Change Your Image
Moonwrack
Reviews
Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth (2010)
Refreshing and effective
I am old enough to have seen the very first episode of Dr Who when it was transmitted in 1963. I have seen many of the other Doctors in action and, is spite of being in the old-fogey age category I would say that Matt Smith has taken up the baton as the latest Doctor with great style and originality. He has clearly brought something new to the role, without losing the subtle thread of continuity extending back to William Hartnell in 1963. I hope he will stay with the part long enough to develop it even further. As for Karen Gillan; well, she is quite the best female lead since Elizabeth Sladen; maybe the two will meet in a future episode.
Dick Barton: Special Agent (1979)
A wonderful retrospective romp
A wonderful retrospective romp; a series of adventures in the style of Enid Blyton's Famous Five. (Maybe Dick Barton is the grown-up version of the FF's Dick). Tony Vogel plays his part in the style of Michael Palin in his Ripping Yarns character. He is an excellent actor so presumably this was deliberate. Otherwise, Dick Barton (1979) is endearingly incoherent, but vintage car enthusiasts will love it. Essentially, the idea for the series, although produced thirty years after the radio original, seems to have been about thirty years ahead of its time. Miss Marple's latest series has produced a taste for the late 1940's so maybe another remake would be appropriate.
Mysterious Island (2005)
More anti-British propaganda?
The quality of the leading actors, notably Patrick Stewart, Kyle MacLachlan and (lesser-known on the international stage but highly-rated in the UK) Roy Marsden, fails to raise the film from the ranks of the unwatchable. Fortunately, although clearly not intentionally, this situation offsets the not-so-subtle anti-British propaganda; something which features regularly in American productions. In this instance, Nemo's wife and daughter have died while being interrogated by the British during a rebellion in India. Presumably this is a pseudo-historical reference to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. However, it seems likely that most people will have switched off before that regrettable piece of dialogue is reached.
Veronica Clare (1991)
Strangely attractive
Veronica Clare seems to have been written and produced with the objective of reflecting the Forties Film Noir genre, but not as a slavish copy; more as a deliberate application of 1990's film culture to the Film Noir idea. It achieved this with great subtlety. It also had atmosphere, pace and style - all reinforced by the quality of the acting of Laura Robinson and Robert Beltran. The whole package was strangely attractive and addictive; an example, perhaps, of an excellent series which inexplicably failed to achieve wide popularity. Nevertheless, it may achieve cult status in the future. One hopes that it will soon be available on DVD.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Subtle and atmospheric
As a Conan Doyle purist, I had not intended to watch this film when it first appeared on UK TV some years ago. Curiosity overcame me and I switched on at the sequence with Stephens and Genevieve Page on their bicycle. I was immediately fascinated, particularly by the music, which appears to have been specially written for this scene. Elsewhere, in the film, the music is taken from Rozsa's 1956 violin concerto which, unusually, was not written as film music but which partly inspired Wilder to produce the film.
The acting is excellent, particularly by Stephens, slightly less so by Blakely although Watson is probably the most difficult Doylesian character to play. Clive Revill has also been praised for his part. Christopher Lee gives an early display of his impeccable technique. Genevieve Page is perfect in her role and the subtle nuances of her acting are a joy to behold. She also has a beautiful voice, with a wide vocal range.
There is also some brilliant casting. Stanley Holloway as a gravedigger is a witty reference to his playing of that part in Olivier's Hamlet, although his Scottish accent is not the most convincing. Irene Handl made an excellent Mrs Hudson. Frank Thornton was also a fine choice for the tiny part of receptionist at the Diogenes Club. Britons of a certain generation, had they been able to see the missing episodes, would have recognised Noel Johnson as the sea captain in the Naked Honeymooners episode. Johnson had a distinctive and powerful voice and became famous in 1948 as the BBC fictional radio detective Dick Barton.
It is, of course, sad that significant parts of the film have been lost. Nevertheless, In its shortened form, it works well for cinema presentation. Now that domestic DVD players are common, a full-length version would be perfectly acceptable, since viewers would have control over which parts, if any, they might want to skip through. Meanwhile, the German Spy episode in particular stands beautifully on its own. Wilder creates a wonderful feeling of the atmosphere of 1888. The outdoor scenes in Scotland also provide a nostalgic feeling for the year in which filming took place there; presumably 1969 for the 1970 release.