Dahlias in August

 

Below are just some of this years thirty Dahlia Figaro Mixed that I usually grow in the bedding border. They are multi coloured and flower in different shapes and sizes. They have struggled this summer and are just beginning to put on a show.

The Garden in August

The Delphinium above (maybe the Sky Blue and White) has bloomed for the second time. Apparently this does not always happen with Delphiniums but I followed some instructions which seems to have worked. There are now four flower spikes, a little lower than the one spike that flowered in June.

On the subject of repeat flowering, here are some other examples starting with the Weigelia Red Prince.

Then the Dianthus that are in pots in the side patio.

Some of the roses are back in flower starting with the Blue for You.

And this marvelous white rose.

Then this double colour mauve rose and one in pink.

Next is what I thought is a Euphorbia but I maybe wrong, growing out of the stones next to the path by the back door. 

The Salvia in the large pot by the fence has a couple of new spikes but nothing like in June.

Elsewhere in the garden, I have a separate post on the bedding Dahlias. The two large pots either side of the front door  have a mix of pink and white Impatiens that love the sheltered spot.

What used to be the round hot bed at the far end of the garden is undergoing a replanting. In the meantime here are the dwarf Sunflowers and the taller Cosmos, both of which I grew from seed!

I actually moved three of the Sunflowers to a bare part of the main border. The mauve Geranium next to them is also flowering again.

Sight and Sound Magazine - September 2025

 

Cover

More of the greatest films you've never seen.

Editorial

Mike Williams tells us this is the third time that Sight and Sound has looked at films that are hidden gems. This time  it's about how Mubi has success with it's commitment to independent and art house cinema. However they are not immune from criticism about their involvement with one questionable character. Which brings up the matter of who is investing in the arts and sport. Is that ultimately bad business?

Opening Scenes

All about Israel and Gaza that I skipped.

 Editor's Choice

Of the six books discussed, only one was of interest and that was Sonny Boy, a Memoir by Al Pacino. Mike Williams loved the final chapter on ageing and death.

In Production

One interesting piece about a future Sense and Sensibility. Not yet in production, but signed on is Daisy Edgar Jones for Working Title and Focus Features.

In Conversation

Lou Thomas talks about Danny and Michael Philippou's latest horror Bring Her Back. Reviewed in the Sunday Times.

Festivals, Mean Sheets and Reader's Letters

Nothing of interest.

The Long Take

Pamela Hutchinson describes films made with deaf production, or for deaf audiences. We hear examples. Silent films were embraced, although being able to lip read had it's own problems. More recent films are discussed including A Quiet Place and Flow, both great.

Flick Lit

Nicole Flattery tells us about Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman (1978) where divorce is the central theme. Erica and Martin seem to be the perfect married couple, only for the latter to leave for a younger woman he met in a shop. A detailed analysis of the plot follows. On the same subject, Nicole loves Nora Ephron's Heartburn (1983) and The War of the Roses, now being remade as The Roses starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch.

TV Eye

Andrew Male is interested in Lauren Greenfield's new documentary Social Studies. (I'm sorry. I just do not get these youngsters and their online lives. Nor should I at my age.)

More Hidden Gems

Fifty little known films chosen by film makes. Some are more interesting than others. To pick out just a few:

No 4 -  Chosen by Molly Haskell: George Cukor's Sylvia Scarlett (1935). (See The Directors Series 1.) A very early Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant (the latter not yet a star.)

No 8 - Chosen by Karina Longworth: Vincente Minnelli's Four Horseman of the Apocalypse (1962). The director is better known for musicals such as Gigi and An American in Paris that both won best picture Oscars. But here is Glen Ford in a drama that some say pales in insignificance against the Rudolf Valentino silent version.

No 23 - Chosen by John Bleasedale: Jack Clayton's Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Ray Bradbury adapts his own novel and Jonathon Pryce plays Mr Dark at the head of a carnival. Also stars Jason Robards and Pam Grier.

 No 39 - Chosen by Mike Leigh: William Coldstream's The Fairy on the Phone (1936). A short public information film about the dos and don'ts of using the telephone. "Hilarious, unashamedly camp and utterly bonkers". See BT Archives.

