terrence-paris

I just finished watching the 12th and final episode of the BBC adaptation of Dickens' The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Much more of the plot could be included over the span of 6 hours than in the 1952 movie version of less than 2 hours. The only significant omissions were the extended interplay between the medical students Benjamin Allen and Bob Sawyer, the Bath episode, and the Reverend Mr. Stiggins' malign influence over Sam's step-mother. As already mentioned by one reviewer, Phil Daniels as Sam Weller and Patrick Malahide as Mr. Jingle are standout performances. I found Sam Weller as portrayed by Daniels particularly affecting - cheeky irreverence conjoined with solicitude and kindliness. The 1952 movie is also worth watching if only for its array of terrific British character actresses: Joyce Grenfell, Hermione Gingold, Athene Seyler and Hattie Jacques.

When I first learned that this series of Shakespeare's history plays was on DVD I ordered it on the spot. I first saw it at the age of 11 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) and it sowed the seed for a lifelong interest in British history and Shakespeare. It was great to see Sean Connery, Robert Hardy, Eileen Atkins, and Judi Dench as young actors, but even more pleasurable to enjoy again the late Robert Lang as the villainous Cardinal Beaufort and the late Frank Pettingell as Sir John Falstaff. Also, thanks to IMDb I am pleasantly surprised to learn that Geoffrey Bayldon, the Lord Chief Justice and nemesis of Sir John (and Prince Hal) in Henry IV, is still active over 50 years later. I've no problem with it being in black and white. The introductory music as the camera moves to each of the heraldic devices arranged in a row - the white hart of Richard II, the swan of Henry IV etc. takes me back in an instant to my first viewing of this remarkable series.