Jane Eyre (1997)

Jane Eyre (1997)
ITV
19 October 1997
Historical Drama, Romance
DVD
D+

At the time I reviewed the 1983 adaptation, I either didn't own this version, or I was unaware that it was packaged with my DVD of Emma.  This version makes that look all the better, because this one is a mess, and not just as an adaptation:

1. Horribly miscast in every role, particularly that of St. John, who (in his less than ten minutes of screen time) comes across as warm and accepting, rather than stiff and distant;
2. Horribly directed by Robert Young (not that Robert Young), who did the 1990 series of Jeeves and Wooster and seemed to then have some sense of period acting, albeit twentieth-century rather than nineteenth;
3. Horribly acted by in particular Ciaran Hinds (who was fine in Jane Austen's Persuasion around then, if not who I picture when reading that book); Hinds spends much of his time ranting and shouting, so that Bertha looks saner than her hubby, and we get none of the other sides of Rochester's personality, making Jane's love look far more masochistic than in the novel;
4. Horribly edited, unlike '97's Emma, which knew where to cut and still keep continuity; to take just one example, we get only a glimpse of the Reed family and servants, so when Bessie shows up and Jane recognizes her, we don't, and then Jane's visit to her Aunt Reed as an adult happens completely offscreen, which has an effect on the St. John plot, as well as Jane being an heiress when she returns to Rochester;
5. Horribly written, not just with Brontë's words being tossed out but with what replaces them, especially Rochester's lines, like "This may sound silly but..." and "You'll never know a love as pure and fine as this," which made me roll with laughter;
6. Samantha Morton isn't bad as Jane but, although her screen persona (seen also as Harriet Smith in Emma and soon to be seen in Tom Jones as Sophia Western) isn't exactly Xena, she can't do self-effacing and this, with Hinds's unhinged performance, throws the "romance" further off balance;
7. The worst onscreen kissing I've ever seen (not counting kisses that are meant to be bad), with sometimes only one or two lips involved rather than four;
8. The scenery and sets and Gemma Jones's performance as a more-in-the-know than in the novel Mrs. Fairfax are fine, if less Gothic than the novel.  (The tree of the proposal scene, pictured above, never gets blasted by symbolic lightning.)

Of the three screenwriters Kay Mellor plays Mrs. Cooper, while Peter Wright gets the larger role of the nameless Clergyman, and Richard Hawley resisted appearing onscreen.  Richenda Carey, who was Lady Wickhammersley in Jeeves and Wooster, here is Lady Ingram.  Amusingly, Laura Harling, who's Young Jane, would be Young Sophia in Tom Jones, so I guess they thought she looked like Samantha Morton.

Jeeves and Wooster: Brinkley Manor

Jeeves and Wooster: Brinkley Manor
ITV
13 May 1990
Historical Comedy
DVD
B+

I assume this aired back to back with the previous episode, as they have the same air date.  This part has the "well-kicked plate of sandwiches," the prize-giving, and some other great moments.  I'm also very fond of some of Laurie's line readings and facial expressions, like the "During that sojourn" sequence and his tale of insulting a woman's fiance in Cannes.  It does seem odd that the whole thing about the white mess jacket is dropped, but the "Jeeves disapproves of Bertie's latest fashion choice" thing was not yet as integral part of the television programme as it would become.

Not counting the people I've tagged, John Barrard (Anatole), Adam Blackwood (Barmy Fotheringay Phipps), Richard Dixon (Oofy Prosser), Amanda Elwes (Angela), and Ralph Michael (Tom) return.

J & W in its first series ranges from B- to this B+, averaging out to a low B.

Jeeves and Wooster: The Hunger Strike

Advice to the Lovelorn

Jeeves and Wooster: The Hunger Strike
ITV
13 May 1990
Historical Comedy
DVD
B

This is based on the novel Right Ho, Jeeves (reviewed here http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/05/right-ho-jeeves.html) and while it doesn't live up to the source material, it is easily the best J & W adaptation so far.  I recall Part Two as better, having as it does most of the classic moments of the story.  This is funny enough, from its witty script (preserving a lot of the original writing) to such random moments as a newt-inspired dance (shades of "The Chameleon" in Zelig) and Tom's rant about taxes that manages to mention Disraeli and King Harold.

More Advice

Bertie gives a bunch of bad advice, not just romantic-- for Tuppy to win back Bertie's cousin Angela (Amanda Elwes), and for newt-fancier Gussie Fink-Nottle (Richard Garnett) to woo poetic Madeline Bassett (Francesca Folan, who in the final season would return as the very different character Florence Craye)-- but also dietic/financial.  Aunt Dahlia (Brenda Bruce) needs to get a loan from her husband Tom (Ralph Michael), but instead Bertie upsets Tom and everyone else when he indirectly offends the temperamental French chef, Anatole (John Barrard).  We end on a cliffhanger, with Dahlia ordering Jeeves to pack Bertie's bags.

