chrysanthemum

Ian Carmichael (1920-2010): it was his radio portrayal of Lord Peter Wimsey that hooked me onto the work of Dorothy L. Sayers. (In particular, the scene in Strong Poison where Lord Peter confronts Inspector Parker regarding Lady Mary -- hee!) I've been listening on and off to his audiobook rendition of Gaudy Night since the news of his passing, and while there are a number of lines for which I would prefer a different timbre or cadence, there are also passages where his voice as Lord Peter is so familiar and so right.

(Long ago, I listened to a LP in U of C's Regenstein Library where someone with a Carmichaelian voice read Francis Thompson's The Hound of Heaven. I didn't note the name of the voice actor, and oh, how I wish I had: there was something about that magnificent, over-the-top poem in the voice of Lord Peter that I very much would like to hear again - but I don't see the anthology listed in U of C's catalog (it was probably de-accessioned long ago), and I've had no luck with various keyword searches and in-store browsings. Alas.)

Granada's interpretation of "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" was rebroadcast last night - an episode I saw when it first aired back in 1984, when the late Jeremy Brett was in his prime as Sherlock Holmes. I caught the last third of it and then, thanks to YouTube, looked up the scene that's stuck with me all these years: when Holmes and Watson decipher an especially critical message.

...It's even better than I remembered. At the time, what caught my fancy was Holmes and Watson locking eyes for a second as they both realized what the message said, and then both bolting out the room. For some reason (probably conflation with another episode), the scene ending with Holmes vaulting over a sofa and shouting for a servant or hansom -- that's not here, but what is -- what I didn't have time or wit to notice 26 (!) years ago -- is how beautifully the scene is constructed and acted. Replaying it several times, watching the incremental changes in Burke and Brett's expressions as the meaning of the message dawns on them -- and then the camera's similarly paced, section-by-section reveal of the message to the viewer -- oh, such craft!

Lucille Clifton died this past weekend. I laughed out loud when I first read Wishes for Sons. And I love the closing lines of cutting greens:

i taste in my natural appetite
the bond of live things everywhere.

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2010-02-15 9:31 AM in memoriam Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (0) Share on Facebook	Ian Carmichael (1920-2010): it was his radio portrayal of Lord Peter Wimsey that hooked me onto the work of Dorothy L. Sayers. (In particular, the scene in Strong Poison where Lord Peter confronts Inspector Parker regarding Lady Mary -- hee!) I've been listening on and off to his audiobook rendition of Gaudy Night since the news of his passing, and while there are a number of lines for which I would prefer a different timbre or cadence, there are also passages where his voice as Lord Peter is so familiar and so right. (Long ago, I listened to a LP in U of C's Regenstein Library where someone with a Carmichaelian voice read Francis Thompson's The Hound of Heaven. I didn't note the name of the voice actor, and oh, how I wish I had: there was something about that magnificent, over-the-top poem in the voice of Lord Peter that I very much would like to hear again - but I don't see the anthology listed in U of C's catalog (it was probably de-accessioned long ago), and I've had no luck with various keyword searches and in-store browsings. Alas.) Granada's interpretation of "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" was rebroadcast last night - an episode I saw when it first aired back in 1984, when the late Jeremy Brett was in his prime as Sherlock Holmes. I caught the last third of it and then, thanks to YouTube, looked up the scene that's stuck with me all these years: when Holmes and Watson decipher an especially critical message. ...It's even better than I remembered. At the time, what caught my fancy was Holmes and Watson locking eyes for a second as they both realized what the message said, and then both bolting out the room. For some reason (probably conflation with another episode), the scene ending with Holmes vaulting over a sofa and shouting for a servant or hansom -- that's not here, but what is -- what I didn't have time or wit to notice 26 (!) years ago -- is how beautifully the scene is constructed and acted. Replaying it several times, watching the incremental changes in Burke and Brett's expressions as the meaning of the message dawns on them -- and then the camera's similarly paced, section-by-section reveal of the message to the viewer -- oh, such craft! Lucille Clifton died this past weekend. I laughed out loud when I first read Wishes for Sons. And I love the closing lines of cutting greens: i taste in my natural appetite the bond of live things everywhere. Read/Post Comments (0) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top
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