JOAN ON THE BBC

JOAN CRAWFORD ON THE BBC.

Crawford did a late sixties interview for the BBC which covered her entire career and her thoughts on current movies and performers. At first Joan seemed a bit guarded and not relaxed, and complained how the British seemed obsessed with age (apparently some reporters came right out and bluntly asked her how old she was). "I know some people think there are very few things before my time," she said. She relaxed a bit more as the interview with the young admiring host continued, although when she answered a question she didn't always really answer the question, but said -- as stars are wont to do -- what she wanted to say. She talked admiringly of Bette Davis and said she enjoyed working with her on Baby Jane, calling Davis a "fascinating actress" but saying they really hadn't had time to become friends. She was, however, close friends with Barbara Stanwyck, whom the interviewer compared to her, pleasing Joan. Joan apologized in a way for making negative comments about Liz Taylor's personal life, but praised her acting skills, and said, next to Gable, John Garfield was her most dynamic co-star. Joan said that "I never had a sense of humor about myself until I worked with George Cukor." During the interview she is friendly, smiles, makes amusing comments and reacts to same, but it still comes off, understandably considering her years in front of the camera, as if it's another performance. and while it may not be fair to say she is humorless, she is,as mentioned, holding herself in warily. She expresses the wish that pictures had more romance and glamor, and suggests that Warren Beatty is ornery, while admiring Natalie Wood, whom she feels hasn't reached her potential, that there was no longer any help or guidance for actors as in the studio days. Joan talks affectionately of Lionel Barrymore, but while admiring his genius, admits that John Barrymore could be difficult while making Grand Hotel. Basically Joan is ever the professional, and the interview, while not that probing, is a good one. It probably didn't hurt that Joan seems to like the kind of cute interviewer.

Verdict: Joan talks! ***.

FRANKENSTEIN (BBC)

Frankenstein -- or E.T.? 

FRANKENSTEIN (2007 BBC telefilm). Writer/director: Jed Mercurio.

Dr. Victoria Frankenstein (Helen McCrory) is engaging in transplant stem cell research but is also fascinated by the desire to create life. Learning that her little boy, William's, organs may fail, she tries to grow new ones by adding his DNA to the soup. Unfortunately, part of this glob breaks out of the lab and begins savagely killing people. Victoria bonds with the monster because it reminds her of little William, who has died, but the hideous fellow is still quite dangerous ... This version of Frankenstein may have some interesting elements but it seems more interested in bloody limb-tearing scenes than a coherent storyline. The monster looks more like E.T. than anything else. While there are some suspenseful passages at first, Frankenstein eventually becomes tedious to a fault. The more it tries to invoke the original Frankenstein -- little William's father is named Henry Clerval (James Purefoy), for instance, and the monster murders a little girl as in the Boris Karloff version -- the worse it seems. Dragging in greedy scientists and the military does absolutely no good. McCrory makes a distinctly unappealing heroine on every level.

Verdict: Not as good as Frankenstein's Daughter. *1/2 out of 4.

MADAME BOVARY (2000)

Emma gets some action

MADAME BOVARY (2 part BBC mini-series/2000). Director: Tim Fywell.

"Truly well-bred people don't give a fig about how their domestics behave. If I hadn't been told otherwise, I would swear you were middle-class!" -- Emma Bovary to her mother-in-law

Emma (Frances O'Connor) marries country doctor Charles Bovary (Hugh Bonneville) but discovers that life with him and his termagant mother (Eileen Atkins) is devoid of the romance, excitement and poetry that she finds in the many books she reads, and her dissatisfaction grows in leaps and bounds. She meets a soul mate named Leon (Hugh Dancy), then has a full-fledged affair with wealthy Rodolphe (Greg Wise). Meanwhile her debts mount as she is taken advantage of by slimy salesman Lheureux (Keith Barron). Although longer than the superior Hollywood film, this is a truncated version of the story with graphic softcore sex scenes. The main problem is that Emma is so distinctly unlikable in this that you can hardly summon up any sympathy for her: as played by O'Connor she comes off like a trampy, utterly thoughtless social climber and nothing more. This British television production is also on the cheap side like a studio-bound soap opera; the all-important ball sequence is almost laughably brief and comparative colorless. The actors in this are all good, but none of them give what could be called a great performance.

Verdict: Stick to the novel and the Hollywood version. **.

