Family History Revisited Part 5 - Interesting Stories

 

The last part of my Family History Revisited collects some stories about my ancestors. There are many posts on this blog about family members and places where they lived. Hopefully these are the final few.

Stanley Boyd Roberts

Let's start with my grandfather, whom I never met. He died in 1937 at home. His is the photo above. See my post dated 6th November 2009.

Vincent Littlewood Roberts.

There are two or three photos of my great-grandfather on this blog. The above is just one of them. See everything about Vincent on my post of 1st February 2023.

John Shearwood Roberts

Vincent's father described on my post of 17th November 2010.

Ellen Roberts

My great-great-grandmother's grave found at Highgate Cemetery. See post of 13th September 2015.

Charles Hoyland, Jonathon Hoyland and Charles Haywood Hoyland ("Twig")

The ancestors of my grandmother, Edith Hoyland, are featured in my post from 22nd June 2009, "Visit to Sheffield," as well as in the posts from 22nd March 2013 and 19th September 2025.

Edith Haywood Hoyland

My father's mother. See post 6th May 2012.

Edith Agnes Leather

My other grandmother with her husband on the right and my mother on the left in the photo above. See my post of 4th February 2011.

George Robert Leather

Our star footballer ancestor and Edith's father. See post 11th July 2022.

Isabella Askew

This post came as a result of my searches for George and Jane Askew (my great grandparents). See post 18th February 2022. 

Askew, Ascough or Ayscough

My post of the 5th December mentions Ruth at the Lincolnshire Family History Society, who solved the problem of the spelling of my ancestor's names. This was followed by my post of 7th December 2011, where it all came together in one of my most important finds.

The Ascoughs of East Fen

My post of 6th January 2022 is the record of how I found my Askew ancestors.

The records followed these posts:

The George Askew Story Part 1 - Five Generations of Agricultural Laboureres

See post 26th December 2015.

The George Askew Story Part 2 - Their Lives 

See post 15th August 2016.

The Ascoughs of East Fen

See the post of 6th January 2022.

The Ascoughs – Life on the Border – The Sources

See post of 23rd November 2017.

The Commoners of East Fen – The Petition of 1784

See post of 5th November 2016.

https://the ascoughsofeastfen.weebly.com

See the post from 3rd April 2018.

Publications

The books I acquired on this part of the Lincolnshire Fens:

Maps of the Witham Fens – edited by R C Wheeler

Old and New Landscapes in the Horncastle Area by Eleanor and Rex C Russell

Postings on my Family History

On 5th September 2011, I listed all my posts on my ancestors up to that date. They are:

2/7/2008     Jacob Roberts

27/8/2008   Three Generations of Cutlers

1/12/2008   The 1937 Family Tree - Charles Augustus Roberts

27/1/2009    Louisa Maria Brooks

23/2/2009    Three Generations of Brush Manufacturers

24/3/2009     Eric S Roberts

22/6/2009     A Visit to Sheffield

10/8/2009     Hannah Mayor

11/8/2009     Edith Wynne Mathison

14/8/2009     Vincent Littlewood Roberts MA MD

25/8/2009     The Shearwood Sisters

25/1/2010     Roberts Family Tree

1/2/2010       Derek Finch Roberts

3/2/2010       Charles Hoyland and Hannah Selina Wynne

3/2/2010       William James Gibson Boyd and Ellen Cundy

11/7/2010     William Boyd of Berwickshire and Hull

16/8/2010     George Boyd of Stichill

17/11/2010    John Shearwood Roberts

22/11/2010    Newfield Hall (residence of JSR)

19/10/2011    Kate and Isabel Hoyland

I should have added "Sheffield Silversmiths" on 2nd July 2008.

The End

So what is next? Maybe a last read through of these five posts and then buy a couple of storage boxes to keep all my files. And then those can go in the loft. Maybe I will look at them again some time in the future.

Family History Revisited Part 4 - Visits to Sheffield, Rotherham and Lincoln

 

Visits to Sheffield

My first visit to Sheffield was on the 29th of December 1999, now described in Part 1. 

However, my main visit to Sheffield, described in my post of 22nd June 2009 (nearly ten years later), was extremely valuable. Particularly for finding the burial of all those ancestors in the Roberts tomb in that prominent position outside the Church of All Saints, Ecclesall, as the photo above.

