laffite

The Suspect (1944) nw : bend

51 "They said it would be fun to learn the piano but I don't even hear anything."

Come and Get It nw : flagrant

*we'll see if I have the talent to execute my ideas.* I'm sure you have and Laffite is never wrong about such things. Judging from your sensitive take on the finer aspects of the movies---that wonderful thread on photography you started, for example (to name one)---you have the perfect temperament for such a venture. Do not stifle your inner artist. Your living room is waiting. L //

*Oh and "goddess" in french is spelled with double "s": d?esse * Thanks for the correction. I realize I knew that but was totally oblivious. Talking about Goddesses can be distracting, especially en ce qui concerne les Deesses les plus merveillueses. Great cartoon! Comment trouver ca! Vous faites des merveilles! //

*so i had to take screencaps from our Little Minister movie.....you know you want to see them right? heehee! can i please pretty please post them?* Mais oui, ma chere amie, you may pretty please post to your heart's desire. And we await your caps most eagerly. L //

*Jackie*, you wrote, ?Your Lady friend is right,? and indeed she is. Whether I?ll follow through, well, who knows. If I do I may have to exact a few conditions. I will, of course, have to don my Official Laffite Pirate Uniform , complete with white shirt that billows in the wind. And of course I?ll have to have my Laffite sword, (move over, Excalibur). I doubt we will encounter any pirates offshore the San Diego coast but you can never be too careful. Whether or not the Captain will allow me to hold my Laffite machete between my teeth remains to be seen although he may relent when he sees me because I really look good like that. And if I ever get to take this little mini voyage to the three-mile limit and back you can be sure that I?ll be right back here to tell you all about it and bore you to tears. And, ma *chere Deese*, la plus grande, la plus sage, la plus gentille de toutes les deeses du monde, je te remercie mille a mille fois pour etre venu ici pour nous rendre visite et pour avoir me dire de belles choses et aussie bien pour les images et pour la poesie de Monsieur Whitman: THE untold want, by life and land ne?er granted Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find. Je suis tout inspire par ces mots, merci, chere deese, *FilmF*, you urged, ?Many happy sailings,? well, it would be nice to have just one or two. I wonder if I?m now so inspired. You are all putting me to the test here. I may have to give this idea a closer look. And, *Barb*, thanks. I posted a couple of pics on another thread some time ago following similar words from you about your liking for things maritime. I think I posted this one and maybe the one that follows: The San Diego Maritime Museum showcases the HMS Surprise, a replica of the HMS Rose that was originally built in 1757. The replica was was built in 1970 for the Bicentennial but ended up not being used due to under funding. She was used in the movie, Master and Commander, and is now sitting in San Diego showing off her self and to great effect. On days the wind is up a bit and the water a little choppy the ship can rise and dip quite noticeably and there is a little thrill with that if you?re standing on deck. The other big hit is the Star of India, a ship made of bronze. It sails once a year but stays safely in harbor. I took this picture on such an occasion. This picture was photo shopped to make it look like it is at sea. On these coming out days it is surrounded by many little sail boats and there is a big hullabaloo. I can?t seem to find these pictures right now. L. //

