Terrific adaptation! I read the book a few times, and I saw this movie a few times. It's not just a good detective story, but an excellent description of the characters. Roy Marsden IS Dalgliesh, so debonair, so elegant, with this little smile - fabulous. And Joss Ackland is simply perfect for the role of the arrogant surgeon Courtney-Briggs who would probably agree with the comment of one of the nurses that a surgeon is just one step below God Almighty. It can't get any better. Thank you!
The wonderful thing about James is that she was a wonderful writer and characterist. So her novels were wonderful literature in addition to being popular mysteries.
I am an operating room nurse and I can attest to the fact, that surgeons think they are God. It is a good thing they have me around to remind them that they aren’t.
Fascinating observation of a "closed community"; that hospital's like an asylum; a psychological nightmare. It's the detectives; their integrity, that leaves us with a sense of all being well, despite all the chaos. Thank God for men like Dalgliesh. Any left like him?
It is strongly implied in Dalgliesh's last sentence, when he says to Cohen that she didn't write anything but an explanation of why she committed suicide, that there was in fact more - it her last letter, she also has told Dalgliesh of her feelings for him, but as Dalgliesh knows that Cohen loved her, and probably still does, he keeps that part untold...
That sounds like a good possibility but that letter was evidence that she had killed her friend and would have had to be handed over by Dalgliesh. So would have been revealed. I'm glad I could watch this series over two nights and not have to wait from week to week for it. It was a great, yet sad story, however I do think it was long and drawn out. The other thing that amazed me is how Dalgliesh got involved with the drunk wife of the man that died. It was totally out of character for him and could have gotten him in a lot of trouble. It was unbelievable really and I wonder was it fabrication or had that been in the actual novel? Thanks for uploading. Really enjoyed it.
@@Failte630 Dagliesh did not get involved with the drunken wife of the dead man! He basically mentally sighed and pretended. He just kissed her a bit because it was clear it was the only way to get his info. Then created a diversion and quietly left!!!! Well done.
A very sad story on many levels. "Nightengale" has been an especially good watch in the Dalgleish (Roy Marsden) series of stories, albeit a sad one. Also l took note of the comment in the beginning of a fellow cop about Dalgleish's loss of his wife, as if Dalgleish had been moping about. In fact l am surprized that they haven't really shown Dalgleish mourning at all! And though it's not actually been said so far, l must assume their baby died in the birthing as well. Another layer and level of sadness.😕 Thanks for this great uploaded sjare!👍😀🇨🇦☘️
I remember watching this in the mid to late 80's on KCET. the PBS station in southern Cal at the time. I had read the book prior to watching the series but I was puzzled as to why they (Anglia) had made changes in the book--my recollection and it has been many years so that at this point I am unable to remember how the mystery and story was resolved by the author. There have been other comments from viewers on line referring to changes made in the original narrative. Surprisingly I don't recall James commenting herself as to whether or not she approved; for myself I wonder why they deemed it necessary since James was a superb writer and her narratives stood up well to multiple readings. Alas with the death of James, Rendell and Colin Dexter (of course he had ceased writing long before he died) I know of no writer currently (I am referring to UK writers and specifically omitting American) who write with the style and grace that these three giants did.
Adam Dalgliesh is not arrogant in PD James books. I can't believe he makes his assistant answer the phone when the phone is only a few inches within his reach.
Well, I’m glad to see the bad guy not get away! And at least she done it at a home that’s gonna be demolished instead of someone else’s house and mess their life up. Great show! Thank you!
What I'd like to know is what happened in episode 4 in nurse Taylor's sitting room between 33:10 and 37:15? Four minutes and 5 seconds of something explosive enough to allow her to let him wander freely through her flat. Remember she is a highly private person with a big secret. Explosive enough for both of them to stop sparring with each other. I think they enjoyed something more than a cup of tea together. She knew what she was doing. She played Dalgleish. Remember he finds his own poetry book conveniently left out where he would find it? She tells him she went out and bought it as soon as she remembers who he is. Textbook seduction. She lead him on and he let her. That's why he is so angry at 53:12 in episode 5. Laser beams have less power than his eyes. She knew from the beginning he was interested in her and she took advantage. And she has the gall to say at 58:36, "Such a pity, isn't it?" She throws his lack of judgement and weakness for her back in his face. She's some piece of work. Wonder just how many she murdered during the war.
Brumfett admitted killing Heather Pearce and Jo Falon, but said nothing about Dettinger. Isn't it convenient he died, although given the best treatment possible? As long as he lived, Mary's secret was unsafe. Pearce was silenced, but he could have told more people (which he did, to his wife) about Mary's dark past. What do you think: did Brumfett somehow tampered with him, too? She had enough experience to make it look like he died from the disease he suffered (abdominal aortic aneurysm). To those who read the book: is there any implication in it that Brumfett caused Dettinger's death?
