DVD/150: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Anthony Asquith, 1952)

Anthony Asquith's sparkling adaptation of Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is 70 next year - an ageless film of an ageless play.

Asquith's screenplay captures the essence of Wilde, his direction creates a perfect 'High Comedy' world for the dazzling firework display of his cast of actors.

They act without any camp condescention; they enter the reality of Wilde's world and deliver definitive performances of their characters.

The film is dominated by Edith Evans' Lady Bracknell, and while her "A handbaaaaaaag?" line has haunted every Lady Bracknell since, she plays the role with such nuance that she makes all her lines memorable.

Michael Redgrave is perfect as Ernest/Jack while Michael Dennison is a revelation as the facile Algernon.

Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson shine as Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble.

Newcomer Dorothy Tutin is delectable as Cecily but outshining them all, Joan Greenwood's delicious Gwendolen steals every scene.

Shelf or charity shop?  Worthy of a shelf all on it's own, this is one of my desert island films.  In a world of ghastly reimaginings and modern-dress reductiveness, the film stands as a record to a cast and film-makers honouring the material. Exquisitely shot by Desmond Dickinson and gloriously costumed by Beatrice Dawson, the film looks as good as it sounds - and it sounds absolutely glorious, no better than in the scene where Gwendolen and Cecily duel over their supposed engagements to Earnest, to hear Joan Greenwood say these lines in quick succession is to witness perfection:

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train"

"I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade.  It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different"

"You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake".

It is the bitterest irony that Anthony Asquith's father, Herbert Asquith, as Home Secretary signed Oscar Wilde's arrest warrent.

DVD/150: BLITHE SPIRIT (David Lean, 1945)

When BLITHE SPIRIT opened in 1941 it was a smash so Noel Coward chose David Lean to direct the 1945 film, their third collaboration after IN WHICH WE SERVE and THIS HAPPY BREED.

Coward hated that Lean and co-adapters Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan changed his play and rewrote the ending but still provided a voice-over introduction.

BLITHE SPIRIT was not financially successful but endures as a classic of High Comedy performance.

Repeating their original stage roles were Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford - Hammond is delicious as ghostly Elvira, a soigné but brittle performance of artifice which matches Coward's writing perfectly.

Margaret Rutherford made Madame Arcati her own; the medium who accidentally brings Elvira's glost back during a seance to create havoc with her widower Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth.

Rex Harrison is delightfully cynical as Charles and Constance Cummings is a no-nonsense Ruth.

Shelf or charity shop? Shelf all the way - remarkably this was David Lean's first screen comedy but he orchistrates his action to perfection without overplaying the undercurrent beneath the froth of regret and loss.  Indeed when viewed often, the most sympathetic character is Rutherford's all-too human Arcati.