The Gainsborough logo at the beginning of the film brought back memories to me of all those deliciously scandalous Margaret Lockwood films of the forties such as "The Man in Grey" and "The Wicked Lady". Lockwood could play heroines and scheming murderesses in her sleep, and the character that she would have played here, the one portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter, must gain strength as she has to deal with the evil Diana Rigg. The circumstances which brought her to the large estate surround her father Christopher Plummer literally losing her as part of a gambling debt. She ends up in a fake engagement to Riggs' son (Marcus Gilbert) which creates an instant hatred by the evil mother, as wild as any Disney queen ever was.
This film starts off direct with the issues of heroine Serena Staverley and her father and turns into a complete camp fest with Rigg's entrance. "Take your paws off me. Your stench sickens me" she tells one foe before running him through with a sword in Carter's presence. It's obvious that she's involved in a smuggling ring as well as illegal gambling which makes it obvious how she has gained her fortune in addition to her marriage to the older Stewart Granger, ironically a veteran of those Margaret Lockwood movies.
Among the others in the cast are Edward Fox, Fiona Fullerton, Anna Massey and Eileen Atkins, an ensemble of the creme de la creme of British acting royalty. It is beautiful to look at in every way with a great score, fabulous art direction and costumes. There's also a fabulous energy that will keep the three were enthralled throughout. It's a shame that CBS did not adapt more Barbara Cartland novels as TV movies, particularly the costume adventures, because this one is just too much fun to dismiss as just dressed up soap trash. For me, this one's a keeper.
This film starts off direct with the issues of heroine Serena Staverley and her father and turns into a complete camp fest with Rigg's entrance. "Take your paws off me. Your stench sickens me" she tells one foe before running him through with a sword in Carter's presence. It's obvious that she's involved in a smuggling ring as well as illegal gambling which makes it obvious how she has gained her fortune in addition to her marriage to the older Stewart Granger, ironically a veteran of those Margaret Lockwood movies.
Among the others in the cast are Edward Fox, Fiona Fullerton, Anna Massey and Eileen Atkins, an ensemble of the creme de la creme of British acting royalty. It is beautiful to look at in every way with a great score, fabulous art direction and costumes. There's also a fabulous energy that will keep the three were enthralled throughout. It's a shame that CBS did not adapt more Barbara Cartland novels as TV movies, particularly the costume adventures, because this one is just too much fun to dismiss as just dressed up soap trash. For me, this one's a keeper.