Had not before considered how powerful and destructive emotional blackmail could be... In the end Dalgliesch nailed her coffin likewise during that final visit.
I totally couldn't be sure, but I believe Roy Marsden is wearing a toupee. Regardless, he is very handsome. I love this series of shows because we are really taken into the situations, although, at times, it seems we are left out of viewing some situations and scenes that I would enjoy viewing.
The things we are left out of is part of what makes it a high quality piece. The things un-seen, un-said, the ambiguity - allows our imagination to walk in the shoes of the investigator and juror
Well made adaptation. But also realised how unsatisfying are a lot of the endings of James' stories. This one's ending was too pat, too contrived. The recent remakes of Dalgiesh are pretty good as well.
I kind of wished Anglia produced the shows in film, like they did with Ian Ogilvy's "Menace Unseen" and some of the filmed episodes of "Tales of the Unexpected".
They made the actress in the ending scene walk fast to the story upstairs not wanting to bore viewers when I think the actual novelist probably meant that she walked slowly .. revisiting corners in her mind as she stepped forward stopping here and there till she reached her chosen destination and paused there… thinking.. choosing a spot where her soul is to be laid onto for life. Apparently the place meant so much to her not necessarily dear.. just a place where she found impossible to disconnect from.. hearing that it was to be demolished… might as well go with it, too. Bury everything.. to silence all. She had to kill her.. she could not report her when she killed to protect her. Painful.. a sin one cannot bear. She also could not surrender .. prison is no picnic .. what else could she have done but.. settle to die with what is left of her dignity.. even though suicide should never be an option. If I were her, I would take my dignity and self shame and misery elsewhere and do life on my terms asking for forgiveness from the Almighty who witnessed all things up till my time was due.
Excellent series but I'm surprised no one has picked up on an anomaly in the story towards the end in episode 5. The tribunal which cleared the matron took place in November 1945 and related to the murder of 31 patients in September. Now the War ended in May 1945. What were staff doing murdering patients in a unit which would have been under the control of the Allies for the past 4 months?!
End of the war : September 1944 not 1945. "Among the Hadamar victims were 476 Soviet and Polish forced labourers. Identified as having tuberculosis, they were transported to Hadamar and killed at the hospital in the last months of the war. "--Wikipedia
Exactly the adjective I used as I watched! Superb voice, too. After watching this, I googled her; sadly, she has passed, but her obit in The Guardian makes clear how extraordinary an actress she was.
WARNING: Spoilers. Well, I think everything would have been ok for Mary Taylor had she not decided to kill Brum. Her reputation would have been tarnished a little from her Nazi years becoming public knowledge, but nothing like having to deal with having murdered someone. She sort of destroyed herself when she made that decision.
I thought she did it for love, rather than let Brum spend life in prison. I know which I would choose in that situation and it wouldn't be life in prison.
@@carolinebarnes6832 She incinerated the mentally ill... possibly alive... She turned into what she spent her life feeling guilty of, trying to make penance. Then she was 16, now she was an inteligent ,mature person with a choice. Whether she was guilty all along and just offically inocent can be debaited. At the end she was cruel and self-serving (instinct of survival?) - she didn't join the one that loved her to madness....
Like the series, but this episode script sounds like a child's grade school reader. "I saw it from my window". "Yes. I did too." "Do you know how she did it?" "Yes. And why."
🤔🥱🥱🥱😴😴😴😴 I'm bored 😮 No ezcuse for EVIL They always get away with the self righteous, VILE ACTIONS 😱😂💯 That woman, was so obscure, didn't even notice HER 😞🤬 Were those two in love 😢, why else would she do it Everyone has same comment's 😅. About the dam book, who wrote it, and the inspector 😲😳. Was, too long, just got bored 🙏
THIS IS NOT THE FINAL EPISODE!!!! how completely frustrating. I found one where the story continues, and D is about to figure out who murdered the first 2 girls... and then THIS episode repeats. And no one else seems to have noticed...
judith angelo: You're incorrect. There are only 5 eps in "Shroud," and all are here, correctly labeled 1 through 5. (The total run time, per Amazon, is 251 minutes; 5 eps, each about 50 minutes, equals 250 minutes). I watched every ep; there is no gap in the action. I repeat, all the eps are here and are correctly labeled. If an ep repeated when you were watching, then you were watching from a bad playlist. It's up to you, the viewer, to check the actual title of each ep as you're watching or before you start watching a playlist.
"only the deepest kind of caring could lead you to such a terrible solution". What?? utter nonsense! murdering someone comes from pure hatred, not love. P.D. James's genesis of murder is bonkers.
I think it was love. Sister Brumfett was madly in love with Mary Taylor. So she saw herself as a knight in shining armor. To her Pearce was expendable. I think she felt guilty about killing Fallon. Mary did not love her but based on watching them together in this episode I think they had some kind of physical relationship - part of the "blackmail" Dagliesh was talking about? Although I think it was more complicated.