Thank you, *Jackie*, for your reply. The coincidence of my visit to the Nina and the showing of that movie with "the moment" made me think of writing something, but I was afraid there for awhile that I might have sabotaged my own efforts because what I wrote was so terribly long. Your reply and especially your kind words, therefore, have an especially beneficial effect on me. Thank you for reading and replying. To answer the question, "Have you sailed?," it is necessary to effect an out-of-body experience, of a sort, anyway. I have to take off the Laffite hat, my buccaneer hat, as it were, and once again assume the usual, everyday, boring, old me...and to give out the unhappy truth and say...alas...no. I don't count those early days in the Navy when I did, in fact, "sail" the high seas. I know what it is to have that 360 degree horizon line, day in and day out. But was that really sailing? Sailing is being on a boat that, well, sails, and with real sails too. It's only been recently that I have become interested---no, obsessed at times---with this idea. Not learning to sail, per se, with a small boat of my own, etc., but simply being on one as it braves the swells. I've seen all the history channel stuff on the schooners, pirate ships, Spanish galleons, the whole bit, love to watch those. It really does fascinate to imagine occupying the Nina on an extended voyage, just blows my mind. My lady friend is always urging me to approach one these boat owner's on the marina and try and strike a deal, to go out where land is nowhere to be seen and then return with a land ho! Yippee! -- *I picture you with your white shirt billowing in the breeze and the sun shining down on your tanned face as you travel to all points EXCITING......* Oh, you put that so well! So much so, that I get the widening of the eye, the dropping of the jaw, the...well, you know. -- I think you have a point there with our sweet Rose. She is my favorite too. And yes, the movie really did a number on us, leading us to believe that a rapprochement between Mr Briggs and Rose was imminent. And yes too, Frederick, though coming around a bit at the end, doesn't really convince that he has made any changes. (After seeming rather horrible at first, Menersh does come across a lot better later on). Isn't it true that when Frederick comes to the villa he is really there to see Caroline and not Rose? He doesn't even know Rose is there. So it's not as if he came for her. And then he has to intercept Caroline at the dinner table to nod and wink the fact that Rose, also sitting at the table, is his wife and for heaven's sake don't spill the beans. Poor Rose, she didn't have a clue. And then we have Mr Briggs, who doesn't see well playing into the idea that he doesn't ogle and he doesn't grab and that this suits Lady Caroline just fine since that is what she is trying to get away from. And then we get the irony of having HER say "I had to grab you," when he nearly falls down a hill with the additional meaning she has made a choice. Still, it's not easy, for me anyway, to see these two as a compatible couple. But you are absolutely right about Rose ... of the three, she, more than the rest, seems to have the "happy" ending that is the least convincing. L //