Visit to Rotherham

In my post of 22nd June 2022, I described Rotherham Parish Church where my father and mother were married and where I was baptised. The font is still there. I also saw the house where my grandmother lived and the Herringthorpe Playing Fields where we used to play as boys.

Visit to Lincolnshire

On the 4th September 2017, I set out to explore where my mother's Askew ancestors lived. My post of 11th September 2017 described visiting the fens, Toynton St Peter and Toynton All Saints. See Part 3 for the Ascough Burial Records. Then the next day in Lincoln itself, and the searches at the city library.

Family History Revisited Part 3 - Publication of Records

 

Family Historian

My post of 15th October 2008 has the title "Family Historian 3.1.2". This is the programme I used to enter all the data of my family records. There are also references on my posts of  15th October 2008, 1st December 2008, 29th December 2008, 21st October 2009, 26th September 2011 and 16th November 2012. 

Freepages

I then found that I could transfer all my data to the web using Family Historian. The link to my father's family "The Ancestors of Peter Roberts" is:

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~davidbbroberts/family

Ignore the link to "sites.google.com" and click on Index.

Then to my mother's family:

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~davidbbroberts/genealogy

Again, ignore the link to "sites.google.com" and click on Index.

There may be some problems finding the above link on the internet. However, a search for Hannah Elizabeth Boler normally brings up her parents' "Family of Samuel Leather and Mary Ann Lindop". Again, click on Index and all my mother's ancestors should be there.

Family Tree Print

Some time ago I took a CD of the Roberts family tree to be printed. This is now an enormous sheet of paper that was in a roll and is now folded into a manageable size. 

SanDisk Memory Stick

The following documents are on the blue memory stick. 

Askew Word Documents

Family History

Family Photos

George Askew 

George Robert Leather

Helen Shearwood

Mum and Dad

Roberts Family History

The Story of the Ascoughs

These used to be on my old computer that I then transferred to an external hard drive. The information they contain is pretty much all over the place, but there are some important files that were the basis of many of my blog posts. For example, in the first file below (Askew Word Documents), there is a file with the title "Ascough Burials at Toynton St Peter and Toynton All Saints". On my visit to these villages in Lincolnshire, I discovered the church records of our Askew ancestors.

ASCOUGH BURIALS AT TOYNTON ST PETER AND TOYNTON ALL SAINT

John Ayscough (1758-1844)       Buried at Toynton All Saints 1844 (Age 85)

Son of Thomas Ascough born approx 1735

 John Ayscough (1781-1846)       Buried at Toynton All Saints 1846 (Age 64)

Son of John Ayscough above

 James Ascough (1806-1878)      Buried at Toynton St Peter 1878 (Age 69)

Son of John Ayscough above, father of George Askew

 William Ascough (1808-1880)     Buried at Toynton All Saints 1880 (Age 72)

Son of John Ayscough born 1781 and brother of James

 Lucy Ascough (1815-1854)         Buried at Toynton St Peter 1854 (Age 39)

Possibly wife of James Ascough and mother of George Askew, born Sharpe

 Elizabeth Askew (1761-1826)       Buried at Toynton All Saints 1826 (Age 65)

Possibly daughter of Thomas if unmarried, or wife of an Ascough male

John Askew (1834-1895)              Buried at Toynton St Peter 1895 (Age 61)

Unknown relation

 Samuel Ascough (1848-1848)      Buried at Toynton St Peter 1848 (Infant)

Possibly brother of George and son of James

 Thomas Askew (1859-1864)         Buried at Toynton All Saints 1864 (Age 5?)

Possibly brother of George

 

Family History Revisited Part 2 - The Early Searches

 

The Family Record Centre

I first visited the Family Record Centre in Islington in early 2000. Situated in Taylor House, 1 Myddelton Street, Clerkenwell, it opened in 1997 and provided a vast amount of free information well before it all became available on the internet. Long rows of tall shelves housed huge volumes that one could study to record births, marriages, and deaths. It was then possible to take your results to the desk and order certificates. Over the next few years I found records for seventeen of my father's family and nineteen of my mother's, starting in February of 2000. 

George and Jane Askew

The 1841 to 1901 census returns were also available at the Family Record Centre on microfiche. My post of 11th January 2011 details one of my big breakthroughs when, on 5th July 2000, I found the 1891 census records for George and Jane Askew, my mother's grandparents. These included records for their children, my mother's aunts of whom there was never any mention. These were "The Five Eldest Askew Sisters" in that post of 11th January 2011. See also my post of 7th January 2011. 