THE FINAL CUT (1995)

Urquhart dresses down parliament

THE FINAL CUT (1995). Director: Mike Vardy.

In the last of three mini-series dedicated to the rogue-ish activities of prime minister Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), the king is nowhere to be seen but there are discussions in Parliament about a conflict in Cypress, leading to the PM having flashbacks to an incident years ago involving the deaths of two young Greek men. Urquhart gets a new chief assistant, Claire (Ilsa Blair), who seems to be spreading her time, affections, and loyalties between the PM and his chief political rival, Tom Makepeace (Paul Freeman). Urquhart's wife, Elizabeth (Diane Fletcher), a kind of Lady MacBeth, makes more appearances and seems to have her own agenda. The Final Cut is crackling good fun, with Richardson in superb form, fine performances from the rest of the cast (although we probably see more of Blair's breasts than we need to), some devious plotting and inter-plotting, and many memorably dramatic sequences -- although it ends on a mildly confusing note. [One quibble is that a clearly sociopathic personality like Urquhart would in no way be haunted or have any kind of regrets over past misdeeds. True, he might worry if his past would catch up with him, but not in any way that would indicate a conscience.] This follows House of Cards and To Play the King.

Verdict: British television at its best. ***1/2.

TO PLAY THE KING

Urquhart betrays his low opinion of the king

TO PLAY THE KING (4 part BBC mini-series/1993). Director: Paul Seed.

Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) of House of Cards is back and now he's prime minister! Urquhart is hoping that the new king (Michael Kitchen) will just stay out of his way and support his policies, but the king has a mind of his own and is much more liberal than Urquhart. Before long there's a not-so-cold war going on between the two. In the meantime, Urquhart has a new young lady under his thrall, Sarah (Kitty Aldridge), who falls for Urquhart -- the seduction of power? -- even though she already has a husband. On the king's staff, David (Nicholas Farrell) is coming out of the closet after finding true love with Ken (Jack Fortune) after his marriage falls apart. And is something going on between the king and Chloe (Rowena King) who helps fire up his compassion for the downtrodden, all of whom Urquhart only sees as bums? Then there's the former member of the Royal Family who is dictating her scandalous memoirs to a sleazy publisher. Urquhart is even more ruthless in this exploration of what would happen if a politician with old-fashioned sensibilities applied the murderous tactics of Merrie Olde England to modern-day London. [One senses Urquhart would have people beheaded if he could.] Richardson is as marvelous as ever, and Colin Jeavons makes an impression as his loyal (?) assistant, Tim Stamper, who has secrets of his own. We see more of Urquhart's Lady Macbeth-type wife, Elizabeth (Diane Fletcher), although she still remains a bit shadowy. The other cast members are all on the money. Although you sometimes get the sense that a lot had to be left on the cutting room floor, this is still very absorbing. Followed by The Final Cut.

Verdict: Even more intriguing than House of Cards. ***1/2.

HOUSE OF CARDS (1990)

Ian Richardson

HOUSE OF CARDS (4 episode BBC mini-series/1990). Director:Paul Seed.

"You might well think that. I couldn't possibly comment." --- Francis Urquhart

The series of the same title with Kevin Spacey that Netflix is streaming for its customers is based on this 23-year-old BBC mini-series that was quite acclaimed in its day. Francis Urquhart [pronounced "Irkit"] is the "chief whip" of the conservative party and feels, as many do, that the new prime minister [after Thatcher] isn't up to the job. He begins a series of maneuverings and manipulations behind the scenes that become increasingly criminal and odious, including blackmail and even murder. Those in his circuit include Roger O'Neill (Miles Anderson), a coke-addicted publicity man; O'Neill's girlfriend, Penny (Alphonsia Emmanuel), a lovely, intelligent black woman who is treated like a whore; and Mattie Storen (Susannah Harker), a reporter who comes to idolize Urquhart. [It must be said that their affair is never convincing, perhaps because Richardson is not exactly a handsome lover boy.] Richardson, frequently addressing the viewer as he gives his acidic opinions of assorted colleagues, is excellent, but the whole show is nearly stolen by Anderson in his brilliant, moving turn as the tragic and pathetic O'Neill. The other actors are all on target. The repeated shots of a rat creeping around London are a little overdone -- one would have made the point. Urquhart/Richardson was up to more deviltry in the sequels To Play the King and The Final Cut.

Verdict: Intriguing and absorbing mini-series. ***.