Yesterday I had a Lottie Wilkins moment. (More about that later) And what is a Lottie Wilkins moment? Well, it?s a widening of the eye, the dropping of a jaw, a far away glazed look, a palpable longing, and a sort of mild paralysis that keeps you quite immobilized, at least for a moment or two, while you reflect in awe. Spoilers ahead Anyone who seen Enchanted April, recently shown on TCM, will know what I?m talking about. For it was that self same Lottie (Josie Lawrence) on an uncomfortable crowded smoke-filled bus with the rain pelting outside and with a countenance suggesting vague discontentment with just about everything who knows too what this moment is all about when she glances at a newspaper ad offering a villa for vacation rent on the coast of Italy. We get a little ethereal jingle as she reads this ad and we know something has happened to her. This is a vacation that has to be had! When she descends from the bus she is on a mission. There she goes. down the sidewalk with her umbrella in great haste. She approaches The Nightingale Women's Club but before she enters she gives a coin to a wounded soldier and then stops to take out a notebook and write something down. We learn later that her husband requires her to record all expenditures. O Lottie, we are beginning to understand?and yes, the husband is a large part of the problem. Inside all the women seem to be reading the newspaper. We see the outer side of one of these newspapers but we can?t see who is doing the reading until that jingle is heard once again and down comes the newspaper and we see the widening of the eye again?this time the eye belongs to Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson) and something has happened to her too. That little villa, ?a castle really,? is really a good ad. Lottie doesn?t even know Rose but she sees and proposes the venture as a joint effort. Rose is more reserved than Lottie (Lottie is kind of ditsy but a very charming ditsy) and she, Rose, is a bit skeptical at first but she is eventually won over. I admire Lottie?s desperation and strength of purpose here. She practically stalks poor Rose around the room saying things like, ?You look so beautiful and so sad.? She senses instinctively that Rose may be suffering from the same malaise. Indeed, they have something in common. And what is that? Lottie is admonished at the dinner table by her husband, Menersh (Alfred Molina) not to spend money on flowers for the dinner table. There is something unmistakably comic about him from the get go. The most telling image of him we get is a close up of his mouth as he chews on a piece of fish. He is insisting that Lottie come to a business party with him because he must be perceived as a family man. So much for the type of regard he has for her. His hashing out the petty details is amusing to us but not to Lottie. She listens hopelessly and argues in vain. When she tries to broach the subject of the proposed trip without him along, she trails off. In a later scene, however, her desperation pays off when she informs Menersh of her plans while he follows her around the house in a rage. This short, quirky scene ends suddenly when she belts out, ?I?m going!? and then slams the door on his foot. And here?s Rose waiting for her husband, Frederick, who is returning from a reception for his new book. Frederick is a writer of ribald novels. Rose is sitting in a chair with a ball of yarn. She has an old-fashion hairdo (by today?s standards of course.) She is the very picture of sweet domesticity in woman. I am affected. I remember a Twilight Zone episode where Keenan Wynn had this magical sort of tape recorder where he was able to talk into the mike and describe the woman of his dreams and low and behold she would appear. If I had a tape recorder like that I might very well describe Rose (Miranda!) in that chair, with that ball of yarn, with that hairdo, with that sweet face and that sweet disposition. She approaches an ideal of a sort. Alas, she is not so appreciated by Frederick. He enters, mildly intoxicated, and with a little habit of humming no tune in particular that can only be described as annoying as all get out. The discomfort of these two together is obvious despite his clumsy efforts of trying to be nice. When she says, ?Why don?t you write a book that God would like to read,? he elicits a guttural, contemptuous laugh that I would almost describe as disturbing. When she talks about her getaway he agrees so readily that her suspicion that he cares not a whit what she does or for her is vindicated. So Lottie and Rose knock on the door (still in England) of Mr Briggs? (Michael Kitchen) apartments. He is the owner of the villa in Italy and it is he who placed the ad. There is an initial misunderstanding and Mr Briggs tries to close the door?but not before Rose gets a foot in the way. Oh, Rose, good show! How I liked that foot in the door, too funny. The deal is done, the rent money has changed hands, the key to the villa has changed hands, and Rose and Lottie exit the building. Lottie is so dazed at their achievement that she almost gets run down by a van. ?Rose, we?ve done it. We?ve done it!? There is a vastly entertaining scene (and then I?ll stop) when the two girls decide they need more in their party to help defray expenses and they interview Mrs Fisher (Joan Plowright), an older woman who has been around. There are pictures of many people in the room where the interview takes place. ?I knew them all, you know,? she says, including, ?Dr Alfred Tennyson, who pulled my pigtails.? Ditsy Lottie asks, ?Did you know Keats?? who precedes Tennyson rather handily, by a couple of generations in fact. ?Keats?? exclaims Mrs Fisher, ?No, I didn?t! And I didn?t know Chaucer or Shakespeare either.? I thought of that famous Queen of Quip, Marie Dressler, in Dinner at Eight, when, in a smiliar scene someone intimated her advancing age, said with patented Dressler stare and acid tone, ?Well?maybe we should get together sometime and discuss the Civil War.? Everything described here is the first 20 or so minutes. The directing, pacing, and acting (everything) is so superb. There is not one unnecessary frame, a little masterpiece of exposition, really. And there is so much more to come in the story. So? What is my Lottie Wilkins moment? Check this out: Okay, so it may not appear as impressive as all that. But wait! This is a replica, built in Argentina, of The Nina, one of the three ships when? In fourteen hundred and ninety two Columbus sailed the ocean blue. This picture was taken on Feb 10. It is docked in San Diego and is on display until the 15th. For $5 you go on board and look around and talk to the Captain. This young fellow, 20 or 22, is collecting for the tickets and we get to talking. He tells me that he is crew member and gets to sail where e?re it goes. I am amazed that anyone could have a job like that. Methinks I hear an ethereal little jingle. Have I told you how much I love sailing ships, especially these ?old? ones. And so I have The Lottie Wilkins Moment?the widening of the eye, the dropping of the jaw, a faraway glazed look, a palpable longing, and that subtle paralysis in the contemplation?of sailing on that ship?for a living! I?m green with envy as he explains the ship?s upcoming itinerary. From here, they will go to Acapulco, then down to and through the Panama Canal, across the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida, and then North to Nova Scotia. Am I dreaming or what? Why, I might even give up Miranda in the chair for this! Truth to tell, the ship is very small, the deck area fore and aft is only 66 feet. A view from the rear gives the impression that the ship could easily tip over (but that?s an illusion, I?m sure.) There is a crew of four but in Columbus? day there were 27, a lot of sailors for a vessel this small. It does have a motor. The Coast Guard requires ships of a certain size to have them although I am informed by the Captain that they often shut down the motor and sail. That unsightly coal-black look, as if the ship has survived a fire, is caused by the liberal use of pine tar to preserve the wood. The sun's effect of all the pine tar causes that dark coloring. I wonder how much money I would let go of just to be taken out on that ship for, say, just a few hours, and then back again. That?s probably all that I would up to at the present time. I am not 20 or 22. But that day trip would be fun. It might be as much fun as a month in Italy...in a castle...by the sea. //

Meet John Doe nw : dole

*Attention Greer Garson fans!* That's a wasted post, FF, I don't think there are any Greer Garson fans here. (well, maybe one...)

