing a rather camp and out of work actor who sets up the whole thing. But he was far from "cute" I suppose.

He did get some great one-liners in though.