Talk:Rainwater tank and Father Brown: Difference between pages
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<!-- FAIR USE of Father Brown.JPG: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Father Brown.JPG for rationale -->
[[Image:Father Brown.JPG|right|thumb|175px|The ''Father Brown'' stories by G.K. Chesterton, Penguin Books edition 1981]]
'''Father Brown''' is a fictional detective created by English novelist [[G. K. Chesterton]], who stars in 51 [[short story|short stories]], later compiled in five books. Chesterton based the character on Father John O'Connor (1870 - 1952), a [[parish priest]] in [[Bradford, Yorkshire]], who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922. The relationship was recorded by O'Connor (by then [[Monsignor]]) in his 1937 book ''Father Brown on Chesterton''.
==
Father Brown is a short, stumpy [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[priest]], "formerly of Cobhole in [[Essex]], and now working in [[London]]", with shapeless clothes and a large umbrella, but an uncanny insight into human evil.
He makes his first appearance in the famous story "[[The Blue Cross (fiction)|The Blue Cross]]" and continues through the five volumes of short stories, often assisted by the reformed criminal [[Flambeau (character)|Flambeau]]. Father Brown also appears in a story "The Donnington Affair" that have a rather curious history. In the October 1914 issue of obscure magazine ''The Premier'' Sir [[Max Pemberton]] published the first part of the story inviting the number of detective story writers, including Chesterton, to use their talents to solve the mystery of the murder described. Chesterton and Father brown's solution followed in the November issue. The story was first reprinted in the ''Chesterton Review'' (Winter 1981, p.1-35) and in the book <ref name="Thirteen detectives">{{cite book |author=G.K.Chesterton| title=Thiteeen Detectives |editor=Smith, Marie|origyear=1987||publisher= Xanadu|___location=London|id= ISBN 0-947761-23-3}} </ref>.
Unlike his more famous co-[[detective]] [[Sherlock Holmes]], Father Brown's methods tend to be intuitive rather than deductive. He explains his method in "The Secret of Father Brown": "You see, I had murdered them all myself... I had planned out each of the crimes very carefully. I had thought out exactly how a thing like that could be done, and in what style or state of mind a man could really do it. And when I was quite sure that I felt exactly like the murderer myself, of course I knew who he was."
Father Brown's abilities are also considerably shaped by his experience as a priest and [[confessor]]. In "The Blue Cross", when asked by Flambeau, who has been masquerading as a priest, how he knew of all sorts of criminal "horrors", he responds: "Has it never struck you that a man who does next to nothing but hear men's real sins is not likely to be wholly unaware of human evil?". He also states a reason why he knew Flambeau was not a priest: "You attacked reason. It's bad theology." And indeed, the stories normally contain a rational explanation of who the murderer was and how Brown worked it out.
Despite his devotion, or perhaps, because of it, Father Brown always emphasises [[rationality]]: some stories, such as "The Miracle of Moon Crescent" and "The Blast of the Book", poke fun at initially [[Scepticism|sceptical]] characters who become convinced of a [[supernatural]] explanation for some strange occurrence, while Father Brown, despite, or rather because of, his religion and his belief in [[God]] and [[miracle]]s, easily sees the perfectly ordinary, natural explanation. In fact, he seems to represent an ideal of a devout, yet considerably educated and "civilised" clergyman. This can be traced to the influence of [[Neo-Scholasticism|neo-scholastic]] thought on Chesterton.
==Interpretations and criticism==
Father Brown was the perfect vehicle for conveying [[G. K. Chesterton|Chesterton]]'s view of the world, and of all of his characters, is perhaps closest to Chesterton's own point of view, or at least the effect of his point of view. Father Brown solves his crimes through a strict reasoning process more concerned with spiritual and philosophic truths rather than scientific details, making him an almost equal counterbalance with [[Sherlock Holmes]], which Chesterton read and admired, the stories of which had been discontinued just a couple of years before.
==Father Brown in other media==
*[[Walter Connolly]] starred as the sleuthing priest in the [[1934]] film ''Father Brown, Detective'', based on "The Blue Cross." Interestingly, Connolly would later be cast as another famous fictional detective, [[Rex Stout]]'s [[Nero Wolfe]], in the [[1937]] film, ''[[The League of Frightened Men (1937 film)|The League of Frightened Men]]''.
*A [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] radio series, ''[[The Adventures of Father Brown]]'' (1945) featured [[Karl Swenson]] as Father Brown, Bill Griffis as Flambeau and Gretchen Douglas as Nora, the rectory housekeeper.<ref name="Radio Programs, 1924-1984">{{cite book |author=Terrace, Vincent| title=Radio Programs, 1924-1984:A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows|origyear=1999||publisher= McFarland|___location=Jefferson, NC|id= ISBN 0-7864-0351-9}} </ref>
*A [[1954 in film|1954]] [[Father Brown (film) (1954)|film of Father Brown]] (released in the USA as ''The Detective'') which had a formidable cast, with Sir [[Alec Guinness]] playing the part of Father Brown, is widely regarded as a minor classic. Like the 1934 film starring Connolly, it was based on Chesterton's first Brown short story, "The Blue Cross." The experience of playing the character prompted Guinness's [[conversion]] to [[Catholicism]].<ref> [http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=6679 How Father Brown Led Sir Alec Guinness to the Church] (Como el Padre Brwon llevo a Sir Alec Guinness a la Iglesia)</ref><ref name=guardianfilm>{{cite news
| last =Sutcliffe
| first =Tom
| coauthors =
| title =Sir Alec Guinness obituary
| work =[[The Guardian|Guardian]]
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date =[[2000-08-07]]
| url =http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,351452,00.html
| accessdate = 2007-02-28 }}</ref>.
