May 6, 2023
The Diary of a Nobody (BBC, 1964)
"In the evening, Cummings unexpectedly dropped in to show me a meerschaum pipe he had won in a raffle in the city and told me to handle it carefully, as it would spoil the colouring if the hand was moist. He said he would not stay, as he did not care much for the smell of paint, and fell over the scraper as he went out. Must get the scraper removed - or else I shall get into a scrape. I don't often make jokes."
#the diary of a nobody#bbc#single play#ken russell#book adaptation#1964#george grossmith#weedon grossmith#john mcgrath#bryan pringle#avril elgar#murray melvin#brian murphy#jonathan cecil#vivian pickles#anne jameson#ann strunk#bartlett mullins#john h. moore#violet dix#glorious adaptation of the beloved victorian comic novel‚ a personal favourite. something of a stroke of genius for Russell to take#a densely wordy faux diary and shoot it in the style of early silent cinema‚ but it absolutely works; retaining the voice over narration#of the Grossmith's hapless middle class aspirationist and failed snob Charles Pooter (played to perfection by Pringle)‚ the onscreen action#is allowed to deviate from his proud monologues and provides some delightful visual gags. the Grossmith estate were reportedly deeply#unhappy with this adaptation‚ which might account for its scarcity; never repeated nor officially released‚ it is currently available on a#certain You based Tube and i heartily recommend it to any fan of Russell‚ turn of the century social satire‚ old telly or just having fun#a delightful little discovery. and special mention to the recently passed Murray Melvin as the younger dandyish Pooter#his deliberate movements and angular countenance seem perfectly suited to silent film and he could have stepped out of the 1890s themselves#this was probably commissioned as part of an anthology of dramas perhaps called Six (for the six installments) but there's precious little#information out there about its production or transmission besides a showing in december '64