GPB's favorite scenes with Dame Maggie Smith playing Violet Grantham in Downton Abbey. Watch Downton Abbey anytime on GPB Passport at www.gpb.org/pa... Desperate for more drama? Check out our website at www.gpb.org/te...
Okay, after watching the best moments of the Dowager Countess (again) - I must say something. I admit that I adore many great actresses - usually grand British dames like Helen Mirren and Judi Dench. And Imelda Staunton, who for some reason hasn't been acknowledged enough. But I seriously think nobody will ever pass Dame Maggie Smith for me. She has always been superb but Downton was a whole another level. Every word, every facial expression, move, voice tone etc - the tiniest details are entirely controlled and so spot on. She can express every emotion and line with grace (even those burns which is hilarious) and everything she does is so convincing - just right. Nothing ever lacks in her performances and she never goes over the top. Honestly nobody could have made the role of Violet Crawley half so well. I also like American actors but they don't usually seem to reach quite the same level. Maybe as a Finn it's easier for me to identify with the more reserved, classy British acting style. American actors tend to be a bit over-dramatic from time to time. ;)
Boy! This show for all those years has made wonderful memories with my mother. We , like most would plan our Sunday evenings days in advance and I would make special treats to eat during the show and always had wine and tea to go with it. Each week I would do something different from tea sandwiches to shrimp and special cookies and cakes… a real masterpiece on MASTERPIECE……. I don’t think they could ever come close with another production
VIOLET is an INSPIRATION in Haughty Regal bearing of nobility of the Era. Maggie Smith is Incomparable as the Dowager Countess, just as she has been in so many of her roles! ! 👑
Wish I could find the one where the priest accused Daisy of trying to get William's money, he used the term "dough" and Violet put him in his place by reminding him how he seems to have no problem using the "dough" provided by Lord Grantham, it's fantastic....
Not really. Junior domestics, footmen and housemaids, were all called by their first names: Anna, Daisy, Ethel, William, James, Andrew, etc. Personal valets and maids were called by their masters by their family names (Carson, Bates, Molesley, Spratt, O'Brien, Baxter, Denker), but Mr or Miss by the staff (Mr Carson, Mr Bates, Miss O'Brien). The housekeeper and cook were both called Mrs by family and staff even if they were not married: Mrs Hughes, Mrs Patmore, Mrs Bird. In that scene, Anna was still an housemaid, so Anna is her proper designation. Later, when she became Mary's lady's maid, she should have been called Bates, but Mary could not bring herself to call her that. So she remains Anna. Another exception was Molesley, who should have been called Joseph when he was rehired as a footman, but Lady Violet wanted that he remain Molesley (which was very kind of her).
Violet Crawley, The Dowager Countess of Grantham. Crawley is the surname, taken from her husband. The Earl of Grantham is a fictitious title in the peerage of Great Britain. The dowager Countess could be referred to as Lady Grantham, but never as Violet Grantham. 🙂