The Family Record Centre was closed in 2008, and the huge volumes are no longer accessible. 

Correspondents

I have two lever-arch files of correspondence. In no particular order they include Chris Rathbone, Nigel Buchanan, Liz Smith, Patricia Anning, Dawn Crofts, Kath Swarbrick, John Thomson, Gillian Leather, and Sally Stamford. Also, Ruth at Lincolnshire Family History Society. In addition, there is a lengthy letter from W G Hunt, the Windsor Herald of Arms. 

Then the relatives of my family: Peter Clifford, Aunt Molly, Aunt Joy, Aunt Iris, and cousins Caroline and Stephen. 

Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths

I conducted searches at various locations such as the Family Record Centre, Aylesbury Library, and finally online.

Census Records

The following census records have proved invaluable: 1841, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1901. I started off with those records on microfiche at the Family Record Centre, then those at the Aylesbury Library, and finally online. 

Ancestry and the International Genealogical Index

Both Ancestry and the IGI have been of little use in my searches. 

Search Notes

My notes and records are pretty much haphazard but are all in my files. 

Family History Revisited Part 1 - How It All Began

 

I haven't recently thought about my family history until now, when I realised that there were things I had done and not recorded before I started this blog. So, what I want to do now is to summarise the highlights of my searches in chronological order. There will be little about the family members themselves and more about the process of their discovery. 

First Thoughts

First of all, I found it difficult to remember how this all started. What I do know is that I had certain documents about my father's ancestors, so it was this side of the family upon which I first concentrated. I also found this post on my blog dated 2nd February 2007, only eight weeks after my very first post.

Mum and Dad

In April 1999, I was sorting through papers from files left by my stepmother, Margaret. It was then that I started thinking more about Mum and Dad and their life together. How they came from very different backgrounds and became the first generation from both families to move away from Yorkshire. I have already made a few notes from talking to various aunts, but there is a lot stored in the memory banks that I need to set down. I then thought I would like to know more about their ancestors.

Family History

So in the September of 1999, I found an evening class in genealogy. This gave some good advice on tracing family history. I spent the next two years doing all the basic research, meeting relatives etc and I came to the point when it would mean a lot of travel to local archives throughout the country and time on the computer to write up my findings. I decided to put everything on hold until I retired. When my new computer arrives, I want to purchase "Family Historian 3" which seems to be the best bit of software recording details of all my ancestors and creating charts.

Genealogy of the Family of Roberts of Sheffield 1937

I was already in possession of some important documents that set me on my way. The first is the "Genealogy of the Family of Roberts of Sheffield 1937" (see photo at the top), recorded in my post on December 1st 2008: "The 1937 Family Tree". It was one of a few drafted by Charles Augustus Roberts, and this version ended up with my great-grandfather Vincent Littlewood Roberts. This was for him to enter his descendants in the blank spaces under his name. But this never happened.

I believe this document came into the possession of my grandmother and then on to my father. It provided extremely useful information for the start of my searches, although not always completely accurate. 

My Evening Class

Dragging down all my files from the loft (four lever arch files and some loose paperwork) what I didn't expect to find were my notes from that very first meeting of the family history evening class of 23rd September 1999.

If I remember correctly, one of the documents we were given at the first meeting was a birth brief for recording family information. Below is an extract from mine. 

Some Memorials of the Family of Roberts

There are five editions of the book "Some Memorials of the Family of Roberts of Queens Tower, Sheffield". The first published by Sir Samuel Roberts of Queens Tower, Sheffield is dated 1862. On the distribution was my great grandfather Vincent Littlewood Roberts. It came into my possession through my grandfather and father. It was a loose leaf copy that I had made into a book. It contains various handwritten amendments made by Vincent.  

I also found a copy of the the third edition dated 1924 that also came into the possession of my father. It confirms the second edition was published by Samuel Roberts of Park Grange in May 1887, and then this third edition by Samuel Roberts of Eaton Place, London. 

I then met his descendent Sir Samuel Roberts just before Christmas 1999 at the London office of Henry Boot on Conduit Street. He gave me a copy of the latest book published by his father Peter Roberts in August 1971.