Adam Blackwood, Richard Dixon, and Michael Ripper return as Barmy Fotheringay Phipps, Oofy Prosser, and the Drones Porter respectively.

Jeeves and Wooster: The Purity of the Turf

Jeeves and Wooster: The Purity of the Turf
ITV
6 May 1990
Historical Comedy
DVD
B-

This is based on two short stories, one of them called (I believe) "The Purity of the Turf."  For a change, the stories aren't interwoven and pretty much stand alone, although Bertie's Uncle George and his refound lost love Maudie do show up at the country fete.  As for the "turf," various bets are made before and during the fete, with Rupert Steggles (played by Richard Braine, who would return a couple years later in the totally different role of Gussie Fink-Nottle #2) as the bookie.  Bingo (Michael Siberry) "falls in love again," twice, and Bertie claims it's only been a week and a half since Daphne, who followed Honoria, although maybe Bertie is exaggerating for effect.

Richard Dixon, John Pirkis, Michael Ripper, and Richard Stirling return as respectively Oofy Prosser, Freddie Chalk-Marshall, the Drones Porter, and Boko Fittleworth.  I should note that I don't feel like most of the characters are that memorable, but the George/Maudie thing is cute and I would've been happy with a whole hour about them.

Jeeves and Wooster: Tuppy and the Terrier

Jeeves and Wooster: Tuppy and the Terrier
ITV
29 April 1990
Historical Comedy
DVD
B-

This story combines three in one, with Bertie following Bobbie Wickham's scheme to get vengeance on Barmy Fotheringay Phipps (Adam Blackwood again); Bertie letting her use his flat to host Broadway producer Mr. Blumenfield and his eight-year-old son (Billy J. Mitchell and Anatol Yusef in their first of two appearances); and Tuppy courting an opera singer.  Aunt Dahlia (Brenda Bruce, my favorite in the role) wants to break up that romance, since Tuppy was courting her daughter Angela.  We'll find out more about Tuppy/Angela later.  Bertie's song this episode, not counting his dreadful "Sonny Boy," is the very catchy "Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors."  The beginning of the episode, all that golf, is slow, but Mackintosh is a cute little dog.

Michael Ripper returns as the Drones Porter.

Jeeves and Wooster: Jeeves Takes Charge

Only Jeeves can get Bertie out of this predicament.

Jeeves and Wooster: Jeeves Takes Charge
ITV
Historical Comedy
22 April 1990
DVD
B-

Clive Exton adapted this and I think all the other episodes of the four series of the programme, basing this episode on two of the early short stories.  It's a reasonably faithful adaptation, although understandably a lot of time is spent introducing characters, including ones who have little to do with the present tale.  This, combined by the slow-paced direction, by Robert Young (not that Robert Young) as it would be for the other episodes of Series One, gives a feeling that it takes awhile to get going.  The liveliest moments are due to the music, that is, the jaunty theme tune (with perfect animation), the incidental music, and of course the duet for "Minnie the Moocher."  As with the books, it's difficult to say when exactly this is set, other than "between the World Wars," although there is a reference to a wine from '27.

The first scene is set in a courtroom, as a hungover and incoherent Bertram Wilberforce Wooster (the marvelous Hugh Laurie) is sentenced five pounds by the judge, Sir Watkyn Bassett (John Woodnutt, who would be featured more prominently in his five later appearances), for stealing a policeman's helmet.  He returns home and just wants to collapse in bed but is woken by the arrival of the new valet that the agency sent over.  This valet is Jeeves (the understated but splendid Stephen Fry) and he's about to change Bertie's life, for the better.  I'll note here that at 30 and 32 respectively, Laurie is a bit too old for the 25-ish Wooster and Fry is definitely too young for the middle-aged Jeeves, but they're so perfectly cast, and of course have long-standing chemistry, that the viewer can soon overlook that.

Bertie's stern Aunt Agatha (Mary Wimbush) thinks he's wasting his life and she wants him to marry Honoria Glossop (Liz Kettle) as a steadying influence.  So he reluctantly goes down to the estate of her parents, Sir Roderick and Lady Glossop (Roger Brierly and Jane Downs), where he meets his old pal Bingo Little (Michael Siberry).  Complications, including cats stolen by his cousins Claude and Eustace, ensue.

Adam Blackwood makes his first of four appearances as Barmy Fothingay (pronounced "Fungy") Phipps, Richard Dixon his first of eight as Oofy Prosser, John Pirkis his first of three as Freddie Chalk-Marshall, Michael Ripper his first of six as the Drones Porter, and Richard Stirling his first of two as Boko Fittleworth.  Yet it is Robert Daws who'll be the main familiar face throughout the series, getting more to do in his seven later appearances as Tuppy Glossop (yes, related to these Glossops), while those around him are recast and/or underused.