Unlike so many others I am not a Poliakof fan. In fact I usually avoid his attempts, which comedically especially fall flat for me. That said I always make a point of noticing cast and director. I could only believe that a Dame Peggy Ashcroft directed by the razor sharp Sir Peter Hall had to be something extraordinary and I was nothing but in awe of this entire production. Quite amazingly accurately believable and sometimes even some suspense in this very ordinary story, which could so easily have missed the mark? A gem and a bullseye for the late great Dame Peggy, Sir Peter and all the well crafted cast. The boy, (I forget his name) is truly a precocious little horror and i would love to know if Sir Peter had much work to do, or did it all come out naturally after an initial coaxing? Father Fox was perfectly cast. And the scene in the house party with the typically English mature women and their snobby attitudes was another one of the many accurate social comments on horrible British society types. Mind you I have seen similarly snobby snotty American so called upper class types of pretty ugly horrific proportions!! UGH.Also the street scenes where the British general public show their unique form of utter complacency was another of the many accurately portrayed social comments on the Brits and their non-committal zero reaction to anything unless they are personally effected..Another UGH!!Social comments abound at every opportunity here, all to be savoured...
