This is one of the wittiest things I've seen in a long time. Maria, a selfish, spoiled, wealthy widow, knows that Richard has silently loved her for a long time, but, as she tells her friend Helen, it's so difficult to know what a man will be like as a husband. Her solution? To take the potential husband "on approval," that is, to live with him (not in the modern day sense but in the stay-at-someone's-house-in-the-country sense)for a month and then decide. When Richard brings himself to tell Maria how he feels, she tells him that she'll only consider marriage if he agrees to go to Scotland with her and stay there for a month. He does, much to the chagrin of his friend George, Duke of Bristol, who can't stand Maria (she can't stand him either - they're too much alike). George, in the hopes of convincing his friend otherwise, also goes to Scotland. Maria's friend Helen, a pickle heiress who is smitten with George, goes along in the hopes that she may be the next Duchess of Bristol. After three weeks, scales fall from eyes and plans are hatched to make the good-hearted but spoiled widow and Duke into more lovable people.
The dialogue flies fast and furious - I'd give you a sampling but there are simply too many brilliant quotes to keep track of (the scene where George and Maria call a five-minute truce makes me laugh out loud every time). All the actors do brilliantly - I think this is one of Jeremy Brett's best roles. A throwback to the comedies of manners, where dialogue really sparkled and sizzled.
The dialogue flies fast and furious - I'd give you a sampling but there are simply too many brilliant quotes to keep track of (the scene where George and Maria call a five-minute truce makes me laugh out loud every time). All the actors do brilliantly - I think this is one of Jeremy Brett's best roles. A throwback to the comedies of manners, where dialogue really sparkled and sizzled.