Like the earlier edition, the book contains a family tree. It includes one Jacob Roberts (from whom I am descended), the elder brother of Samuel Roberts, who is the ancestor of Sir Samuel Roberts above. 

In the "Introduction Extended", Peter Roberts says, "In 1970 a special study of the area of Holmfirth was carried out." This led to discovering more ancestors, including one Oliver Roberts, born 1496? as the document below. 

Finally, I found that the present Sir Samuel Roberts updated the Memorials book with his large volume, "Follow the Master". I found a copy that contains only a couple of pages relating to our side of the family.

The Seventeen Generations of the Roberts Family

I did in fact list all Roberts descendents in my post of 6th March 2023. If we now add my brother Paul's grandson, this makes eighteen. 

Therefore, all the research had been done for everything before our common ancestor Jacob Roberts born 1697. My post of 6th March 2023 details all the male descendents from Jacob Roberts below.

Sheffield Family History Society

I became a member of the Sheffield Family History Society in the spring of 1999. Their journals and publications provided useful information. Their publications included that vital Sheffield Burials Index and the link to the Church of All Saints, Ecclesall, which I visited on 15th June 2009. See post 22nd June 2009.

Visit to Sheffield 29th December 1999

This visit should not be confused with that later visit in 2009, as noted above. My notes from that first visit are as follows: 

Below is the Roberts Memorial in Dore Churchyard. The inscriptions are for David Littlewood Boyd Roberts, an uncle who died in infancy; my grandfather, Stanley Boyd Roberts; and my grandmother, Edith Haywood Roberts. See notes above.

As this takes us to the end of 1999, it feels the right way to end Part 1. I have not yet started my searches for records of my family, but this comes next at the Family Record Centre in Islington. 

Project Hail Mary, How To Make a Killing and Ready Or Not

It's the Easter holidays, and the films are fun if not inspiring. First up and it's a Ryan Gosling vehicle Project Hail Mary  together with an alien sparring about how to go about preventing the end of the world. Best of all is Sandra Hüller, who has impressed me before. Anatomy of a Fall, I'm Your Man and Zone of Interest. Her kaioki is wonderful. The special effects are top drawer, and a big hand of applause for the model makers for Rocky. (Not to be confused with the boxer or the character from Chicken Run). 

Even the story and dialogue are well written by Drew Goddard based on the book by Andy Weir. It's just the part in the middle that became a little tiresome. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have fortunately made a light-hearted story about a very dark subject. The soundtrack is excellent, with songs from Harry Styles (Sign of the Times), Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, Neil Diamond and, wow, The Scorpions' Wind of Change. I agreed with Henry K. Miller in Sight and Sound Magazine, who said the film was hard to follow at times, but it was good.

How To Make A Killing is actually a remake of the Ealing Comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (see my post of 11th November 2024) produced by Michael Balcon in 1949. It seemed that the new film tried to distance itself as much as possible from the original, which I found to be right. It still starts with the villain in prison and a countdown to his execution. He relates his story to a priest. It's all quite jolly, except perhaps for Margaret Qualley, who is pestering him about those early murders. Why does he then not just stop? This is not Margaret's best performance, but that may be the script. 

So it's all very colourful (the opposite of Kind Hearts' black and white) and surprisingly inoffensive. The very last scene was also very clever and reminded me of the original American version that changed the Ealing ending. In those days America was not allowed to see murderers profit from their crimes. In the April edition of Sight and Sound magazine, Sophia Satchell-Baeza says it "rarely manges to raise a pulse" and "fun but instantly forgettable". What did she expect?

More "fun but instantly forgettable" is a better summary for Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. I have to say that the producers certainly hit on ways to make this sequel different from the original. Firstly the introduction of bickering sisters, which was central to the movie, was just genius. Then multiple families, not just one. The second half was a bit too predictable, but there were enough funny bits to keep us amused. Samara Weaving is fine in repeating her character from the first movie, and Kathryn Newton plays her sister perfectly well. Add in Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Geller and a tiny role for David Cronenberg. 

There were enough good songs to keep me interested, such as 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?', 'These Boots Were Made For Walking', 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' and, would you believe, two renderings of Vivaldi's Gloria in excelsis. I'm still laughing at that. It was the review by Mark Kermode that finally persuaded me to go all the way to Hemel Hempstead, and I'm glad I did. Just.

