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claudia1829things · 16 days ago

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"BLEAK HOUSE" (1959) Review

"BLEAK HOUSE" (1959) Review

I never thought a trip to Great Britain would reveal the existence of many television adaptations of certain Victorian novels. But it did. I took a trip to Europe and discover that the BBC had produced older television adaptations of famous novels - including those written by Charles Dickens.

One of the adaptations I had stumbled across was the 1959 version of Dickens' 1852-1853 novel, "Bleak House". First aired in eleven 30-minute episodes, I had been forced to binge watch the entire miniseries at a friend's house due to a time constraint. Eric Tayler, known for his work with the BBC in Great Britain and the ABC in New Zealand, served as the producer. And Constance Cox, who had a reputation for adapting classic literature for the stage and television, had served as the screenwriter for the five-and-a-half hours production. How did they do?

Before I offer my opinion of the miniseries, allow me to provide a recap of this adaptation of Dickens' story. "BLEAK HOUSE" centered around Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, due a testator having written several conflicting wills. Among the characters directly affected by Jarndyce and Jarndyce are:

*John Jarndyce - a beneficiary of the case, and benevolent landowner and owner of the Bleak House estate *Richard Castrone - one of Mr. Jarndyce's wards and another beneficiary *Ada Clare - Mr. Jarndyce's other ward and another beneficiary *Esther Sommerson - Mr. Jarndyce's third ward, whom he hired to serve as his housekeeper and Ada's companion *Honoria, Lady Dedlock - the wife of baronet Sir Leicester Dedlock, another beneficiary and Esther's illegitimate mother

Although the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case directly affect some, other characters - like Esther - are indirectly affected by the case:

*Sir Leicester Dedlock- wealthy baronet and Lady Dedlock's husband *Mr. Tulkinghorn - Sir Leicester's solicitor, who becomes aware of Lady Dedlock's past, due to her reaction to the affidavit *Nemo aka James Hawdon - a former British Army officer, Esther's illegitimate father and law writer, whose penmanship of a Jarndyce and Jarndyce affidavit alerts his presence to his former lover, Lady Dedlock *Jo - a poor young street sweeper whom Nemo had befriended *Miss Flyte - an elderly woman, whose family had been destroyed by a long-running Chancery case similar to Jarndyce v Jarndyce, and who befriends Mr. Jarndyce's wards *Krook - a rag and bottle merchant and collector of papers, who is also Miss Flyte and Nemo's landlord

Although Mr. Jarndyce remained unconcerned with the case, Richard develops an obsession over it, an act that leads to his estrangement from his guardian. This estrangement leave both Esther and Ada caught between the pair. Lady Dedlock seemed more concern with the identity of the man who had been hired to write the Jarndyce and Jarndyce affidavit. Her concern is noticed by Mr. Tulkinghorn, who becomes obsessed with connecting the two in an effort to protect Sir Leicester's good name. His search for Nemo's identity and Lady Dedlock's secret end up affecting other characters.

I had expected to dislike this version of "BLEAK HOUSE" . . . or merely express contempt for it. To my surprise, I found myself impressed. Granted, I believe it had its share of flaws, which I will eventually discussed. But overall, "BLEAK HOUSE" proved to be more than a solid adaptation of Dickens' novel. Thanks to Constance Cox's screenplay and the group of directors, the eleven-part miniseries moved at a steady pace that kept me alert and interested in the story. And although Bryan Langley's camera work lacked the artistry and sweep of the two adaptations that followed, I thought he managed to provide some artistic touches in the productions, especially those moments featuring Esther, Richard and Ada's arrival at Bleak House, Esther and Inspector's Bucket's search for the missing Lady Dedlock later in the series, the miniseries' final shot and especially the murder of a major character around the end of the ninth episode. What I find interesting is that many of these "artistic" touches had occurred near the end of an episode.

I noticed that this version of Dickens' novel had removed several supporting characters from the adaptation. Those missing included Mr. Jarndyce's old friend, Lawrence Boythorn; the Jellyby and Turveydrop families; the former servant of Esther's aunt, Mrs. Chadband and her minister husband; Rosa, Lady Dedlock's second maid; Watt Rouncewell, Rosa's intended; and Robert Rouncewell, Watt's industrialist father and the older son of the Dedlocks' housekeeper. This led screenwriter Constance Cox to create another excuse for Lady Dedlock to dismiss her French maid, Madam Hortense. I cannot help but wonder if this was an attempt to portray Lady Dedlock's treatment of her personal servants in a more positive light. There were characters whose roles had been reduced by Cox and producer Eric Tayler. Among them were George Rouncewell's right-hand man, Phil Squod; the memorable, yet malignant moneylender, Joshua Smallweed; and his granddaughter Judy Smallweed. Because of this reduction of Smallweed's character, Lady Dedlock needed another reason to flee Chesney Wold, other than blackmail and the threat of exposure. The elimination of one particular character nearly left a hole in the production - namely Harold Skimpole, the selfish and amoral friend of Mr. Jarndyce, with his penchant for sponging from others.

The lack of Mr. Skimpole proved to be a problem for me. Without his presence, I found Richard Carstone's gradual interest in the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case, his growing hostility toward Mr. Jarndyce and his hiring of the greedy Chancery lawyer, Mr. Vholes, less easy to accept. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seemed to me Skimpole had played a major influence in Richard's growing obsession with the Jarndyce case. Without his presence in this production, there were times when Richard's arc seemed rushed. But I had a few more issues with "BLEAK HOUSE", but not as severe as the one surrounding the Skimpole character. The miniseries had failed to explain Miss Flyte's whereabouts, during her landlord Mr. Krook's moment of spontaneous combustion. Where was she? The old lady had already moved to other lodgings in the novel. And in the two adaptations following this one, she had encountered law clerk William Guppy outside of Krook's shop, while returning home. Granted, this adaptation proved to be more faithful regarding the circumstances of Krook's death with the addition of the Tony Jobling character. I just wish it had explained Miss Flyte's whereabouts.

