It's Murder. But Is It Art?

A gentle, talky whodunit that ambles through drawing rooms and eccentric suspects, more cosy than thrilling, with a wry comic edge.

Created by

David Pursall, Jack Seddon

Genres

Action & adventure, Mystery, Comedy

Starring

Arthur Lowe, John Nolan, Dudley Foster

Overview

It's Murder. But Is It Art? is a 1976 six-part comedy thriller serial written by David Pursall and Jack Seddon, and produced for BBC One. It stars Arthur Lowe, John Gower, Dudley Foster, Arthur Howard, and Anthony Sagar. Eccentric artist-turned-detective called Phineas Drake investigates when beautiful blonde Tina Kent is discovered murdered in the drawing-room of Brigadier Austin Binghop. Insp. Hook is convinced that Binghop is the culprit and takes him into custody. However, Mr Drake thinks otherwise and places himself in considerable personal jeopardy – with the trail leading him to the house of Chelsea socialite Mrs MacPherson. Barring some low-quality, off-air recorded monochrome trailers from the time, the entire series is believed to be lost.

How it feels

Measured and easy to follow.

About

Mystery, deception, class

Content

Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)