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In honor of Great English Entertainment

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  • In honor of Great English Entertainment

    Of any kind, music, movies, theatre, poetry...So much.

    I'm going to start with a link to a great English movie, Blythe Spirit. Noel Coward's play, starring sexy Rexy, Harrison that is:

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    Wikipedia says:

    Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert"). The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, following the séance. Elvira makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles's marriage to his second wife, Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost.

    The play was first seen in the West End of London in 1941, creating a new long-run record for non-musical British plays of 1,997 performances. It also did well on Broadway later that year, running for 657 performances. Coward adapted the play for film in 1945, starring Rex Harrison, and directed a musical adaptation, High Spirits, on Broadway in 1964. It was also adapted for television in the 1950s and 1960s and for radio. The play enjoyed several West End and Broadway revivals in the 1970s and 1980s and was revived again in London in 2004. It returned to Broadway in February 2009.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blithe_Spirit_(play)

  • #2
    Yes, Noel Coward and Margaret Rutherford - who could ask for more?

    Comment


    • #3
      Coward was, I believe, in the play at the time when his friend and one time lover, The Duke of Kent (son of George V) was killed in a flying accident during the war. He was advised not to appear that night because the play is, of course, all about contact with the dead. He did appear but found himself very emotional and more greatly moved than he had expected.

      I'm also very fond of Coward's "This Happy Breed" about a family living in Battersea between 1919 and 1939.

      The film has Robert Newton and Celia Johnson on fine form and was an early project of David Lean. Stanley Holloway, a young John Mills and Kay Walsh (later Mrs Lean) also star.

      It is very well done and includes many details of life that i recall from my youth - the oil cloth with dagged edges used to cover pantry shelves; the furniture and conventions of the day. It recreates some major events - the Victory Parade through London 1919; etc.

      One character, off the the Empire Exhibition at Wembley proudly proclaims, "I've got eight and sixpence and I intend to spend every penny!"

      Comment


      • #4
        Great to see the the English get a shout.....too many times they are overshadowed by the rest of the British.

        I don't believe all the guff about them being "the poor mans Scotland" when it comes to education, the arts and Science.

        For me......Steptoe & Son. Doctor Who would have run it close but that is now definetly Welsh.

        Comment


        • #5
          I worked on a production of Blythe Spirit once. One of the few Coward plays I enjoyed working on. Got to do lots of special effects--flying books, glowing furniture etc.
          “Sans arme, sans violence et sans haine”

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Magpie View Post
            I worked on a production of Blythe Spirit once. One of the few Coward plays I enjoyed working on. Got to do lots of special effects--flying books, glowing furniture etc.
            Wow, does that sound like fun.

            I have to say one of my all time favorite books is Robert Graves I Claudius. Both the book and the Masterpiece Theatre version were incredible.

            The theme for Claudius was really great, especially accompanied with the snake slithering over a Roman tiled portrait of poor Claw Claw Claudius.

            Basically, I just think it's a really good opening sequence. That's all.It's from "I, Claudius", a 1976 BBC tv program, set around the political intrigues an...

            Comment


            • #7
              [QUOTE=Phil H;234864]Coward was, I believe, in the play at the time when his friend and one time lover, The Duke of Kent (son of George V) was killed in a flying accident during the war. He was advised not to appear that night because the play is, of course, all about contact with the dead. He did appear but found himself very emotional and more greatly moved than he had expected.QUOTE]

              Meant to say this information is realy interesting. Terribly sad.

              Comment


              • #8
                On I Claudius (or I CLAVDIVS as a generation in the UK knew it), there is an amazing documentary narrated by Dirk Bogarde called "The Epic That Never Was". It is included in the BBC boxed set of dvds in the UK.

                The documentary tells of Alexander Korda's ill-fated attempt to film "I Claudius" in c1937. His version would hve starred Charles Laughton (Claudius); Emlyn Williams (Caligula) and Flora Robson (Livia) with Korda's wife, Merle Oberon as Messalina. The filming stopped when Oberson was involved in a serious car accident. Setrs were huge and the surviving footage is included in the B&W documentary. WELL worth searching out.

                Phil H

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Phil H View Post
                  On I Claudius (or I CLAVDIVS as a generation in the UK knew it), there is an amazing documentary narrated by Dirk Bogarde called "The Epic That Never Was". It is included in the BBC boxed set of dvds in the UK.

                  The documentary tells of Alexander Korda's ill-fated attempt to film "I Claudius" in c1937. His version would hve starred Charles Laughton (Claudius); Emlyn Williams (Caligula) and Flora Robson (Livia) with Korda's wife, Merle Oberon as Messalina. The filming stopped when Oberson was involved in a serious car accident. Setrs were huge and the surviving footage is included in the B&W documentary. WELL worth searching out.

                  Phil H
                  Charles Laughton as Claudius would have been very interesting to watch.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jason_c View Post
                    Charles Laughton as Claudius would have been very interesting to watch.
                    Hi jason,

                    I can remember seeing that programme on BBC many years ago now. I can also remember thinking at the time what a great pity it was that the film was never finished. Charles Laughton was SUPERB, he really was.

                    Carol

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I hope he didn't play Claudius like the factory owner in "The Old Dark House." By 'eck!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Although it's a British-Belgian production not an English one "Secret Army" is one of the finest drama series ever.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Worth watching the first series of "Secret Army" in parallel with the first series of "Allo, Allo". It ads a dimension to both!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Phil H View Post
                            Coward was, I believe, in the play at the time when his friend and one time lover, The Duke of Kent (son of George V) was killed in a flying accident during the war. He was advised not to appear that night because the play is, of course, all about contact with the dead. He did appear but found himself very emotional and more greatly moved than he had expected.

                            I'm also very fond of Coward's "This Happy Breed" about a family living in Battersea between 1919 and 1939.

                            The film has Robert Newton and Celia Johnson on fine form and was an early project of David Lean. Stanley Holloway, a young John Mills and Kay Walsh (later Mrs Lean) also star.

                            It is very well done and includes many details of life that i recall from my youth - the oil cloth with dagged edges used to cover pantry shelves; the furniture and conventions of the day. It recreates some major events - the Victory Parade through London 1919; etc.

                            One character, off the the Empire Exhibition at Wembley proudly proclaims, "I've got eight and sixpence and I intend to spend every penny!"
                            I absolutely love 'This Happy Breed' and feel there are so many aspects and themes to the film. Even though it depicts English family life from 1919-1939, I can relate totally to it and some of the women behave just like my mother and her sisters and friends did!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Somebody mentioned the great British classic TV comedy 'Steptoe and Son'. This for me is what truly great comedy is all about.

                              It would be called a 'sitcom' these days but the series was set in the fifties and sixties.

                              All they had was one simple room setting but they had two terrific comedy actors who knew their lines by heart and could say them with great conviction and timing. One long (hilarious) 'take' per scene - not cut about in any way.
                              Last edited by louisa; 09-04-2012, 11:37 AM. Reason: text alteration
                              This is simply my opinion

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