Unnatural Causes (TV 1993)

Commander Dalgleish of Scotland Yard investigates the apparent murder of a well-known author who is found floating in a dinghy with his hands chopped off. The man, Maurice Seton, had ... See full summary »

Director:

John Davies

Writers:

Peter Buckman, P.D. James (novel)

Stars:

Roy Marsden, Simon Chandler, Kenneth Colley

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Marsden	...	Commander Adam Dalgliesh
Simon Chandler	...	Digby Seton
Kenneth Colley	...	Inspector Gerry Reckless
Mel Martin	...	Deborah Riscoe
Bill Nighy	...	Oliver Latham
James Cossins	...	Justin Bryce
Nicholas Jones	...	Luker
Anne Lambton	...	Sylvia Kedge
Marjie Lawrence	...	Celia Calthrop
Roger Alborough	...	Superintendent Maitland
Arthur Blake	...	Maurice Seton
Lucy Briers	...	Liz Marley
David Conville	...	Max Gurney
Erin Geraghty	...	TV Presenter
Oliver Haden	...	Charles Beech

Storyline

Commander Dalgleish of Scotland Yard investigates the apparent murder of a well-known author who is found floating in a dinghy with his hands chopped off. The man, Maurice Seton, had recently been ejected from a private club when he was caught photographing some of its members at the gambling tables. The club had been under suspicion of laundering large amounts of cash and had been the object of a police investigation for some time. The case becomes more complex when the autopsy reveals that Seton died of natural causes and that his hands had been removed post-mortem. As the investigation continues, there appear to be no end to the number of people who would like to have seen Seton dead, including his brother Digby, who stands to inherit, and literary critic Oliver Latham who was perpetually in debt. In his personal life, Dalgleish's relationship with Deborah Riscoe comes to a crossroads when the investigation interferes with their private life.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | author | murder | severed hand | investigation | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

P.D. James: Unnatural Causes

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglia Television, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last acting role of James Cossins.

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Connections

Followed by Original Sin (1997)

User Reviews

Does Anybody Bother to Read the Book!!!

Once again, like "A Mind to Murder", the writers chose to bypass PD James and make up their own version of the story. In the book, a famous mystery writer is found dead in the bottom of a dinghy on the Suffolk coast with both of his hands chopped off. Adam is on holiday there visiting his Aunt Jane and having to make a decision about his relationship with Deborah Riscoe. He gets involved simply as a spectator because his aunt is one of the suspects. He and the investigating officer , aptly called Inspector Reckless, don't like each other right off and even with the same clues, AD is able to figure out the murder method and the Inspector is not. His only reference to Deborah Riscoe in the book is a letter (and poem) he writes her but never mails and then he receives one from her. The movie version has totally done away with the Aunt, brought Deborah to the country and visiting Adam while he is on the case, getting attacked by the murder suspect and finally coming to her decision about the two of them with her boss. It has lost all the momentum of the novel but did retain the storm scene where Adam is almost killed/drowned..

Now, I am not suggesting you shouldn't watch this story, on the contrary, Roy Marsden is , as always, a class act as Dalgliesh. Just don't expect the same level of suspense as the book. Do the screenwriters ever read the book first or do they make up stuff as they go along?