Garden at the end of March

 

It's the last week in March, and the tulips are just coming into flower. Last year I failed to find out what was this combination of yellow, orange and red. But they look great.

And I love the white narcissi below. 

The wallflowers I planted in pots in the autumn last year have been a disappointment. Until now when they seem to like the better weather.

There are a few primroses in the garden, and this is one of the best.

Not sure what these are, but they are quite pretty.

And a picture of the front border. The white magnolia on the far left is at its best, and the tall shrub is the Photinia red robin that I also have seen in lots of gardens over the last couple of weeks.

On the 30th of March, the weather was just right for cutting the edges of the lawn. It always looks far neater, and even the borders look better.

The Lawn Treatment in March

The photo above shows how the lawn looked on the 4th March after the moss killer had taken effect. 

This week, after the lawns were cut, it was time for the trusty power lawn rake. It comes out of its box once a year and still does the job of removing the moss. I had help this year to collect the moss into piles and take it to the green bin. (See previous photos on this blog). Afterwards, the lawn always looks a little bare in patches.

Next up was the spreading of the lawn food: the ProKleen Grass Green granules that have a slow-release formula. Now all I have to do is sit and wait for things to happen.

Sight and Sound Magazine - April 2026

Editorial

Mike Williams is interested in when pop stars fail in movies. (David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth is definitely one). Also mentions Mick Jagger in Performance and Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard. Then a long study about Charli xcx having a go. 

Opening Scenes

Thomas Flew is at the Berlin Film Festival, where it's all about politics. Even the surprising winning film, Yellow Letters. But this is interesting. The winners of the acting award were Brits Anna Calfder-Marshall and Tom Courtney for Queen at Sea. This is sixty years after they performed in Hamlet together. Also a mention for one of my favourite actresses, Isabelle Hupert, for The Blood Countess. 

Editor's Choice

There were sixty-five films at the BFI's Flare festival. Then a piece about the soundtrack for The Testament of Ann Lee, and finally the BFI Southbank features The Cinematic Life of Boxing.

Nothing of note in News in Brief and In Production

Behind the Scenes: The Devil's in the Details

A look at all the technical aspects for the film Sinners, most of which I did not understand.

In Conversation 

Jonathon Romney talks to Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason about his new family drama, The Love That Remains, shot in barren southeast Iceland.

Obituary: Robert Duvall (1931 - 2026)

His "spellbinding performance" in Apocalypse Now starts Tom Charity's article. He was only on screen for eleven minutes but gained an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. Then a run-through of all his many films, including The Great Santini, for which he was nominated for best actor at the Oscars, as he did for his labour of love, The Apostle (1997), which he wrote and acted in.

Mean Sheets and Readers' Letters: nothing remarkable.

TV Eye 

Andrew Male looks at the TV spin-offs from Game of Thrones (Sky) and the Marvel films (Disney+). But I don't pay for these channels, so they are of no interest. 

The Long Take

Pamela Hutchinson talks about generative AI, whatever that is. This article is of no help. A platform called Showrunner is planning to fill in missing scenes from The Magnificent Ambersons. But why?

Pamela says we are not ready for AI.

Flick Lit

Nicole Flattery dismisses these sports films: Marty Supreme and The Color of Money (1986), while extolling the virtues of her favourite sports film of the year, Saipan. (I will wait to watch on TV). She tells us the whole plot surrounding the preparations for the World Cup in 2002, which ended as a huge scandal in Ireland at the time. The population was split into two camps: McCarthy or Keane. But it was a "corrupt and incompetent football association that was to blame."

The Art of Acting

Adam Nayman introduces the acting performances of the year. He picks out Ralph Fiennes for his role in "28 Years Later" and the sequel. "Some of the greatest work of his career." 

Jessie Buckley   "My job is to feel and make people feel."

Mark Kermode talked to the actress on stage at the BFI Southbank. There is much to say about her approach to parts and ends, particularly regarding the final scene in Hamnet at the Globe Theatre and how an early struggle resolved itself. 

Jodie Foster    Smart Act

Jodie Foster talks to Catherine Wheatley about her acting. But first, it's the writer/director Rebecca Zlotowski on her new film, A Private Life, who describes the project as "part rom-com, part Hitchcockian thriller." Shot in Paris, it sounds highly promising but is not due for release until next year. There is a long run-through of Jodie's other films with photos. (I had forgotten that she was in season four of True Detective in 2014 (I loved series one, and the second was OK), her first starring role in a TV series since Paper Moon in 1973). 