I do have some complaints regarding the production's casting, but I will get to that later. Some have pointed out that this adaptation lacked the sweeping visuals of the 1985 and 2005 versions. I cannot deny this. But this "BLEAK HOUSE" was a television production from the late 1950s. It seemed unrealistic to expect the miniseries to possess the same visual sweeps from the two adaptations that followed. With the exception of the mid-19th century hairstyle worn by actress Elizabeth Shepherd, the other major female cast members had their hair (or wigs) swept into late 1950s beehives. If that was not enough, I also had some issues with the women's costumes. Dickens' novel had been published between 1852 and 1853. The costume designs for the 1985 and 2005 adaptations had reflected this time period. But I had noticed that the women's costume designs for the 1959 adaptation reflected a later period - between the late 1850s and early 1860s - when women's skirts were more wider, due to the innovation of the cage crinoline petticoat in 1856. Had it been the intention of producer Eric Tayler to set this adaptation during the later years of the 1850s?

With the exception of one or two actors, I did not have a problem with the performances featured in "BLEAK HOUSE". I certainly had no problems from the likes of Elizabeth Shepherd, John Phillips, Jerome Willis, Angela Crow, William Mervyn, Wilford Brambell, Richard Pearson, Michael Aldridge, Gerald Cross, Eileen Draycott, Leslie French and Annette Carrell. I especially have to commend Shepherd, Phillips, Aldridge and Carrell for being standouts among the supporting cast. The only reason I could not regard John Phillips' portrayal of the lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn as among the best of the series is that although I found his performance rather intimidating at times, I thought he had lacked the high level of menace and spite that both Peter Vaughn and Charles Dance had managed to infuse into their portrayals.

There were performances that I found questionable. David Horne's portrayal of the aristocratic Sir Leicester Dedlock struck me as a bit too theatrical or hammy - especially during the miniseries' last two episodes. Terence Soall's performance as the moneylender Mr. Smallweed seemed not only a ghost of Dickens' original character. The malice and sharp temper seemed to be missing in Soall's interpretation of the character, leaving the actor's Mr. Smallweed to be nothing more than a man who resorted to passive-aggressive sniveling to get through life. And to my surprise, I believe he was only featured in one or two episodes. I finally come to Malcolm Knight, who portrayed the impoverished street-crossing sweeper, Jo. I am not claiming that he gave a bad performance. If I must be honest, the actor had given his all to inject as much pathos as possible into the role. But . . . if I must be honest, at the age of 23 or 24 years old, Knight had been too old to portrayed the 10-to-12 years-old Jo. No amount of pathos in his performance could overcome this issue.

For me, the outstanding performances came from six cast members. Although Cox's transcript did not touch upon Esther's bouts insecurity - a product of the emotional abuse she had endured, while being raised by her aunt - I thought Diana Fairfax did an excellent job of conveying Esther's sometime frantic need to be liked. Andrew Cruickshank was equally superb as the warm-hearted landowner, Mr. John Jarndyce, who seemed torn between his efforts to protect his charges and his anguish over Richard's unfounded hostility toward him. I also noticed that both Fairfax and Cruickshank had generated a very strong screen chemistry - which would be repeated by those who had portrayed Esther and Mr. Jarndyce in future adaptations. All of the actors I have seen portray the young Richard Carstones had been first-rate. But I believe Colin Jearvons gave the best portrayal of the fleckless but good-natured ward, transformed over time by the character's growing obsession with the Jarndyce case and his own resentment toward Mr. Jarndyce's disappointment in his failure to find a profession. Ironically, Jeavons had appeared in six Dickens adaptations, including two adaptations of "Great Expectations" and two of "Bleak House". Iris Russell did a first-rate job in infusing a good deal of pathos into the Honoria, Lady Dedlock role without resorting to any hammy acting. This especially seemed to be the case in the one scene in which Lady Dedlock revealed herself as Esther's mother to the latter. I believe Miss Flyte must be one of those roles that prove very difficult not to indulge in theatrical acting. Fortunately for this production, Nora Nicholson had been cast in the role of Miss Flyte, the elderly and eccentric woman who had developed an obsessive in other Chancery cases like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, following the destruction of her own family over a similar case. Nicholson managed to keep her performance under control, while conveying Miss Flyte's eccentric nature. Finally, Timothy Bateson really impressed me in his portrayal of the ambitious, yet very funny law clerk, William Guppy, who worked for Mr. Jarndyce's solicitor. I have to say . . . that man had possessed a superb comic timing that not only suited the character very well., but should have been the envy of many comic actors.

I am not going to pretend that "BLEAK HOUSE" should have been faithful to Dickens' novel. That would have been an impossibility for any television or movie production. Some of the changes made by the screenwriter failed to harm the miniseries. But there were a few changes - namely the exclusion of the Harold Skimpole character - that struck me as minor mistakes. However, I thought Constance Cox did a first-rate job in adapting Dickens' novel. And those who had directed the eleven episodes did an excellent job in maintaining the production's pace and also the narrative's continuity. I believe their work had been ably supported by a first-rate cast led by Diana Fairfax, Andrew Cruickshank, Colin Jeavons and Elizabeth Shepherd. I would gladly watch this miniseries again. Unfortunately, it is currently unavailable in the U.S. and I do not see myself in paying for another trip to the U.K. just to watch it. Hmmmm . . . pity.

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