No 45 - Chosen by Mahdi Fleifel: Bille August's Best Intentions (1992). Cut down for the cinema from a four part Swedish TV series. Written by Ingmar Bergman and won the director a second Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1992. 

No 49 - Chosen by Allison Anders: Ron Shelton's Hollywood Homicide (2003). Starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in "a love letter to LA, to Motown and to detective flicks". Also "one of the best car chases ever filmed". 

Out of Sight

A long article by B. Ruby Rich who goes into detail about the new film Sorry, Baby out in August. It's "motored by an unseen assault". Not sure.

All About Eva

The director and star Eva Victor in conversation.

Requiem for a Dreamer: Peter Sellers at 100

Andrew Roberts looks at his career over five pages. All so familiar for me, especially The Goon Show and his early films. One reminder of his Heaven's Above with Ian Carmichael to look out for. We have now seen all the Pink Panther films. And of course Doctor Strangelove is one of my all time favourite movies. 

Stephanie Rothman: The Secret Life of B's

Beatrice Loayza looks at those B movies Stephanie made under Roger Corman. We hear about her background and how she came to direct. Her films are being shown in a season at the Barbican. There are large posters of some of her drive in movies including The Velvet Vampire and The Working Girls. All with "Rothman's thoughtful approach to B- movie material" and that "they attracted audiences that would not normally be interested in social issues" and that could deliver meaningful political discussions through pleasurable forms of entertainment".

A Woman Under The Influence

Four films that inspired the director.

Gold Standard

Sam Wigley talks to the director Ang Lee about his career. He reminded us about all those successive movies: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  (2000), Hulk (2003),  Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2013) and a best director Oscar. But then it all went wrong with Gemini Man (2019) and Billy Lyons Halftime Walk (2016). Lee talks about how difficult it is now to make movies: "The new generation don't have the patience to watch the story". Is he a little bitter? However, there are soon to be rereleases for Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm to look out for. 

Reviews - Films

The following are those of some interest. 

28 Years Later. See my review. That in the magazine only tells us what Danny Boyle's film is about. 

The Life of Chuck. Mike Flanagan directs the Stephen King story. I would normally steer clear of any King horror film. This one is told backwards in three parts and stars Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan. 

Late Shift. A Swiss/German production set in a hospital in Switzerland. Focused on senior nurse Floria over one night, short staffed and lots of demanding patients and visitors. Excellent review by Philip Concannon.

Materialists. Adam Nayman reviews and Celine Song directs. Starring Dakota Johnson. But it "feels drained and bloodless". Adam didn't like it, but I loved the director's brilliant previous film Past Lives so might give it a go.

Superman

Reviewed by Kim Newman "an encouraging start for new hero David Corenswet". See my review.

DVD and Blu-Ray: Archive TV

The Sweeney - Series 1. Hugely popular TV series in the mid seventies. John Thaw and Dennis Waterman made their names. Seedy and violent.

A Hard Day's Night

Now on Blu-Ray. Richard Lester's directs a script by our one time neighbour Alun Owen. The Beatles on the way up in 1964, their very first film. I went to see it the week it opened in the west end at the old London Pavilion cinema.

From the Archive

"It's a tremendous luxury to explore one's fears". The 40th anniversary rerelease is Daniel Day Lewis in My Beautiful Laundrette. Here is an extract from Sight and Sound Autumn 1989 by Richard Mayne. A profile of the great actor. Lewis was 32 and was just becoming "hot property". 

The Powder and the Glory. From the monthly film bulletin of November 1985 comes an article where Jane Root talks to Hanif Kureishi about his "blistering script" for My Beautiful Laundrette.

This Month In .... 1995

The only interesting bits are Performance starring Mick Jagger (my word he did look miles older than me when shown watching the test match) and Waterworld that just might have been saved by Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper. Or maybe not.

Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop by Bob Stanley - Chapters 41 to 52

 

41   Revival: Trad Jazz and Folk

In 1950's Britain "British youth experienced it's first bout of pop revivalism". At the same time America "found solace in it's own folk culture". Just how did Leadbelly's Goodnight Irene provide The Weavers (led by Pete Seeger) folk quartet make number one in 1950? The best part of this chapter is about John Lomax touring southern black America recording songs. (A note that he died of a heart attack at his eightieth birthday party). 

It was actually music critic Fred Ramsey who recorded Huddie Leadbetter's classics that included Rock Island Line that was later a big hit for Lonnie Donegan in 1954 that "effectively kick started the modern pop era in Britain". I remember two songs for Burl Ives that were played a lot on the radio here: Bluetail Fly and Big Rock Candy Mountain. 

A nice piece about Woody Guthrie was followed by going back to the roots of UK trad jazz, and George Webb's Dixielanders (never heard of them) in Barnehurst. They were joined by Humphrey Littleton who eventually took over the band from the shy Webb in 1947. We hear about how trad jazz evolved into skiffle with Lonnie Donegan, the banjo player for the Chris Barber Jazz Band. Then a mention for Nancy Whisky's Freight Train and the hit for Monty Sunshine's Petit Fleur. Stanley tells us "Trad was for underdogs and outsiders, students in duffel coats". Where did I fit in?

"At the end of the decade (that is the end of the fifties, when I'm fourteen) the trio of (Chris) Barber, (Kenny) Ball and (Acker) Bilk stamped their names on the hit parade". We hear all about them, but for me it was the early sixties and not the fifties when they were so successful. (See post about Dunmow Jazz Club).

42   In a Restless World: Nat King Cole

I was thinking about skipping this biography, but it starts with an amazing story about his hit Nature Boy written by an oddball called eden ahbez. Recorded by Nat in 1947 and many others since. I also didn't know that Nat started out as a jazz pianist and song writer. But it was as a singer that he excelled. He signed for Capital Records and the story goes that their brand new HQ Capital Tower was funded on the back of Nat's success. 

We hear about the racial problems but more interesting were the number of LP's he made. Although he died early at 47 when ahbez lived until he was 86.

43    Ports of Pleasure: Exotica

It starts out with some awful music, some quite experimental. But then The Harry Lime Theme played on the zither by Anton Karas in 1951. The only other familiar music in this section was The Typewriter, a 1950 composition by Leroy Anderson. Played many times on the BBC radio. See YouTube.

44   Sharks in Jet's Clothing: Rock 'n Roll

We are into the fifties, and instead of what I thought might be the best chapter in the book, turns out to be the worst, just referencing more mainstream artists. But later we do at least hear about the boom in sales of 45's and something about the Everly Brothers. And that was about it. Why long pieces about Tennessee Ernie Ford and Earl Bostic? 

45   The Summit: Frank, Dino and Sammy

Well we know where the author's preferences reside. And it isn't rock n roll. Mostly a rehash of easily available history of these three crooners. (He never mentions the word!!) Best was the part about Dean Martin and his golf. A nice part about him replacing The Beatles at the top of the hit parade in 1964. Apparently Sinatra was not impressed. But this chapter ends with Frank's last recorded album Watertown, "an incredibly bleak but beautiful album". Never heard of it. Sold the fewest copies of any of his albums, but of course the author thinks it's his best!! "The greatest album of his career". 

46   TV is the Thing: The Rise of Television

"Virtually no-one in the UK had a TV set for the Queen's Coronation in 1953". Not true. We had one and we were far from well off. But the screen was tiny. The author mentions "Sunday Night at the London Palladium" from 1953. But not in our house, ITV was banned. We hear about the rise of TV in post war America. That's about it.

47   I could go on singing: The next generation

It starts with what was happening on both sides of the Atlantic at the very end of the fifties and beginnings of the sixties. Here it's Cliff and the film Espresso Bongo (1959) and in America the new singers and their ballads. Easy listening dominating the airwaves. (Where is Elvis?) A big part about Matt Monroe (he prefers his singers to bands) including 1962's Softly as I leave you "one of the greatest songs and productions of the decade". At last I agree. We hear about the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing Unsquare Dance in 1961 and the earlier Take Five (1958). Jazz making the charts, as well as Bosa Nova and Samba.

