I sought out this film because it was in competition with a film I featured in in a film festival and it was very hard to track down. I eventually found a region free copy on Amazon or Ebay, I forget which. This illustrates how few people would have got to see this since its release and that, I think, is a shame. True, it won't be to everyone's taste, its low budget origins are apparent and some of the acting is ripe in tone but as a Georgian farce, that is understandable and forgivable and as a first time feature, commendably brave. At just one hour and 10 minutes it is brief and for that running time, rattles along at a terrific pace. The plot is simple, Biddy Belair, the teen miss of the title (And I know this is David Garrick's original title but it does, unfortunately, give the idea of rather dodgier fare!) is in love with a dashing young captain but is also paid suit to by a poltroon, a ridiculous fop and an old man. No prizes for guessing how it turns out. The cast boasts some name actors in Ian McKellen, Simon Callow and Carol Royle (of BBC's Life Without George fame) but they have little to do besides add a bit of marquee value, McKellen and Callow bookend the piece as an unseen prologue narrator and the author as an epilogue respectively. Royle has a little more to do as an aunt who stands in the way of true love. Nevertheless it is impressive that the nascent director and producer team of Matthew Butler and Tori Hart have the muscle and negotiation skills to get the aforementioned actors on board. The strongest performances of the film are to be found in Hart's delightful Biddy Belair, flitting effortlessly between wide eyed Innocence and a delicious impish pleasure in mischief and Gil Sutherland's old rogue of a lech, Sir Simon Loveit. I Also admired director Butler's use of small part players, allowing them moments to shine (Ben Lee's drunken servant comes to mind). Agreeable support amongst others, comes from Adam Alexander as Biddy's real love interest and John Fitzpatrick as a typically wise, comic confidant/servant. So all in all, this film does betray its low budget and theatrical origins but has some wonderful exteriors and interiors and is a wonderfully jolly, Georgian romp with Butler's sure but light hand on the tiller. Well worth a watch!
