The Millionairess

I have read the first two reviews of this play and unfortunately would bore a reader if I did the same, the reviews already submitted are as accurate as I could have said it, so I will focus on one cast member in particular - the one and only Maggie Smith! On the day of my birth, Maggie was 31, so by the time I would be interested in film/theatre Maggie would be cast as a senior figure and not in roles that would make her a young mans pin up girl.

However - as my own years roll on my desire for nostalgia along with technology making it so accessible, I have been rolling back the years to see the difference in my interpretation of film etc..

I could not believe the impact Maggie had on me in her role as Epifania, the longer the play rolled the more I realised just how stunning Maggie was and she was 38 when this play was filmed! As we age the only organ we posses that doesn't are our eyes, even in her now 80's, Maggie's eyes are always the first thing you are drawn to, but in this wonderfully chaotic play, Maggie is playing a hard, soulless woman and as usual delivers a 10/10, however, in scenes that the camera focused on Maggie, a metamorphosis takes place in front of your very own eyes and you see a beauty in those deeply set pools of warmth like precious jewels just below the surface of an ocean of snow white china!

To aspire today to what Maggie was in this play, an actress would have to be wearing less cloth than a cosy for a stamp and more make up than a decade order for the clown department of a travelling circus - Maggie, with barely the sight of a stocking covered ankle, radiated appeal that modern day aspiration can merely dream of!

As Epifania is such a cold hard character, I suggest reader that you pause a scene where Maggie is full screen head and shoulders, detach from Epifania a few moments and really look at Maggie - she was beautiful!

The Millionairess? - 10/10! I loved it....

A late comedy from G. B. Shaw about . . . wait for it . . . Economics: or How Britain's Wealthiest Heiress Dumped Her Useless Philandering Husband, Her Useless Ne'er-do-well Escort and Found Happiness With an Egyptian Doctor to the Poor. Shaw wrote this one to be acted in UPPERCASE and that's just how the cast plays in this BBC Play of the Month production. You have to hang in there during the opening scene as Shaw carefully lays out the relationships & themes, but this gives us time to adjust to the larger-than-life theatrical style the stellar cast use. It's no surprise to find Maggie Smith a mannered marvel, but note how subtly she trims her style as the play deepens in feeling & philosophy into a more naturalistic mode without losing Shavian attitude or altitude. (She must prove herself to the good doctor by living for six months on just her wits & labor.) By Act II, Smith's become a warm beauty after her off-putting entrance. Only Wendy Hiller has equaled her at turning Shaw's female paradoxes into people. The play remains minor Shaw, but it grows on you. Nice shiny transfer from the original PAL video system, too.

Epifania delights in being the richest woman in the country; she takes equal delight in being intensely difficult and impossible to live with.

I've seen a stage play, but not the film, so this is the first on-screen adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's wonderfully witty comedy that I've seen.

You'll need to stick with it; some of the early scenes in Sagamore's office are a little slow, but purposeful. It cleverly introduces the characters and explains their relationships.

It almost pains me to refer to the 'late' Dame Maggie Smith, but let's be honest: she's the real reason to watch it. It's so unusual to discover such a strong female character with from this time, who has the hidden ability of a martial art.

I was enthusiastic about the cast list; Peter Barkworth and Tom Baker are two of my favorites, and they, along with the rest, are excellent. Smith, however, is on a different level.

I won't ramble on about Smith's dazzling performance; I will, however, highlight one scene in particular: towards the end of the film, she delivers a monologue; it is a captivating scene.

8/10.

Dame Maggie Smith was terrific in this television adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, "The Millionairess." She is a true scene stealer. The filmed version of the play is somewhat dated with time although most audiences don't have the patience like they used too. Shaw delivered some witty lines for Smith's Epifania, the richest woman in England. Smith does a terrific job in making you feel sorry for her too at point. If you need a taste of Shaw, this version is one of the better BBC versions that aired on television in the seventies and eighties.

Maggie is overwhelmingly featured-a study of Maggie's acting prowess. If The Millionairess had been enjoyed as a play, Maggie's performance would have been experienced like receiving electric shock therapy. I enjoyed seeing Charles Gray as he always reminds me of his part in Rocky Horror Picture Show. The dialogue borders on the bit too much for a movie, but it was written by Bernard Shaw as a theatrical production. And, of course, dated to the clime of the times. The supporting role performances varied from somewhat mediocre to, let's be kind, amateurish. Maggie's death is allowing a resurrection of many of her lesser known works. Let her death be received as her gift to many who knew her and her acting abilities far too little.