Great Performances: No 1, Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter. Chosen by Jodie Foster.

Lee Byung-hun   "I observe people very carefully."

The lead actor from No Other Choice (which I watched on the big IMAX screen at Cineworld – see my review) talks to Arjun Sajip. Who says "the film relies on Lee's ability to maintain audience sympathy while committing ever more irredeemable acts"? 

Great Performances: No 2, Leonardo DiCaprio in Whose Eating Gilbert Grape. Chosen by Lee Byung-hun.

More actors choose their Great Performances numbers from 3–6. 

Wagner Maura    "Brazil's dictatorship is an open scar."

The actor talks to Isabel Stevens about his work, including an Oscar nomination for The Secret Agent. The film is set in 1977 during Brazil's dictatorship. This is a wonderful interview, Isabel. 

Great Performances: No 7, Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood. Chosen by Wagner Maura.

Imogen Poots    "Don't get spooked into conforming."

Mary Harrod talks to Imogen about her profession and her new film, The Chronology of Water. She was only seventeen when she appeared in 28 Weeks Later and now has the lead role in her latest movie directed by Kristen Stewart. I had seen her in French Excit, The Father, Fright Night, Jane Eyre and others.

Great Performances: No 8, Gena Rowlands in Opening Night (1977). Chosen by Imogen Poots. 

Daniel Day-Lewis    "Playing games for a living is joyful work."

This annoying person criticises the theatre, saying, "We were essentially performing for a group of more or less privileged people." I'm unsure about his definition of "privilege." (His grandfather Michael Balcon was the producer of the Ealing Comedies). 

Great Performances: No 9, Dai Bradley in Kes. 

Motaz Malhees     "Finally the world is listening to us."

The Palestinian actor talks about his new film.

Great Performances: No 10, Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.

More actors choose theirs: 11 to 14. 

Renate Reinsve      "I have a thing for psychotic women."

Lillian Crawford interviews the (brilliant) Norwegian actress. (I will never forget The Worst Person in the World or her latest Sentimental Value, both directed by Joachim Trier). She was inspired by Gena Rowland's Opening Night and Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, both from 1977. Another great interview.

Great Performances: No 15, Isabelle Hupert for her "wild performance" in The Piano Teacher. 

Aleksandr Kuznetsov     "I'm looking for raw energy."

Jonathon Romney interviews the actor. His new film, The Prosecutors, is due out shortly. He's originally from Ukraine and then studied acting in Moscow. Then from the Moscow Arts Theatre to Russian TV series. 

Great Performances: No 16, Penelope Cruz in Ferrari. 

Sergi Lopez    "It's never a safe process."

He plays the father in the film Sirat, which is set in the desert of Morocco. Elisabet interviews this Spanish actor. 

Great Performances: No 17, Marcello Mastroianni in Sunflower.

More actors choose theirs: 18-21.

Kim Novak   The Woman Who Knew Too Much.

There is a new documentary called "Kim Novak's Vertigo". The ninety-three-year-old actress talked to Hannah McGill about her career. There are seven of these that have a separate piece. From 1955 to 1959, these include Pal Joey, The Man with the Golden Arm and, of course, Vertigo. Kim talks about working with Hitchcock and James Stewart. "He and I worked wonderfully together."

Great Performances: No 22, Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939).

Will Arnett    "I'm fifty-five and don't give a shit."

From comedy to acting in Is This Thing On? 

Great Performances: No 23, Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I.

More in numbers 24-28.

Paula Beer   "The question is, what touches us?"

The German actress is interviewed by Savina Petkova.

Great Performances: No 29, Tilda Swinton in Only Lovers Left Alive.

Sope Dirisu     "I'm not going to be stuck in a box."

Hope Rangaswani meets the actor. Another long article, but none of the films are familiar.

Great Performances: No 30, Andy Serkis in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

At the Movies with ...... Ethan Hawke

Samuel Wigley looks at this actor's long and successful career. Dead Poets Society (1989) now seems so long ago. And now he is brilliantly playing Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon, a night shortly before his death. (I did not know that). So much better than Michael B. Jordan, who won the Oscar. But at least this was Hawke's first Oscar nomination. They talk about his influences, such as reading Laurence Olivier's On Acting (1986) and Alec Guinness's Blessing in Disguise. On to movies he likes, such as those by Quentin Tarantino. "I find I remember movies I saw in the movie theatre so much better." But there is nothing mentioned about those films with Richard Linklater.