Pleasantville nw : cohere

Great picture, Jackie! Now that's what I call Peaceful Co-Existence. Are those your pets?

*lzcutter* wrote: >MissG, >I hope there comes a time again very soon when you will feel comfortable posting here again. You are a long time member of this board and your thoughts and rambles have been appreciated very much. May I add a two cents and say that I certainly agree with the above. I am a Johnny-come-lately and as is my wont a little behind the curve and not quite sure what is going on and what has happened as I have not widely read the forum of late and I don't really feel like being a busybody and going back to inform myself of the matter...but not having you here, *Miss Goddess*, is nothing less than a shock to me. We all have to do what we have to do but I am hoping most fervently that you will see your way to come back to us. Not having you here is just not right. I am quite sincere when I say that if it is possible that a forum can be diminished by the absence of a single member, then I say that this is what's happening with you not here.

*Catwoman* wrote: >This is carzy of course but the Benny Hill Show was soooo hilarious to me. What a great BBC comedy series. Not to everyone's taste depending on the bawdy factor, but yes, very funny. Thanks for the reminder, I haven't seen any of his stuff for a long time. He is well represented on netflix, I see. He used to be on the BBC Channel. I just checked the schedule for the next few day but did not see him there. He's a funny man.

*well i did it foor your best silly pirate!* Everybody's always doing things for my own good. But it never makes me any better. I think Laffite, the pirate, is beyond redemption. *who knows where i might have hid the rum next* Yeah, who knows? But you would have found a good place. See, being a girl, you are very adept at being sneaky. Long ago we used to think that girls were made of... sugar and spice and everything nice ...but now we know better, of course. When God made woman he put the sugar and spice in okay but he added a little sneaky in there too. *ian holm has gotten so cute as he has aged, you just wanna kiss his sweet cheeks!* How about these cheeks? *Well, pray tell, how was it done with geena davis?* *by catching and killing the bad guy so he wouldnt kill anyone else* Wow, that Geena's some girl, whew! Can she cook? *just because she's a girl, doesnt mean shes sneaky at everything!* Riiiiiight. *she just happens to possess a trait of sneakiness,* Oh, just happens. It doesn't have anything to do with being a girl. Ooooo-kaaay *how do you think she got her husband Taylor Hackford* Let me guess. She was...uh...sneaky? *you should hear that story. its a pip!* Why don't you tell it? I'm always in the mood for good pip, especially if it's a ripping good pip. *you saw her play an innocent gypsy/rich girl who was innocent just trying to help the villagers* That the problem. Playing the innocent was subterfuge. Babbie was actually quite sophisticated and she was being sneaky pretending to be innocent. Tsk, tsk. Well, at least she doesn't go around and killing people like that Geena does. And she probably can't even cook. *and just happened along the way snag a guy who in turn just happened to be the man of her dreams and vice versa....these wonderful things happen sometimes! heehee!* But only in the movies and the BBC. *and she has won the Acandemy Award BTW! for The Queen* Congratulations to Helen...to her I most humbly bow, queen or no. *are you kidding? the whole family is already fighting over her VHS collection, its a lulu, really!* How many tapes does she have? Can you say without betraying a family secret? I have about 1,100 with probably 2,000 movies, mostly from TCM. *start barking! heehee* Sorry, I'm having too much fun just running around. But I'll jump through a few hoops if you have any. *but you better apologize to greer! you hurt her feelings.* *"smithy! smithy!" was a very heartfelt part of the movie ya know!* Yeah, I know. No one lets you forget. --- Here are a few more caps from the movie: Do you know this actor? Or this one? As you know, Hermia and Helena spend a lot of time in the forest where they get muddied up in the grime. It doesn't seem to hurt their looks that much. === Message was edited by: laffite

