These days, a TV is almost an essential item of furniture; I’m of an age that when I was a child it was a radio which was essential and most people would have them although of course they were called a wireless then. The radio was always on at home and we listened every evening to Children’s Hour at 5 o’clock. We didn’t have a TV but occasionally we’d go upstairs to the dear old lady who owned our flat, Aunty Gladys, and would watch her TV. We did go to the cinema, usually to see comedy films, and one of the main stars at that time was Alec Guinness, later of course, Sir Alec Guinness.
I remember many of the films I saw as a child, most of all the Ealing Comedies – however one which I particularly remember from that time was, “Last Holiday”. It made a great impact on me because of the ending; the story was about a man who received a diagnosis of a terminal illness and who decided to live what life he had, to the full. He eventually challenged the diagnosis, was told it was a mistake, and driving back to his new found friends, crashed his car and died. I was a child, and obviously found it very upsetting, but most of all I felt annoyed and cheated. I think even at that time I realised that not every story has a happy ending, and wouldn’t have minded if it had ended without a resolution, – but to kill him – well, that just wrecked the film! I think this was where my dislike of those sort of endings came from – I dislike it in books and other stories. Have a dull ending, a sad ending, even an unsatisfactory ending where things aren’t resolved – but actually killing the main character always seems a cop out somehow. An exception is “Goodnight Mr Tom”, where the old man dies; it was moving, believable and tied up the story. SPOILER ALERT An example of my dissatisfaction is the excellent series by Graham Hurley following the investigations by D.I. Joe Faraday. I very much enjoyed the novels, thought they were well written, and first class in many ways. Joe Faraday had been a depressive character throughout the novels, and it was no surprise when Faraday left the police force. That could have been the end, but no, unfortunately he died, and by his own hand, and that – for me – spoiled the whole series.
I’ve rather wandered away from what I was going to “talk” about, here an interview I watched by Michael Parkinson with Alec Guinness. I have always loved Alec Guinness as an actor, from those early comedy film days, but also in the many other roles, Herbert Pocket in “Great Expectations”, several roles in “Kind Hearts and Coronets”, “The Lavender Hill Mob”, “The Ladykillers” and of course “The Bridge Over the River Kwai”. I read his autobiography many years ago (maybe it’s time for a re-read). Among the many films of his I’ve watched, my absolute favourite is his role as George Smiley in the TV series “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy”. The Parkinson interview with him was fascinating, and fortunately it is on YouTube so I can watch it again. “Tinker,Taylor” was the series which led me to John le Carré, and having recently re-read his autobiographical writing in “The Pigeon Tunnel”, I am now reading this – which I thoroughly recommend:
Does what I’ve written make any sense at all? For some reason, on re-reading it, it seems somewhat muddled and confusing!
My featured image is of the Guinness brewery in Dublin
Lois Elsden 