REVIEWS: Films

Broken English

Part documentary, part fictionalised film about a real-life interview with Marianne Faithfull at the age of seventy-eight. It's two actors asking the questions: George MacKay and Tilda Swinton.

La Grazia

Writer/director Paulo Sorrentino is back after his film Parthenope. (See my review). His new film has the Italian president in the last week of his term, with outstanding issues left to resolve. Sounds interesting.

How To Make A Killing

This is an American remake of the 1948 film Kind Hearts and Coronets (see post 11th November 2024) that was an Ealing comedy by Robert Hamer based on the book by Roy Horniman. It the new version. Glen Powell is the murderer, as he is after the family's $28 billion fortune. There is an "excellent turn" from Margaret Qualley (one of my favourite actresses). Sounds fun although a little repetitive. (Well it would be).

A Pale View of Hills

Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel, so I would be interested if was not on Netflix.

The Tasters

Fifteen young women are employed to test the meals prepared for Adolf Hitler. This was originally two novels, then a play. There is largely a German cast but maybe two hours is too long for this story.

Dead Man's Wire

Set in Indianapolis in 1977, a hostage crisis but just one man. Gus Van Sant directs this thriller based on an Austin Kolooney screenplay.

"Wuthering Heights"

Catherine Wheatley tells us what is not there from the book. "In their place is a quiveringversion of tragic romance borne of misapprehension and missed connections, all yearning and foreplay". Then later, "not adaptation but fan fiction" and "a colour saturated baroque spectacle". But she likes the impressive production design, costumes and "most impressive of all Charlotte Dirickx's sets". 

DVD and BLU-RAY

Columbia Noir #7: Made in Britain

The box set contains six films from the 1950's when there were many American actors and directors in this country escaping the McCarthy trials. None of the six seem interesting.

Excaliber

John Boorman's 1981 story about Merlin has a fresh 4K restoration. Full of what are now major stars: Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, Ciaran Hinds, Patrick Stewart, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren and Cherie Lunghi. 

Birth

Jonathon Glazer's 2004 movie starring Nicole Kidman and Anne Heche. "Easily Kidman's greatest performance". Although the film had an "oddly dismissive initial reception" and now strange but beautiful. (The Guardian review said it was a "magnificent, misunderstood masterpiece". 

WIDER SCREEN and LOST AND fOUND

Nothing of interest.

BOOKS

Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of TV in Britain

John Wyver's book is only about the very eraly years before I was born.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

I can sell my acting like that

From Sight and Sound Magazine of March 1997, Berenice Reynaud explored thecareer of Maggie 

Cheung (brilliant in the film In The Mood For Love). Maggie had just starred in the film Irma Vep, the Wong Kar Wai movie from 1996. Not to be confused with the marvelous TV mini series from 2022 starring Alicia Vicander. (I could watch the wholeseries over again). So I will look out for a DVD of the original but they are too expensive at the moment. This long four page article includes something about an earlier Maggie film called Actress. But that is not available anywhere.

THIS MONTH IN ....... 2000

Mark Kermode wrote about the excellent film Any Given Sunday, there was something about the movie Girl, Interrupted, ( they missed the surname of the actress Winona Ryder) and mentions for Magnolia (I have ordered the DVD) and The Virgin Suicides that I found to be unsettling.

James Burton

As a footnote to the film EPiC, one of the world's finest rock guitarists is James Burton. He has had a long and distinguished career. James was born in 1939 and continues to thrive to this day. It was James who organised the TCB Band for Elvis and led it from 1969 until Elvis's death in 1977. Here are the two of them below. 

Below is a picture from the "Legendary James Burton in Star-Studded Palladium Benefit Concert" on 4th June 2023. (See YouTube). Burton profoundly influenced both Ronnie Wood and Brian May in the photo. Then it was long-time fan Keith Richards who gave his induction speech to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

There is a huge amount about James Burton on the internet that I don't have to repeat here. Only that I knew nothing about him until I saw the film EPiC. And I should have done as he played on Ricky Nelson recordings in the fifties. See YouTube for "Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou (with a solo by James Burton).". The same Ricky Nelson I saw at the Royal Albert Hall on 17th November 1985.