48   The Strength of Strings: Film Soundtracks

Again there was huge potential in a chapter about soundtracks. But it's all a bit of a mess, veering between film and TV. The author is categoric that The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) "invented both the modern movie theme and it's score". We hear about film composers such as Henry Mancini, Michel Legrand and Bernard Herman who scored North by Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960).

At last we get a superb piece about John Barry Prendergast who, in late 1959, produced magic for Adam Faith's What Do You Want. Four violins and one microphone produced that string accompaniment. Then all those Bond movies, Born Free and much more. But .... not a mention of the John Barry Seven or Vic Flick and the original James Bond theme. 

49   What kind of fool am I: Lionel Bart and Anthony Newley

Why do we sometimes get such rubbish like the start of this chapter: "England would have been happy if the clock had stopped forever on VE Day: even now it clings to the memory like a comfort blanket". Then "however much we try, we can't escape the fact that we're still essentially damp people in damp houses who like fry ups". I wanted to throw the book out of the window for such crass writing. He must be some sad man if that is what his life was like. 

He tells us Tony Hancock, Lionel Bart and Anthony Newley that "all three were self destructive". ??? It was Bart writing songs with Mike Pratt for Tommy Steele ("Britain's first rock and roll star) that was such a success. He lists all the hits. We hear all about Bart's background working up to 1960's Oliver. But he never matched it's success. 

He repeats that familiar story about Anthony Newley being an actor and cast as a popstar in Idol on Parade (1959) that I saw in the cinema as a teenager. One song (I've waited so long) became a big hit. We hear about Newley's subsequent films and musicals and how he did well in America.  He was lucky he had writers like Lionel Bart and Leslie Bricusse. Winning a Grammy for What kind of fool am I. 

50   Whipped Cream and Other Delights: Adventures in Beatleland

If I thought this was a chapter about The Beatles, think again. There is so much about Julie Andrews and Petula Clark. And Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Pages and pages of the stuff. Eartha Kitt, Nina Simone and Harry Belafonte. Why? Just rubbish. There is even a long part about one Rod McKuen. Who is he?? Amongst his interminable history we just get the only one divisionary mention of Paul McCartney in the whole book. Says it all.

51 The Last Waltz; Tom Jones and the new Balladeers

So Tom Jones gets his own chapter but not Paul. "The three biggest selling singles in the UK in 1967 (post the Beatles blitz) was by one Gerry Dorsey or as we knew him, Engelbart Humperdinck. Here are parts about Tom jones and even Des O'Connor. McCartney? Eat you heart out. And where are all the other British bands of the time? Just Petula Clark.

52 Some Kind of Rapprochement: The 1970's

What's happened to the sixties? I guess the author just got bored. Into the early seventies and we get Carole King's Tapestry. The rest of this last chapter is all pretty feeble. I had expected a far better ending. Or was that just being optimistic. 

Epilogue

This is just a mess, but what else did I expect. The author seemed to be far more interested in those early decades, because his sections on the fifties, sixties and seventies are just dire.

Have You Seen .... ? by David Thomson: Brief Encounter, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and Genevieve

 

I watched Noel Coward's Brief Encounter (to give it it's full title) on a DVD where the black and white restoration was superb. My post of 12th September 2024 refers to Episode 1 of Series 2 of Classic Movies on Sky Arts: The Story of Brief Encounter.  Here  there is much about the background to the film so I will try not to repeat it here. The story is written by Noel Coward and he is also the producer. The director is David Lean and the music is Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 with pianist Eileen Joyce and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson. 

It starts at Carnforth Station and here, at the station cafe, are Celia Johnson as Laura Jesson and Trevor Howard as Alec Harvey in the background having tea. Surprised by a friend of Laura's, there is little time to say goodbye as Alec dashes out for his train. Laura has her own train to catch and we begin to hear her story in flashback. She's at home with her husband and two children, thinking back to when she and Alec first met. At first their meetings are quite innocent but their feelings for each other change and they are torn between their families and each other. Especially Laura and it's her feelings, thoughts and fantasy's that we hear. 

