Classic Film Review: The Admirable Crichton (1957)

When I was reading Up and Down Stairs by Jeremy Musson recently (review here), I came across a reference to a J.M Barrie play that I hadn't heard of before which sounded excellent. The Admirable Crichton follows a family shipwrecked with some servants, showing how the servants become the masters in deference to the fact they can actually survive. This 1957 adaptation stars Kenneth More as Crichton with Diane Cilento as Tweeny, his fellow servant, Cecil Parker as Lord Loam and Sally Ann Howes as Lady Mary. I was particularly excited to see Howes in the cast, having adored her from the first time I ever watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

I'm not sure how closely the adaptation follows the original Barrie script but it's an enjoyable film regardless. At the beginning, Lord Loam is keen to try out equality for his servants by inviting them to tea with his daughters. Crichton is alarmed at this blatant disregard of protocol but gets on with it. When one of Loam's daughters is arrested for hitting a policeman at a suffragette march, Crichton subtly suggests they escape the country on the family yacht. Unfortunately, the boat is shipwrecked and Crichton and Tweeny find themselves in the family boat with the father, three daughters and two potential suitors for the daughters. They wash up on a desert island where Crichton's initial attempts to take control are rebuffed by Lady Mary (who has always had something of a crush on him) and he and Tweeney leave for the other side of the island. However, the family are tempted over when they smell pork roasting, although Lady Mary is a little more stubborn than everyone else.

Fast forward two years and the roles on the island have completely changed. Crichton is now known as 'Guv' and, in a complete reversal, it's now Lord Loam bringing his former butler breakfast in bed. Traditional class barriers have broken down - Tweeny is coveted by both her employer and the two suitors intended for her employer's daughters. She, though, is in love with Crichton while he and Lady Mary have seemingly spent two years flirting with each other. This love triangle is actually very compelling and the audience is kept guessing until the end of the film about who Crichton will end up with, especially when the prospect of rescue emerges.

All the performances in this were superb. More's comedic talents are delightfully underplayed while Tweeny was wonderfully overplayed by Cilento. Set in 1905, the film pokes fun at the traditional class distinctions while still creating characters the audience is invested in. It's amusing and certainly a pleasant way to while away a few hours.

York and Treasurer's House

Yesterday, in a bid to spend some time with my father doing the things we used to enjoy on holidays, we decided to visit York and a National Trust property we'd previously brushed over - Treasurer's House, right next door to York Minster. It hadn't struck either of us in the past as particularly interesting but a closer look at the small print convinced us we should at least give it a go.

In all honesty, we were bowled over. We'd heard the place may have Wakefield links but the sheer amount in the place about Frank Green, son of a manufacturer who used his fortune to buy a house to - basically - house his antiques in 1897, was impressive. Green was the last owner before he handed the property to the National Trust in 1930 and the work he put into refurbishing the house was truly outstanding. Consequently, when he handed the property to the National Trust, he left very specific instructions on how it should be maintained. The controlling aspect of his personality shone through when he left marks on the floor to demonstrate where every single piece of furniture should be - he promised to come back and haunt the place if his wishes weren't carried out!

One of the most important changes Green made to the house was to extend the roof of the Great Hall, essentially taking the floor above out. While this was an excellent alteration in the sense that it increased light to the Great Hall and showcased the beauty of the building, it came with a slight problem: by taking out the floor above, Green had removed the access for the male servants of the house!

Being as interested as I am in Victorian and Edwardian houses, me and my father decided to take the optional attic tour. It cost £3.00 extra but was well worth the money and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting the house. The groups are limited to eight at a time but, luckily, we were the only ones on this particular tour so it felt like a particularly intimate lecture. Although the furniture was removed from the servants' quarters by  Green, the structures remain, however dilapidated parts of them seem. There are a few fascinating things about the servants' quarters, the first of them being how the male servants got from there to the house after the works on the Great Hall. Well, Green put in a walkway along the side of the roof. There's a safety rail and wooden flooring up there now but in Green's day the servants would simply be walking along the lead roof from one small opening to another. Imagine carrying a chamber pot across there in high winds! Secondly, in the female quarters, Green installed a lift, first operated with pulleys before it was electrified. However, they seemed to have had serious issues with people not shutting the door properly down below meaning that the lift just refused to move: as this was the only way of access for the female servants it essentially left them stranded in their quarters!

The tour was full of little titbits like this and our guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. In fact, the entire body of staff and volunteers were wonderful. We visited the shop and tearoom - I indulged in a very naughty but lovely cream tea - and finished off the visit in the gardens.

After we'd finished at the Treasurer's House we meandered back down through the streets of York stopping - of course - at a second-hand bookshop to feed my literary appetite. I heartily recommend a visit to The Minster Gate Bookshop, though don't expect to come out of there with much money left! Here's Eeyore posing with my loot.

So I think the day in York was a success and it looks like we grabbed the last day of good weather for quite a while. When it picks up again, I'd really suggest a visit to the Treasurer's House - and don't forget the cream tea!