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Favorite Maggie Smith Performance?

To modern audiences, she is known for her quick wit and put downs, but at one point she was the premier actress on the British stage.

So, what is your favorite Maggie Smith performance?

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by Anonymousreply 141October 1, 2024 10:28 PM

She IS Maggie Smith!

by Anonymousreply 1May 9, 2024 4:24 AM

LUCY!

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by Anonymousreply 2May 9, 2024 4:24 AM

OP Every Single Fucking One.

by Anonymousreply 3May 9, 2024 4:24 AM

I always liked her as Mrs. Trotwood in David Copperfield

by Anonymousreply 4May 9, 2024 4:25 AM

Maggie Smith and Eric Porter starred in Man and Superman from 1968.

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by Anonymousreply 5May 9, 2024 4:25 AM

Don't forget her camping it up in Evil Under the Sun, also starring Diana Rigg, James Mason, Nicholas Clay, Roddy McDowell, Sylvia Miles, Dennis Quilley, Jane Birkin, Colin Blakely, and Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.

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by Anonymousreply 6May 9, 2024 4:27 AM

She's great fun in [italic]Gosford Park[/italic], but her performance in [italic]the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie[/italic] is masterful.

by Anonymousreply 7May 9, 2024 4:32 AM

She was so louche in California Suite.

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by Anonymousreply 8May 9, 2024 4:32 AM

OP, the title of the movie is “The [bold] Prime [/bold] of Miss Jean Brodie.”

by Anonymousreply 9May 9, 2024 4:33 AM

Hi, Greg.

by Anonymousreply 10May 9, 2024 4:33 AM

Hello, R10

by Anonymousreply 11May 9, 2024 4:35 AM

It’s Constance, Countess of Trentham, you heathen.

by Anonymousreply 12May 9, 2024 4:35 AM

Her best, for me, was in Lettice and Lovage onstage in London.

by Anonymousreply 13May 9, 2024 4:36 AM

And you may refer to me as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, thank you very much.

by Anonymousreply 14May 9, 2024 4:39 AM

[quote] OP, the title of the movie is “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.”

[quote] It’s Constance, Countess of Trentham, you heathen.

R12 from the below-linked thread:

[quote] OP has the taste of a 18 year old discovering "culture" for the first time.

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by Anonymousreply 15May 9, 2024 4:39 AM

A fond memory...

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by Anonymousreply 16May 9, 2024 4:42 AM

Muriel Donnelley

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by Anonymousreply 17May 9, 2024 4:58 AM

Love her in The First Wives Club!

by Anonymousreply 18May 9, 2024 5:03 AM

I'm surprised The Secret Garden is getting more votes

by Anonymousreply 19May 9, 2024 5:32 AM

Annnnnd.... the correct answer is, of course: Judith Hearne in "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne."

Thank you, OP, for playing, We have some nice consolation prizes for you.

by Anonymousreply 20May 9, 2024 7:19 AM

She was quite jealous of Bette Midler.

by Anonymousreply 21May 9, 2024 7:52 AM

I always thought it was the “Prime” of Miss Jean Brodie. So embarrassed. Gobsmacked to learn she was in a Superman movie from the ‘60s!🤪

by Anonymousreply 22May 9, 2024 11:43 AM

What about her turn as Dora Charleston in MURDER BY DEATH?

"Oh Dickie, that's tacky!"

by Anonymousreply 23May 9, 2024 12:13 PM

I was a sixteen-year old girl in 1969, and when TPOMJB was released and I first saw it, I was enchanted. First of all, I looked much like Sandy, with dark-rimmed glasses and long brown hair and a frequently sour expression. Secondly, I'm an Anglophile so I adored the setting (yes, Scotland is not England, I know).

Went back to see it a half-dozen times over the course of a week and a half. She's been my favorite actress ever since, and I see every of one of her movies and TV shows. I so wish I had made the effort to see her on stage!

by Anonymousreply 24May 9, 2024 1:38 PM

Call me a philistine, I know - but the only thing I've seen her in is Downton Abbey. I had no idea she was so attractive in her younger years.

by Anonymousreply 25May 9, 2024 2:28 PM

[quote] Call me a philistine, I know - but the only thing I've seen her in is Downton Abbey.