*bonjour drunken captain jack sparrow!* Who me?...(hiccup)...why, I cann no mo drinshk cuz' (hiccup) som'un stole mah rum (hiccup) and thass a factsh. (hiccup) I wonner who it war. *no silly, im not talking about The Little Minister silly! i know you have a copy of that, i meant the Midnight '68 version you have a VHS copy of in your library. * Ohhhhhhhhh... Here are some screencaps of Midsummer's Night of '68 using my camera, these are off the VHS. If she looks sad in some of these pictures, it's because she is sad quite a bit in this play. But, of course, there is a happy ending. If you like these, I can make some more for you. BTW, I have some dandy caps of Ian Holm as Puck. Wow, with what energy he plays this part. Also, Diana Rigg is a sweety looking thing and I'll post some of those as well. *trying to make the world a better place with a bottle of rum and a camp fire? wow! heehee! thats not how it was done with geena davis!* Well, pray tell, how was it done with geena davis? Now watch what you say, this is a family-friendly thread. *helen can be sneaky in just about every way possible in those BBC specials.* Gee, that's an understatement. She can be sneaky probably every where. She's a girl, ain't she? *i love that they casted her as an innocent naive girl who had no clue what she was doing until everything hit her at once. she was so funny!* She played an innocent naive girl? Boy, that must have required some acting on her part. Which story was that? She should have gotten the Academy Award. *grandmama taught me her system. she has said that if she dies, noone in the whole family, not even grandpapa could understand her system, only i can. heehee!* Yup, yer grandma knows what she?s doin?. She had it all planned from the very beginning. Her collection is a legacy?to you. *i wish greer had a special society too.* Well, I hate to break this to you but to have a special society you have to be ready for prime time and I?m afraid that some people just haven?t made the grade. I mean it takes more than just a few sappy movies to have a special society. You have to do more than just say, ?Smithy, Smithy,? over and over again in the same movie. But don?t worry, she may have a special society some day---in a billion years. (oooh, I think I'm in the doghouse now. woof woof) ///

*bonjour johnnny on the spot!* Bonjour Helengirl of Troy *I see you mentioned our favorite, "The Little Minister", and thanks to you I found out about this?_and I even own my very own copy*_ *you might have a copy of it?! my jaw just dropped! find it,* Uh, please reread what I wrote. Of course, I know where it is. And you know where I got it too, silly one *we cant have a pirate in a drunken rage going around to people's camp fires singing silly songs about innocent people can we?* Why not? We should all try and make the world a better place. *she won the Laurence Olivier Shakesperean award a while ago.* Larry would be proud of her...I think. *have your seen The Country Wife yet from that box set off netflix?* Yes, I did. I think I wrote something over in P&P about that as well as some of the other things she did on those old tv shows that you recommended. Yes, she was up to her subterfuges in that one, sneaky girl. *that is her playing Tatania lying down there on the cover.i would love to see that version as well to comapre it to her 1968 version.* Remember though, she did not play Tatania in the earlier one. She played Hermia. *but grandmama is recording it to get a better copy of it. she does this to every movie she already has a copy of in her VHS library. our whole family thinks she is crazy, but i dont!* Neither do I. When the VHS era was in full swing I recorded everything and have records on what I have. I also used to replace older recordings with newer ones if I thought I could improve the quality. People would ask me, "What are you going to do with all those recordings?" That was not always a happy question but in many ways it's a stupid one. I love my archives. I have, for example (as I mentioned before) the '68 version of Midsummer and just a few days ago I realized I had A Doll House that I was able to watch on the spot. I'm always finding things there I don't even know I have. So, I understand your grandma and I tip my hat to her. She's got the right idea. And she has you to do it for, which I'm sure makes it more fun for her. Again, nice pictures of Helen. I don't have access to youtube. Do they actually show the whole thing? How did your friend get those caps?

The Music Man nw : den

Ho, *_Jackie_,* I think your daughter just invented water polo all over again. I can't wait for the playing of Super Pool I. I love the idea of the fans being in the water. It might be kind of hard eatin' that finger food though.

