Cold Comfort Farm

To me, this really is a case where the BBC beat John Schlesinger. The 1971 PBS showing was so good, it did cause me to find the Stella Gibbons and read it. If it was only for the Alistair Sim portrayal of Amos Starkadder, this one would still be worth watching.

I can't compare this version of the very delightful book with the movie, because all I can remember about the movie is that I kept wishing I could hear Alistair Sim say, "There will be no butter IN HELL!" My mother and I would say that to each other when appropriate for the next 40 years. I was shocked to realize how long ago we must have seen this, and there are still so many scenes and themes that stick with me from the book and the series, but the movie went in one eye and out the other. Have fun, people, any Cold Comfort is better than no Cold Comfort, but maybe, if enough people review this on IMDb, the BBC will come out with a DVD. Or make an arrangement with HULU.

See the wonderful 1995 movie version instead! I'm a big fan of British comedy and drama, and of the early 1970's Masterpiece Theater series that ran on PBS. However this early TV version is an absolute train-wreck of a production; everything about it is really bad. Those involved seem to have been watching too many Fellini films and seen too many stage productions of Marat/Sade, and thought it would be a fun idea to try incorporating a similar approach here. The result is a bizarre and amusingly unwatchable mess.

Stella Gibbons' 'Cold Comfort Farm' is one of the classics of parody, and this version with Alastair Sim, Rosalie Crutchley, Fay Compton, Sarah Badel, Brian Blessed, Aubrey Morris and Peter Egan does it justice. Very 1960s in its outlook it is well played and written and has just the right hint of madness. Badel in particular as Flora Poste is note perfect.

Compared with the version with Kate Beckinsale this is much better, and deserves to be seen more widely. Although a VHS did come out in the USA, maybe a DVD beckons from the BBC? It should fit well alongside other classics adapted around the same time, and as it is in colour should find a wide audience.

I agree that the film version is far superior to the TV version, but when I saw Cold Comfort Farm in 1971 I loved it. Then I discovered the novel, read it, and immediately bought copies for all of my friends. I had to drive almost 100 miles to see the movie, and it was worth it. The movie is better than the old TV version, but the book is much, much better than the movie. I will always be grateful to Masterpiece Theater for introducing me to this treasure.