and from Ray Bradbury Theatre's 'There Was an Old Woman,' in which she faces off against Ronald Lacey as a non-speaking, always-smiling angel of death, and it's incredibly wonderful).
Thank you, that sounds great. She has such an amazing face. I've seen her in a handful of movies, but Pimpernel Smith was the one that really got my attention.
(I did feel clever for guessing, when I saw the 1940 Thief of Bagdad in her filmography, that she played the mechanical, murderous Silver Maid.)
You described this movie as numinous, and I was wondering about that, but Howard's speech in the final scene was indeed exactly that -- also the way he was lit (and shadowed) throughout, but especially in that scene, makes me want a timeline in which he played Agatha Christie’s Mr. Harley Quinn.
Who I don't know, either, so thank you for the additional recommendation! I'm mostly familiar with the Harlequin in Sayers' Murder Must Advertise. I'm not quite sure why it worked out this way, since my mother is a comprehensive collector of mystery novels, but I've read a lot less Christie than Sayers or Allingham. The same is probably true of Ngaio Marsh, but I don't remember her as well. My one attempt to re-read her as an adult hit a patch of particularly nasty racism in Vintage Murder, so I haven't tried again.
I find the final scene of Pimpernel Smith extraordinary. I'm so glad you liked it!
no subject
Thank you, that sounds great. She has such an amazing face. I've seen her in a handful of movies, but Pimpernel Smith was the one that really got my attention.
(I did feel clever for guessing, when I saw the 1940 Thief of Bagdad in her filmography, that she played the mechanical, murderous Silver Maid.)
You described this movie as numinous, and I was wondering about that, but Howard's speech in the final scene was indeed exactly that -- also the way he was lit (and shadowed) throughout, but especially in that scene, makes me want a timeline in which he played Agatha Christie’s Mr. Harley Quinn.
Who I don't know, either, so thank you for the additional recommendation! I'm mostly familiar with the Harlequin in Sayers' Murder Must Advertise. I'm not quite sure why it worked out this way, since my mother is a comprehensive collector of mystery novels, but I've read a lot less Christie than Sayers or Allingham. The same is probably true of Ngaio Marsh, but I don't remember her as well. My one attempt to re-read her as an adult hit a patch of particularly nasty racism in Vintage Murder, so I haven't tried again.
I find the final scene of Pimpernel Smith extraordinary. I'm so glad you liked it!