Bonjour Helenfan extraordinaire! *...and of course, you know i had to add Helen Mirren! heehee!* Absolutely! I see you mentioned our favorite, "The Little Minister", and thanks to you I found out about this?and I even own my very own copy , a real gem. You refer to those plays that Helen did for the BBC, ?The Play of the Week? on British television and some of which are available on NetFlix. You have a boxed set, but for the rest of us, we can do a search on Helen Mirren and there they are, some of them anyway. I do need to catch up on my Helen Shakespeare although I have seen the ?68 version of Midsummer (a long time ago, alas) in which she plays Hermia, (Diana Rigg plays the other young lover and no other than Ian Holm plays, you guessed it, Puck). I have a VHS copy of that somewhere that I got off the tv. Thank you for posting those pictures of Helen. They are nicely chosen, giving us three quite different Helens. I like the menacing, but beautiful Tatania. And that?s Tatania lying down as well, n?est-ce pas? How appealing she looks (sigh), O Beautiful Helen. And, Meine Kleine Butterscotcherin, thanks for dropping by the new thread on the block and don?t be a stranger, okay? BTW, did you see the alert for Enchanted April coming up on Feb 10 on TCM? Have you seen that one? If not, this is your TCM homework for the week. I figure any movie with three love stories in one is something that you will enjoy *"Moll" was played by Alex Kingston.* Hi Chris, thank you for that. I should look these things up?And I?m corrected on Alfred Molina (thanks, FF), Josie?s husband, who says, ?You?re not eating your fish, give it here, it?s a shame to waste it,? while she desperately tries a way to tell him about the trip. ...minor spoilers The husbands are hopeless. Jim Broadbent writes a serial, or something, about Esmeralda, an Egyptian slave girl, and talks cynically about this with his wife (MirandaR) who stares straight ahead with a glazed look and with total exasperation, thinking how hopeless it all is. When I watched this for the first time I wondered why the ladies just didn?t leave them altogether. There?s Jim leering at Polly with that goofy grin, yike. And the marvelous scene when he climbs the stairs and at the point of exhaustion looking for...but wait, I?ll say no more. But what happens next almost made me do a weepie and that?s unheard for someone as unsappy as me . I?m really glad this one is coming up, I?m ready. // EDIT: Hi, *_Molo_*, I just saw your entries. Yes, I was in error. The two episodes to which I refer are Anne Seymour and then Anne of Cleves, which I believe are III and IV. And I think you have the joke right. I think it's funny. I mean it's one thing to buy time but it's something else again to be a hopeless optimist. You never know what a horse may do, though Message was edited by: laffite

*Enchanted April (1991)* *Four women search for happiness on an Italian vacation.* *Cast: Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker Dir: Mike Newell C-93 mins, TV-PG* I was once chided for liking this movie so much. I was told it was a chick flick. No matter, the film is an exercise in excellence. I remember being so taken that I watched it more than once and in a relatively short of period of time. This movie is flawlessly directed. Also rounding out the cast is Jim Broadbent and Michael Kitchen. Also, Josie Lawrence's movie husband, is his name Medina? The movie weakened a bit for me near conclusion as it veered a bit to closely to the syrup, but all in all a minor flaw, considering all that came before. Miranda Richardson is a favorite, where has she been lately? I may have more to say about this one as I watch again. Thanks for the heads up on the schedule. And yes, anything goes here along these lines. Seeing Newell and Miranda in the same sentence reminds of another movie, Dance With a Stranger, which came a few years earlier. Rupert Everett is so young in this one you won't recognize him. Miranda is excellent. The story of a real person and a real incident.

*_Jackie_* sez: *So while I was typing, you moved away...... * *_Molo_* sez: *He moved while I was typing too. * As you can see, my timing is impeccable. Yike! This thread won't be prolific but at least the matter will be in one place from now on. Now that we have Netflix and the like these old productions are no longer the stuff of esoterica (is that word? we have to be high brow here ) because many of them are available.