Their relationship becomes more dangerous, especially when Alec borrows the flat of a friend which goes all wrong. They bump into friends and having to tell lies, as always happens. The film is very much of it's time in 1945. There is a side story of two of the station staff played by Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey. This is typical Noel Coward dialogue, a kind of cautionary tale. And one that has featured in awards and near the top of lists for the best film of all time. I thought it was brilliant.

We were warned at the start: "drug use and highly offensive and discriminatory language".  Let's start with the good things in Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. A terrific cast: Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliot Gould and Diane Cannon. Music by Quincy Jones. A very theatrical production, I thought this must have been a stage play (which would have suited it far better) but could not find any reference to that. Written by the director Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker, as a movie it was all just so intense and fairly boring. Maybe of it's time as it won a number of Oscar nominations. But only for Elliott Gould and Diane Cannon when I preferred the other couple. 

In  my post of 16th May 2021, I could not decide what was the first film I went to see at the cinema, as both Genevieve and King of the Kyber Rifles were both released in the same year, 1955. I was able to record the former so it became our Saturday night movie. Not very successful I'm afraid. Despite the wonderful reviews on the internet, it really has shown it's age. The script and the acting is all pretty dire. This is despite the main characters who were played by the top acting talent of the day. Kenneth More in particular was trying to be funny and failed. I don't think John Gregson was right for light comedy. The women were a little better, although they too were acting with a kind of hysterical edge.

I had thought that the rally of vintage cars from London to Brighton was the major part of the movie, but no. The race back is totally against the law and the police officers who turn up incredibly let them off. The one good thing was to see such quiet roads in the nineteen fifties, all the vehicles of that time, and the tram tracks in the city. It was kind of fun, but it did show it's age.

Oh My Goodness! at the Rex Berkhamsted

 

How can a really sweet French comedy drama about cycling nuns be so good. And why can't we make films like these. In an age of blockbuster super hero movies, there must be room for decent dramas. I know it's all pretty absurd as the only five nuns in this convent decide to enter a bike race to fund a trip to Rome when none of them have any idea. The characters are all likeable for their frailty. Then half way through, who should turn up but their far more talented rivals. Yes, more nuns! The mother superior Veronique is played with gusto by Valerie Benneton with help from the sisters and the unruly novice Gwendoline by Louise Malek. Director Lourent Tirade keeps control of the mayhem. Just

The Constant Wife at the RSC Stratford

 

Let's start with the elephant in the room. The star of the play Rose Leslie did not appear. Due to her "indisposition". It seems that this happens whenever there are two performances on the same day and she only appears in one. There is zero publicity that this would happen, and I'm so disappointed that the RSC would lie to make sure we all bought tickets. 

Now the good news. Her stand in Jess Nesling is terrific. Well she would be after all her performances. And having to carry the play in the lead role.

The play was written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham and now rarely performed. However, it has been given a "modern remix" by Laura Wade and directed by Tamara Harvey. I thought that it was splendid. "It's a comedy of feminist mischief" as Constance decides how to deal with her husband's infidelity with her best friend. The eight strong cast are all fine. I particularly liked Kate Burton as Mrs Culver, Constance's mother, and Mark Meadows in a small role as Bentley the butler. 

There is much humour in the vast amount of dialogue, Constance refers to taking her daughter to a northern school as "Wuthering Gymslips". The set has a quaint 1920's interior, and a change of scene to how long go back in time is handled with subtle perfection. There is an original score by Jamie Cullum's jazzy original score works really well. Obviously the costumes are lovely as befit this well to do household. There are few classic plays being performed these days and I was lucky to catch one. 

I was thinking on the way home how long ago was it that I first went to see an RSC production in Stratford. I'm pretty sure that it was not long after my mother and father moved to nearby Kenilworth in 1964. So possibly sixty years ago. I cannot remember what was the play and my theatre records only start in 1988. Although the first productions in London I remember are in my post of 16th September 2022.