Reviews

I loved the early books and i particular how Phryne seemed to work successfully as a 'lone agent' although with assistance from the women around her. The Inspector seemed to me to be an older man and not a permanent henchman. So, although I enjoy the series, I'm not so enamoured of the love angle being set up between Phryne and the Inspector and surprising that of Dot also resulting in her marriage to the police constable in season three. Perhaps these changes have been necessary for TV to make the 'love angle' almost as important as the investigation.

I didn't like this film but I guess primarily because the male lead character was such an incompetent 'pretend to know-it-all' when outside the safe confines of his city. So many things at the start - no water safety preparation (life-jackets), no fuel cans visible, minimal preparation. Such a frantic scene when a fish is landed!! Probably it was his first. And of course it got worse with every decision he made. Thank goodness for Nadia Fares - she supported the idiot at the beginning but more and more became the competent, resourceful, courageous and inventive anchor that kept him alive throughout the ugliest of scenarios one could imagine when encountering Australia's 'Deliverance' team. Over-the-top bloodthirsty characters are necessary I guess if you are to keep the plot active and fluid. The supporting cast were excellent in this but as the main characters were attempting an escape I kept saying, "Please don't let HIM' make another decision and at the end I wondered whether they would stay married once home. You need all of these stupid things otherwise they would get away too soon and so the film would fade to black. So I started by disliking the film but the obvious mismatch in resourcefulness made Nadia Fares role that much more stunning that I ended the film impressed by her character and her performance. It was she who was continually putting her life in danger and SHE who saved the day.

I hardly know where to start - so perhaps with the name of the town GLANSARNO. Since it is supposed to be set in the remote countryside of Wales, perhaps PONTSARNO or LLANSARNO or even TRESARNO would make it more believable. The FAQ asks what is the meaning of the name and DOESN'T EVEN ANSWER IT!! Most mining towns were NOT remote, and in 1895 were connected by railways. Oh dear, and what choices for the songs the miners sang travelling from work - hard songs even for the many excellent Welsh choirs and then near the end what an insult to have the pupils since one of the most well-known and famous Welsh songs 'Ar Hyd Y Nos' (All Through the Night') in ENGLISH!!! Most English speakers have trouble with Welsh and so to have a crafty illiterate Bessie Watty sing a beautiful song in perfect Welsh to the apple of her lusty eyes is also so unbelievable. Can't believe that to advertise the school to a town of illiterate and predominately Welsh-speaking townsfolk, Miss Moffat decides to use posters!!! That would not work and again - the poster of course is in English. Add to that, the English were distrusted and she would have needed to work hard very hard to gain acceptance. I can't believe there was anyone connected with the film who knew ANYTHING of Welsh country life and although many small independent 'schools' existed, every mining town had a State School by 1895 - they were not 'remote'. The stand-out character was John Dall and the only other believable characters were Rhys Williams (Mr Jones), Mildred Dunnock (Miss Ronberry) and Rosalind Ivan (Mrs Watty). Bette Davis depicted a strong character but one without empathy, love and conviction so necessary for her role as an educator. The imperious, isolated and punishing character she portrayed would not have gone well with the villagers or the potential students. A mine-owner (50% share) squire would have been feared rather than loved and although I like the bumbling Nigel Bruce I thought him poorly cast. When one sees a 'true' mining town so excellently depicted in 'How Green Was My Valley' it is truly the apogee when compared this film - the nadir in so many respects.

Does anyone know how or where to buy this movie. It is so much better than the original (1967) but has seemed to have been lost - would love to see it again. Arthur Lowe is the key character for me and his role in the opening scene sets the mood so well. Mind you Jimmy Edwards had had quite a few years to let his facial hair turn into white wilderness!!

Can't believe that this film was considered a comedy - I saw NOTHING even to bring a smile to my face. No take that back there were a couple of instances where the robots created the smile. In some ways it was like suburbia translated (complete with furniture) onto a space station. So it came with a 70's view of sex and masturbation which hardly helped the lack of story. Given that it was supposed to be a space station there was little evidence of professionalism and chain of command - they seemed to be aimlessly drifting in space with little concern for what may outside the space station or how to manage it. I think this is the first film I have seen where actors smoke - irrespective of where they may be AND so many of them!! I found this difficult to take be it on the command deck or private quarters. So many people with problems one wonders how they were screened to be crew members on a space station in the first place. DULL - unimaginative and sit-com predictability.