Sunday 16 October 2016

518 Fanny By Gaslight


First  viewed  : 24  September  1981

This  was  a  four-part  adaptation  of  Michael  Sadleir's  novel  which  had  been  filmed  with  James  Mason  back  in  1944. Although  often  thought  of  as  a  Victorian  novel,  it  was  actually  published  in  1940  and  looks  back  to  a  time  when  courtly  romance  and  the  utmost  depravity  existed  side  by  side.

Fanny  ( Chloe  Salaman  )  lives  comfortably  with  her  mother  and stepfather  Hopwood  ( that man  Stephen  Yardley  again )  who  runs  a  gentleman's  club  which  is  a  front  for  prostitution including  children. He  makes  the  mistake  of  evicting  the  dissolute  aristocrat  Lord Manderstoke ( Michael  Culver ) who  avenges  the  insult  by  blowing  the  whistle  on  the  club  and  ruining  the family. Fanny  finds  work  as  a  maid  and  companion  and  meets  a  genuine gentleman  in  Harry Somerford   ( Peter  Woodward ). However  her  friend  Lucy  ( Julia  Chambers )  brings Manderstoke  back  into  her  orbit  with  tragic  consequences.  The  final  word  from  Fanny, spoken at  a  funeral  is  "Nothing".

It  was  a  good-looking  series  with  a  splendidly  malevolent  performance  by  Culver  as  the villain.  It  went  out  on  Thursday  evenings  after  the  Nine  O Clock  News  although, for  all  the seedy  backdrop,  I  can't  remember  it  having  any   sex  scenes  as  such . It  was  repeated  once , two  years  later  and  as  far  as  I know isn't  available  on  DVD.

Chloe  Salaman, neice  of  Alec  Guinness,  seemed  set  for  a strong  career  -  in  the  same  year she had  a  good  part  in  Winston  Churchill  - The  Wilderness  Years   and  appeared  in  the  film Dragonslayer -  but   it  didn't  work  out  that  way  and  her  appearances  have  been  sporadic  since then.

No comments:

Post a Comment