*[[Heinz Rühmann]] played Father Brown in two [[Germany|German]] adaptations of Chesterton's stories, ''Das schwarze Schaf'' (The black sheep) ([[1960 in film|1960]]) and ''Er kanns nicht lassen'' (He can't stop to do it) ([[1962 in film|1962]]) with both music-scores written by composer [[Martin Böttcher]]. Later he played ''Operazione San Pietro'' ([[1967 in film|1967]]) as Cardinal Brown. <!-- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061324/ -->
*A German television series superficially based on the character of Father Brown, ''Pfarrer Braun'', was launched in [[2003 in television|2003]]. Pfarrer Guido Braun, from [[Bavaria]], played by [[Ottfried Fischer]], solves murder cases in the (fictitious) island of Nordersand (Northsea-island) in the first two episodes. Later other German landscapes like the [[Harz]], the [[Rhine]] or [[Meißen]] in [[Saxony]] became sets for the show. Martin Böttcher again wrote the score and he got the instruction by the producers to write a title-theme hinting at the theme of the cinema-movies with [[Heinz Rühmann]]. To date nine shows have been made, which ran very successfully in German [[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]].
*In [[1974 in television|1974]], [[Kenneth More]] starred in a 13-episode ''Father Brown'' TV series, each episode adapted from one of Chesterton's short stories. The series, produced by Sir [[Lew Grade]] for [[ATV]], was shown in the United States as part of [[PBS]]'s ''[[Mystery!]]''.
*An American TV movie, ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079850/ Sanctuary of Fear]'' (1979), starred [[Barnard Hughes]] as an Americanized, modernized Father Brown in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]. The film was intended as the pilot for a series but critical and audience reaction was unfavorable, largely due to the changes made to the character, and the mundane [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] plot.
*An italian television series entitled ''I racconti di padre Brown'' ("The Tales of Father Brown") starred the well-known italian comedian [[Renato Rascel]].
*A series of 16 Chesterton stories has been produced by the Colonial Radio Theatre in [[Boston]]. J T Turner plays Father Brown, all scripts are written by British radio dramatist [[M J Elliott]].
===Trivia===
While on ___location in [[Mâcon]], France, filming the Father Brown movie, actor [[Alec Guinness]] was approached by a young French boy who, seeing him in costume, exclaimed 'Mon père!' and, hanging on his arm, chatted away in French. Eventually, the boy said goodbye and left. Guinness, amazed and impressed that the [[cassock]] of a priest could inspire such trust and happiness in a child who was such a complete stranger, started to investigate the [[Roman Catholic]] faith, and subsequently joined the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name=guardianfilm/>
== Compilation books ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
1. ''The Innocence Of Father Brown'' (1911)
:#The Blue Cross
:#The Secret Garden
:#The Queer Feet
:#The Flying Stars
:#The Invisible Man
:#The Honour of Israel Gow
:#The Wrong Shape
:#The Sins of Prince Saradine
:#The Hammer of God
:#The Eye of Apollo
:#The Sign of the Broken Sword
:#The Three Tools of Death
2.''The Wisdom Of Father Brown'' (1914)
:#The Absence of Mr Glass
:#The Paradise of Thieves
:#The Duel of Dr Hirsch
:#The Man in the Passage
:#The Mistake of the Machine
:#The Head of Caesar
:#The Purple Wig
:#The Perishing of the Pendragons
:#The God of the Gongs
:#The Salad of Colonel Cray
:#The Strange Crime of John Boulnois
:#The Fairy Tale of Father Brown
3. ''The Incredulity Of Father Brown'' (1926)
:#The Resurrection of Father Brown
:#The Arrow of Heaven
:#The Oracle of the Dog
:#The Miracle of Moon Crescent
:#The Curse of the Golden Cross
:#The Dagger with Wings
:#The Doom of the Darnaways
:#The Ghost of Gideon Wise
{{col-2}}
4.''The Secret Of Father Brown'' (1927)
:#The Secret of Father Brown
:#The Mirror of the Magistrate
:#The Man With Two Beards
:#The Song of the Flying Fish
:#The Actor and the Alibi
:#The Vanishing of Vaudrey
:#The Worst Crime in the World
:#The Red Moon of Meru
:#The Chief Mourner of Marne
:#The Secret of Flambeau
5. ''The Scandal Of Father Brown'' (1935)
:#The Scandal of Father Brown
:#The Quick One
:#The Blast of the Book
:#The Green Man
:#The Pursuit of Mr Blue
:#The Crime of the Communist
:#The Point of a Pin
:#The Insoluble Problem
The Vampire of the Village (outside of compilation)
{{col-end}}
==References==
*[[Martin Gardner|Gardner, Martin]], ''The Annotated Innocence of Father Brown'', [[Oxford University Press]], 1987, ISBN 0-19-217748-6 (Notes by Gardner, on Chesterton’s stories).
==Citations==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/204 Project Gutenberg text of "The Innocence of Father Brown"]
*[http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/223 Project Gutenberg text of "The Wisdom of Father Brown"]
*[http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/Incredulity.txt ''The Incredulity of Father Brown''] at Martin Ward's [http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc ''G. K. Chesterton's Works on the Web''].
*[http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/Complete_Father_Brown/index.html ''The Complete Father Brown''] at Martin Ward's [http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc ''G. K. Chesterton's Works on the Web''].
*[http://www.zetaminor.com/cult/father_brown/father_brown_v1.htm Review of UK DVD of the 1974 TV series]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Father}}
[[Category:Characters in written fiction]]
[[Category:Fictional priests and priestesses]]
[[Category:Fictional amateur detectives]]
[[Category:Novel series]]
[[Category:Short stories]]
[[Category:Fictional Catholics]]
[[Category:Fictional religious workers]]
[[Category:Mystery!]]
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