Hey Molo *Thanks for making me sound highbrow enough to actually know very much about BBC productions.* Oh, you mean you're not highbrow! Good! We don't like high brows here. High brows are expressely forbidden to post here. They are so...you know, high brow. *I just thought you would want to know. * I noticed the error and made the change. But you are too quick for me. You high brows are really fast... Apologies to Chris for the error. *Unfortunately, as is evidenced by my recent posts, I have been straying lately more toward Lassie, the Bowery Boys, and how Norma Shearer looked without make up. * Well, anyone who is not watching the BBC would do very well where you're straying. *I do however own copies of the 1970's BBC productions of The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R. I thought Keith Michell and Glenda Jackson were both spectacula...* They are great, the both of them. My favorite episodes of Wives are III and IV. The latter was Annette Crosbie, am I right. It's been awhile but that Catharine was a toughie, wasn't she. Now that's how you handle royalty. The actress who played Jane Seymour was good too. That's my favorite episode. I'm trying to remember the joke she told him about the horse. Do you remember? These episodes have to be revisited. *They are very stagey of course...* Oooh, I hate that word. I only use it when it is over-the-top in some way. There are times when the quality of staginess can be effective and entertaining. *Anyway that is the only contribution I can make right now regarding BBC productions. * Thanks for posting. As a history buff, I hope you will be back here with more.

Hi *_Jackie._*..you wrote: *I would love to see a version of "A Doll's House" in which Torvald is NOT portrayed as a bit of a monster....* Well, Torvald is Torvald. I just wonder if Anthony is too nice a guy to play him. *Nora is not one of my favorite characters, maybe because she is closer to my own personality (I always wanted to play Hedda instead, she is far more exciting), but I think it's time I took another look at her, from a more mature place in my life. I remember seeing a BBC version of Hedda Gabler with (?) Janet Suzman? I think, and it was such a great part - then when I was in college I kept getting cast as Thea in scene studies.... very disillusioning......Sadly, I would probably make a pretty good Nora.....* I don't understand why playing Nora should be so "sad" to play in the way I think you mean. Her bearing and demeanor on a minute-by-minute basis anyway do not suggest the downtrodden and repressed, not to me, anyway...although she apparently harbors illusions that supposed to suggest that she is. But I think I like Nora better than you do, I like her spunk (I wouldn't want to play her though ) UPDATE: To my delight, I found in my archives Juliet Stevenson as Nora in the original broadcast with none other than the venerable one, Alaister Cook, as host. If you haven't seen either one of these, Jackie, I would probably recommend this one (Netf has it.) For one thing, it is probably more complete. The Hopkins-Bloom version was apparently cut and some of the dialogue is moved around. I think both Stevenson and Trevor Eve are probably truer representative of their respective characters, taking nothing away, however, from the Hopkins-Bloom team. Juliet is a bit more scattered and vulnerable. Trevor Eve is severe and domineering in a way that Hopkins seems not to be and is more unctuously condescending to his "little songbird." He has a scene where he becomes exuberantly frisky with Juliet, chasing her around the room. He is unbelievably good here and is almost likable. When Juliet lowers the boom Trevor Eve is the picture of a man deconstructing before your very eyes, some of the finest acting I've seen in a long time. I have not seen nor read Hedda Gabler, so I don't know anything about Hedda nor Thea. Jackie, have you done some acting? Come on, now, let's hear a little about that. *House of Cards was AWESOME! Witty, frightening, epic, suspenseful, timely, and tremendously fun! I am a big fan of first person narrative, and more to the point, characters talking to the camera. Sir Ian Richardson..... well, there is nothing to say that hasn't already been said of his great performance.....* Ouch! I haven't seen House of Cards. I've just put the first one in my queue. *As for the few other recent BBC dramas I have seen, none seems to compare to the earlier stuff.....* True. The BBC is still probably doing some good things but what they show on Masterpiece Theatre has certainly suffered compared to earlier times. *_Movieman (Chris)_* sez: *I love BBC productions too. I go all the way back to "Danger UXB" and "House of Cards...Moll Flanders" from the mid 1990's was also quite fun.* Hi Chris! I was morbidly fascinated with Danger UXB when it was on. I thought some of that was harrowing. What a great idea for a drama...unexploded bombs, ooh... And yes, Moll Flanders was really good. I'm glad you mentioned that, I might go after that one again. I have that actress' face brightly in mind but I cannot name her off hand. I seem to recall this production being appropriately spicy as needs be. O that Moll! // Message was edited by: laffite