Margery and Gladys

'Margery and Gladys' was transmitted by ITV1 on 21 September 2003. This TV film is a comedy, but it's inspired by a deadly-serious news event. In 1999, a Norfolk farmer named Tony Martin (not the American singer) shot dead a teenage burglar who broke into his property. Because the intruder was attacked from behind, a controversial court decision found Martin guilty of homicide; he served 18 months in prison before the conviction was changed to manslaughter and he was released with time served. The case still inspires angry debate.

Screenwriters Flanagan and McCulloch combined the Tony Martin incident with another real-life news item about two elderly ladies who committed a series of minor robberies across England, incurring bills at hotels and petrol stations and then bunking without paying. The British tabloid press called these women "Hell's Grannies" (after a Monty Python sketch). In this case, Hell's Grannies plus the Tony Martin affair equal hilarity.

The chief appeal of 'Margery and Gladys' is the first-ever teaming of two actresses who have been beloved mainstays on Britain's television screens for many years. Penelope Keith (classy as ever) has played society matrons and snobbish beldames in several long-running sitcoms. (In real life, Penelope Keith recently spent a year as the ceremonial High Sheriff of Surrey!) June Brown has had a long stint as chain-smoking whinger Dot Cotton on 'EastEnders': unlike Ms Keith, in real life June Brown *is* a great deal like her most well-known role.

Ms Keith plays Margery, a tetchy suburban matron -- recently widowed -- who attends a Neighbourhood Watch meeting that leaves her paranoid about burglars. Ms Brown plays Gladys, Margery's cleaning lady. The two women are an odd couple with (they think) little in common, until an intruder enters Margery's house and she coshes him (from behind) with her Waterford crystal vase. Believing that Margery has killed him, both women recall the Tony Martin case and they now realise that they can be charged with murder! Naturally, they must now go on the lam, as fugitives.

'Margery and Gladys' is (among other things) an intentional parody of 'Thelma and Louise', with two unlikely matrons as female outlaws. Instead of Texas highways, their getaway takes Margery and Gladys across the secondary B-roads of the Midlands, en route to sanctuary in (wait for it) Milton Keynes. There are some bizarre incidents, as the two women must commit other crimes to obtain funds and medications.

This TV film is quite funny, although it's a gentle character-driven humour of a typically British variety that doesn't play well in the rest of the world. The interplay between these two veteran actresses is delightful ... especially as they learn they have more in common than they'd suspected. Unfortunately, towards the end the dialogue gets all 'meaningful' in a manner more typical of American TV scripts. I laughed throughout 'Margery and Gladys', and I rate this TV movie 7 out of 10.

It is easy for the frequent viewer of television to become pessimistic about the future of the medium. The proliferation of channels has led to fragmentation of the audience and a general shortage of money for quality programs. But then, along comes a gem like "Margery and Gladys". The story and the humanistic style remind me strongly of the comedy/spy production "Sleepers" (1990) and it comes as no surprise that one of the writers, Andrew McCulloch, contributed to both productions. The direction, camera-work and acting were first rate and the editing (i.e. cutting from scene to scene) was just right for maintaining attention. As a person over 60 with UK background, I was delighted by the snatches of George Formby songs towards the end. Formby was to the 1940s what the Beatles were to the 1960s.

Anyway, the TV industry is not doomed as long as movies like this can be produced. I'm delighted to see that it is liked in the USA despite its rather British flavor.

Whoever cast this TV film, got it just right. UK TV viewers will recognise most of the faces from a wide series of TV soaps and comedies. After the start, Margery and Gladys confront in Margery's house and accidentally kill him, the plot follows a roller coaster of twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end. Well worth a night in to watch. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I am sure there are lots of gems that I missed, to be savoured when it is re-run.

Haven't seen Penelope Keith on TV in ages. It was either this or Groundhog Day. Am glad I watched this one. You will enjoy this on TV or DVD if is available. Basically the plot is:

Wealthy housewife Margery and her rough-diamond cleaner, Gladys, disturb a burglar, knock him unconscious in self-protection, then panic and leave him for dead. But, unknown to them, he survives and escapes. Believing themselves unintentional killers, the two flee in Gladys's old wreck of a car, commencing a journey of comedic misunderstandings in which these two very different ladies embark on a shared voyage of self-discovery. The two take to the open road and a fugitive lifestyle like ducks to water. However, with money short and Gladys needing medication, the duo is forced into a surprisingly full-blown crime spree, proving more than a match for an unlikely pair of policemen, Detective Inspector Woolley and Detective Sergeant Stringer.

I watched it last night and although it had its funny moments this reworking of the 'Odd Couple' began to sag after an hour. The humour is based around having a a female middle class snob and a very working class woman in the same car when things start to go wrong. The whole plot is too far fetched and the car journey is far too long! So long that I wanted to scream! Both main actresses are good but the problem lies in the length of the film. Penelope Keith plays her usual middle class lady looking down upon all and sundry but her character is one dimensional and there is only so many times that you can chuckle at her snobby sarcasm and her superior tone of voice.This was in essence an hour long comedy, but as it was the humour becomes clichéd and the whole thing becomes laboured. This film should have been entitled 'Audrey Forbes Hamilton meets Dot Cotton.'