dennis nicoll Reviews

The Eagle of the Ninth (1977)

The Best Screen Version Of A Classic 1950s Children's Novel

[8/10 · 3 August 2018]

Yes, this production must certainly have been networked by the BBC on the original transmission date as I welll remember watching it back in 1977 (and was living in the west of England at that time). Very well done in all respects - though perhaps the relationship between Roman officers and soldiers (even in an Auxiliary cohort) was portrayed as a little too familiar. This would not have been the case at the time. Roman society was deeply differentiated by class and social status and this would have been even more marked in a military context.

I read the novel as a child back in the 1950s (I have always been a great admirer of Rosemary Sutcliff's novels) and well remember the superb 1957 BBC radio serialisation (now lost) of the book by Felix Felton, broadcast on Children's Hour.

Just as a point of interest, we now know (from archaeological excavations) that Isca Dumnoniorum (Modern Exeter) was originally founded as the base of Legio II Augusta (49-73 CE) and that by the second century (when this story is set) had been abandoned by the Roman army and become a civilian settlement) the new Cantonal capital of the Domnonian tribe.

No matter, this and some other historical anomalies do not detract in the sightest from the story. I am also pleased that the serial has now been released on DVD and may be enjoyed by a new generation of viewers.

Sentimental Journey (1946)

A charming and moving depiction of love, bereavement and hope regained.

[10/10 · 17 June 2007]

This is indeed a sadly neglected film and the fact that it has never been made available on either video tape or DVD must remain a matter of deep regret. I must wholeheartedly agree that the performance delivered by child actress Connie Marshall is quite outstanding. Cinematic depictions of the effects of bereavement upon children are of necessity somewhat difficult to portray with any degree of conviction and the pitfall of lapsing into overt sentimentality must be avoided. However, certain films, including this one,I think convey something of a young child's pain and confusion regarding death and its consequences without becoming too morbid or sentimental. The scenes where Hitty is apparently visited by the spirit of her adoptive mother remind me very much of the closing sequences in Jacques Doillon's "Ponette" (1996) Are both of these little girls really experiencing a much longed for reunion, if only transitory, with their beloved mothers or does the whole thing exist solely within the realm of imagination a mere psychological device enabling them to accept and so come to terms with their loss? It is up to each individual viewer to construe such matters for themselves.