Bittersweet. Of a time when England, despite all the troubles that all flesh is heir to, was England. It's whole and authentic self. What it has now become, invaded and disfigured, is unspeakable.
We loved this entire series.. saved us on weekends in the 70's. I don't know if Ian Carmichael smoked a pipe, but he does so in English fashion talking with it in his mouth. Wonderful Jack Hargreaves, as sorely missed as Ian for some of us, remarked how Americans always took their pipes out of their mouths to speak. He was correct. Peace out from TX.
My late darling wife and I saw these at first airing on PBS in the 1970's. The sheer class of the entire production and superior acting was immense. Of course the jewel in the Lotus was Ian Carmichael. I could never imagine anyone else taking on the mantle. The joyous mood this cast upon us during those years was like reading Sherlock Holmes for the first time. It was truly a time of bliss on the weekends. Fawlty Towers, Open All Hours, Reggie Perrin, Are you being Served... on and on.The Masterpiece Theatre selections were epic. "Upstairs Downstairs" was one of the greatest presentations ever. Again, the acting was superior, one becoming so involved with the characters we carried them along with us through the week. Miss the 60's and 70's when some modicum of sanity existed. Peace out from TX.
I saw the beautiful Harriet Walter last night in White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. At 76, she has exactly the same energy and charisma as Harriet Vane. It was fantastic to experience.
Can someone explain something that has been puzzling me. It is often referenced that the arrival of Wimsey and Bunter at the village takes place 20 years after the time of the wedding and the robbery. This would make it in about 1933/4, yet the Spanish flue, so important in the action, was in 1919/20. This seems an obvious anomaly.
the nerve of that man! I'm sorry, but once you've already decided to play at who lives, who dies, you don't get to say "oh, but I could help people, what a terrible waste my death would be". Also, how mad is it that he was handed a gun in a veteran's club?? I'm glad the noise didn't trigger anyone!
Interesting coincidence that Ian Carmichael and Terence Alexander (Robert Fentiman) were both cavalry officers in regiments raised during the war - 22nd Dragoons and 27th Lancers respectively.
How I would have loved to be married to I.Carmicheal : good looking, elegant, a real musician, cultured , a true gentleman ....Who could ask for more. RIP 🎉😊
How I would have loved to be married to I.Carmicheal : good looking, elegant, a real musician, cultured , a true gentleman ....Who could ask for more. RIP 🎉😊
……… read all of Dorothy L. Sayers’ LPW books’ many decades’ ago, & enjoyed them immensely. I learnt about the word ‘tailor’ in this story’s context, from her book………
"Madame, you have the advantage of me" - in the unlikely event of an attractive, unknown woman throwing herself into my arms, this will be my future response.
I appreciate how they have respected every detail down to the Hairdos. This is exactly the way elegant women wore their hair in the 20's & 30's. The 70's and 80's when they still gave the viewers TV series worth watching. 😊 Thanks for the upload. Greetings from Paris🎉
I haven't read the stories, but I wonder if Lord Peter Wimsey used contractions and said ain't in the books. Seems like an odd manner of speech for an English Lord.
when i was a member of British library here ,I was fortunate to read some great authors ;Victor Canning, Nevil Shute,AgathaChristie, Mary Stewart ,Winston Graham.... and Dorothy Sayers ,many more great ones , at such a small amount !!
I understand why the introductory setting was added, but including LPW among the guests throws his life history off. LPW was a young man when he served in the British army. It's where he met Bunter, his batman who becomes his butler/valet after his nervous breakdown. If LPW were at the reception, he should have been portrayed as a younger man.
Their gentlemen look good, as they wear suits all the time, tuxedo and tails too... imagine them in the ripped jeans and t-shirts, they will look exactly like most of us... Clothes matter, and no dandruff on a collar or a running egg on the vest 😅
1319papi. What do you mean by 'dated' as if it was a criticism. The series was set in the time period of the novel, how else should it have been portrayed?
Cathcart looks sooo familiar . . . then I saw his name in the credits. He played the Greek doctor opposite Albert Finney's Poirot in "Murder On The Orient Express".
All the scenes with Ann Dorland were inserted by the TV show, except those with Lord Peter in them. I don't like that they expanded her part so much, because it rather ruins the pace. They put in a bunch of scenes that kind of give away the game.
I love Carmichael's portrayal of Lord Wimsey, he's the perfect choice, like Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, he made the role his own. What always amazes me about shows from this period is the deference shown to him, and his peers, by the poor, working class people. Tugging the forelock etc. The British class difference at its worst. The wealth gap in those days was even greater than it is now. The ignorance level even more so. A brilliant example of the Upper Classes and the lives they led. Great examples of the poor ignorant grubby country folk.
