With Ruth Rendell’s recent death, I thought I would honor her memory by watching this video collection I picked up years ago. Here’s what you get for about $15 on AMAZON:
Master of the Moor—Since boyhood, Stephen Whalby (Colin Firth) has sought solitude on the wild, windy moor. But his taciturn ways and familiarity with the wilderness make him the prime suspect in a series of shocking murders. Approx. 154 min.
Vanity Dies Hard—After her best friend mysteriously disappears, Alice Fielding (Eleanor David) begins to suspect foul play, perhaps even murder. And the killer may have targeted Alice herself as the next victim. Approx. 155 min.
The Secret House of Death—Newly divorced Susan Townsend (Amanda Redman) makes a grisly discovery in her suburban neighborhood and soon becomes involved in a potentially deadly intrigue. Approx. 103 min.
The Double—Two women, identical in appearance but totally different in personality, compete for the affections of one man. Which will lose love and perhaps her life? Approx. 103 min.
And, as if that weren’t enough, the DVD SPECIAL FEATURES include a Ruth Rendell biography and cast filmographies! This is a nice package at a great price.
These are very good adaptations of Rendell’s standalone (i.e., non-Inspector Wexford) novels. It’s interesting to see quite famous actors earlier in their careers.
Deb, you’re right: the adaptions stay fairly close to Rendell’s novels. I’m always surprised to see a young Colin Firth show up in a movie like this.
Nice. They ran THE RUTH RENDELL MYSTERIES on one of our PBS stations for a short while but it always seemed to be at random times. We caught a few when we noticed they were on but didn’t see most of them – 55 Wexford episodes (mostly 2 or more parts) and 29 non-Wexfords (including some very nasty ones).
Jeff, with our new enhanced DVR we’ll be recording more series like the Wexfords when they show up on Time-Warner. With 150 hours of space, that gives us plenty of room.
I think I have only seen MASTER OF THE MOOR.
Patti, the other Ruth Rendell mysteries in this set are entertaining, too.
My library has sets 1-4, so I might try one. I wonder which if any would have Wexford stories, or if they are all stand-alone books. I can’t tell by the titles.
Rick, here are the Wexford titles:
From Doon with Death (1964)
A New Lease of Death (1967) (American title: The Sins of the Fathers)
Wolf to the Slaughter (1967)
The Best Man to Die (1969)
A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
No More Dying Then (1971)
Murder Being Once Done (1972)
Some Lie and Some Die (1973)
Shake Hands Forever (1975)
A Sleeping Life (1979)
Put on by Cunning (1981) (American title: Death Notes)
The Speaker of Mandarin (1983)
An Unkindness of Ravens (1985)
The Veiled One (1988)
Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter (1991)
Simisola (1994)
Road Rage (1997) Road Rage
Harm Done (1999)
The Babes in the Wood (2002)
End in Tears (2005)
Not in the Flesh (2007)
The Monster in the Box (2009)
The Vault (2011)
No Man’s Nightingale (2013)
Thanks, George! All of those are on DVD? Wow. The library only has the 4 “sets”, so I’ll see if any of those titles are in any of the sets.
Rick, plenty of Ruth Rendell’s mysteries had movie versions. And, I think we’ll see more in the years ahead. Just like Agatha Christie’s works.
Really liked the Wexford series made for British TV – sadly the earlier entries, ,made on video rather than film, are not on DVD.
Sergio, we may see some re-makes of those early Wexfords.
Just changing up my name here to match what I use elsewhere. But it’s still me.
– Rick
Rick, we welcome you in all of your guises!