Russell Movies

The unidentified body of a woman is discovered in a field near Shrewbury Abbey. The locals suspect that the dead woman was the wife of town potter Ruald (Gregor Tutter), who claims not to have seen his wife since she went on a pilgrimage the year before. Suspected of murder, Ruald puts his fate in the hands of amateur sleuth Brother Cadfael ( Derek Jacobi), who tries to make sense of such seemingly unrelated clues as a vial of hemlock and a missing ring. As the evidence mounts, Cadfael begins to suspect that the killer is lurking somewhere within the abbey itself. Adapted by Christopher Russell from the novel by Ellis Peters, "The Potter's Field" was first broadcast in England on December 28, 1998; it was shown in America the following year as part of the PBS Mystery anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ellis Peters' 12th-century monk who finds time in his daily devotionals to ferret out crime comes alive in this made-for-TV drama. A young man named Meriet (Christian Anholt) arrives at Shrewsbury Abbey eager to become a novice, but Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) somehow doubts the boy's good intentions, and a Senior Cleric decides to take a look into his past. When the Cleric turns up dead, Meriet confesses to the murder, but once Cadfael learns more about the young man's troubled history, he wonders if Meriet might be offering himself as a sacrifice to cover someone else's tracks. Brother Cadfael: The Devil's Novice also features Terence Hardiman and Mark Charnock; the drama was originally shown in the U.S. as part of the PBS series Mystery! ~ Mark Deming, Rovi