By: Alan W. Petrucelli

Alan W. Petrucelli — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:16:02 +0000

NOEL COWARD CLASSICS. YES, EVEN JOAN COLLINS IS GOOD! Throughout the years, the BBC has broadcast any number of Coward’s immensely witty and wise works, and they are here, it what may be called a true embarrassment of riches. They have been cut and re-arranged for television, and some of the casts may leave a bit to be desired, but all in all it’s a great collection of stuff by one of the masters of entertainment of the twentieth century.Margaret Leighton plays the besotted mother in 1969 broadcast of Coward’s 1924 smash The Vortex; Alec McCowen plays Elyot in a 1976 Private Lives; the ever lovely Rula Lenska essays Gilda, the female corner of a ménage in Design for Living; the magnificent Donald Sinden plays the narcissistic actor in Present Laughter and Geraldine McEwan, Deborah Kerr and Sir Paul Scofield are in Coward’s last masterpiece, Suite in Two Keys. And, as someone once said, you ain’t heard nothing yet. Coward wrote a number of short stories that were, with greater and lesser success, adapted for television. Since Coward, a master at play construction, chose to write these in prose should tell us something, and some of these programs have a weary sense of tediousness and lack of focus. However, with British stars such as Tom Courtney, Dame Judi Dench, Ian Holm and Susannah York, and each clocking in at less than an hour, they are curiosities worth investigating. The greatest curiosity is the Joan Collins Repertory Company doing eight of the one-act plays from Tonight at Eight-Thirty. The plays, their casts and production values are quite fantastic. Collins rises to the occasion brilliantly, giving a star turn in each—beautiful, warm, touching, hysterically funny and a far cry from the sex-ridden harridan she usually plays on this side of the pond. Added to this intoxicating mix are several radio adaptations of the plays, including Dame Judi in Hay Fever and Stephen Fry in Private Lives, a bizarre but fascinating 1978 variety television show called The Songwriters that features cabaret like performances of Coward’s songs, and best of all, a couple of BBC interviews with Coward on acting and writing. This collection is a delight, and proves that Coward had vastly more than merely a talent to amuse.

By: Richard Dodge "South San Diego Senior"

Richard Dodge "South San Diego Senior" — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:08:05 +0000

Delicious travel back in time via DVD…. THE NOEL COWARD collection….is simply a treasure. Yes, we will eachhave slightly different favorites…but…there is not a dud in the whole box. And, there is a monumental ammount of material…and all of it first rate. I becan with disc TWO and ran one dvd a night…andTHEN did disc ONE and watched “The Vortex” last…and indeed, it was not a personal favorite…but it was well done and beautifully mounted like everything in this collection. Yes, there were nine plays in TONIGHT AT 8:30…and only EIGHT are included on this disc. Joan Collins is a total delight in all of them…and she plays a wide variety of rolesfrom glamourous through frumpy. All I can say…is…I have never bought a BOX so full of treasures and so entertaining throughout. I havewatched everything and still have all the audio only features to examine.You will NOT get more BANG for your BUCH anywhere. THIS IS IT.

Comments on: The Noel Coward Collection

By: Alan W. Petrucelli

By: Richard Dodge "South San Diego Senior"