The Largest Theatre in the World: Heart to Heart (1962 TV Movie) User Reviews

55 years old but still very relevant

[bairdmhi · 9/10 · 18 December 2016]

"Heart to Heart" takes us a long way back to a technically primitive era of television, with its cumbersome cameras and rather low definition black and white pictures. On the other hand, television was a novelty and a program could often have a viewing audience in the millions; this was at a time when there were only a handful of broadcast channels in the UK.

Terence Rattigan's theme is 100% up-to-date, namely the psychological pressures and the moral dilemmas of people who are overexposed to public view. Kenneth More does an excellent job in his role as the interviewer who faces personal problems as well as the stress of his job. The play is recommended viewing for today's troubled times in the media.

Conversation Piece

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 3 May 2012]

This is now available as part of a five disc boxed set of Rattigan released in his centenary year, 2011. Many of his long-running plays were adapted for television - indeed several of them are included in the boxed set - but Heart To Heart was written specifically for the small screen and took as its starting point the popular series 'Face To Face' in which each week a celebrity was 'grilled' by an interviewer in a one-on-one situation. Kenneth More, who had, of course, achieved stardom courtesy of Rattigan when he played the lead, Freddy Page, in the stage version of The Deep Blue Sea in 1952, takes the lead again albeit not quite convincing as the inquisitor with a lack of confidence and a fledgling alcoholic who is nevertheless determined to expose Labour Minister Ralph Richardson's weakness in allowing his holiday hotel bill to be paid by a third party (the play was written in 1962 but could just as easily have been written last year). Jean Marsh has a rare role as More's wife who is quite frank about using her sex appeal where it will do her the most good. Not surprisingly acting honours are lifted effortlessly by Ralph Richardson and film buffs will welcome the sight of Megs Jenkins as his wife whilst trivia buffs will have fun spotting Jean Alexander as a waitress. Essential viewing for Rattigan completists.

Good early performance of Terence Rattigan

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 24 August 2016]

Terence Rattigan, as has been said quite a few times already, has very quickly become one of my favourite playwrights. His dialogue is so intelligent, witty and meaty, his characterisation so dynamic, complex and real, with a real understanding of the human condition and such and the storytelling so beautifully constructed and precise.

Even though not one of his best, with 'The Winslow Boy', 'Separate Tables' and 'The Browning Version' three of the greatest plays of the 20th century, 'Heart to Heart' has much that is so good and interesting about Rattigan's work. This 1962 performance is good and it is intriguing to see such an early performance (that can be viewed as part of The Terence Rattigan Collection DVD box-set, essential for die-hard fans), apparently a commission, of a play of his.

It (this performance of 'Heart to Heart') is not perfect, and there are better productions of Rattigan's plays in the box-set. The picture and sound quality do lack clarity and there are some technical limitations. While most of the productions looked very handsome, they were not high in budget and this and 1961's 'Adventure Story' (the set's weakest, but still watchable) were the worst cases. As with 'Adventure Story' too, some of the performances are very stagy and overacted.

Not everybody though thankfully. Kenneth More, in a kind of role quite far removed from his usual roles, performs with great intensity and charisma. Even better is the ever scene-stealing Ralph Richardson, who certainly does take the acting honours.

Costumes are very nicely done, the drama is compelling with a lot of compelling dynamics and meaty characterisation, and Rattigan's gift for making characters interesting, brilliant dialogue and making an interesting story so insightful and saying so much definitely shines through.

Overall, good early performance though not one of the best in the box-set. 8/10 Bethany Cox