And you call yourself a senior lesbian?

Jesus wept.

by Anonymousreply 26May 9, 2024 2:31 PM

Wait for her exit it's an amazing movement as an actor. Angry, embarrassed, proud and awkwardly comical. Bravo!

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by Anonymousreply 27May 9, 2024 3:55 PM

The Millionairess...

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by Anonymousreply 28May 9, 2024 4:49 PM

She is sublime in almost everything- different characters always distinctly her own. Thank you for that over the top bit of romantic interlude from Room With a View. Lordy that carriage driver and Puccini! And Maggie sitting on the ground. Wonderful film.

by Anonymousreply 29May 9, 2024 4:55 PM

Her talent intimidated Bette Davis in Death On The Nile.

by Anonymousreply 30May 9, 2024 5:06 PM

I first saw her as Rod Taylor's lovelorn secretary in The V.I.P.s as a nine year old gay in training.....I have been a fan ever since!

by Anonymousreply 31May 9, 2024 5:07 PM

We could have easily listed ten more performances to choose from at OP's list.

by Anonymousreply 32May 9, 2024 5:09 PM

I did volunteer work with a young gay who only knew her from Downton, Harry Potter, and one of those Best Collection of Old British Farts in India movies.

I told him - badgered him for a few weeks, actually - to watch Brodie and/or California Suite. To start out with, anyway.

After he watched them.....he was near tears telling me how fantastic she was, that he couldn't believe how good those performances were. "I am shook!"

by Anonymousreply 33May 9, 2024 5:15 PM

Hay Fever

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by Anonymousreply 34May 9, 2024 5:15 PM

Gunilla Garson Goldberg "First Wives Club"...."fork".

by Anonymousreply 35May 9, 2024 5:16 PM

No love for Sister Act?

by Anonymousreply 36May 9, 2024 6:09 PM

Two of my favorites are the title character in THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE (which I believe is one of Smith's favorites) and as Lila in the little-seen LOVE AND PAIN AND THE WHOLE DAMN THING.

The latter film is just OK and you have to put up with a whiny Timothy Bottoms, but Smith is lovely in the film and it's one of her least mannered performances.

When she's ultra-mannered, as in TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, she's beyond annoying.

by Anonymousreply 37May 9, 2024 6:51 PM

...lovely war

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by Anonymousreply 38May 9, 2024 6:54 PM

Agree. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is one of her best

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by Anonymousreply 39May 9, 2024 7:01 PM

Maggie's good in a supporting role in The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

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by Anonymousreply 40May 9, 2024 8:36 PM

She was really funny in A Private Function with Michael Palin.

The rest of the British character actor royalties- Pete Postlethwaite, Bill Paterson, Liz Smith, Richard Griffiths, Jim Carter, John Normington, Tony Hagarth, and Mr. Denholm Elliott.

The best scene in the film is when Palin refuses to murder a pig, so Smith steps in to the work. She ends up chasing it around the house. Hilarious.

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by Anonymousreply 41May 9, 2024 9:56 PM

Not on the list: My House in Umbria (2003)

2nd: Evil Under the Sun

3rd: Gosford Park

4th: The V.I.P.s

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by Anonymousreply 42May 9, 2024 10:04 PM

It is really something to look over her career in retrospective, because she made so few bad movies and made so many fantastic ones.

by Anonymousreply 43May 9, 2024 10:09 PM

Miss Collins.

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by Anonymousreply 44May 9, 2024 10:21 PM

the full episode

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by Anonymousreply 45May 9, 2024 10:23 PM

With Bette Davis in Death on the Nile (1978)

Since they were filming on the actual Nile, the two had to share a dressing room with Angela Lansbury.

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by Anonymousreply 46May 9, 2024 10:25 PM

I'm really glad Harry Potter is not winning

by Anonymousreply 47May 9, 2024 10:26 PM

Dickie … the list is incomplete without Murder by Death!

by Anonymousreply 48May 9, 2024 10:32 PM

It's rumored that Neil Simon wrote her piece on California Suite after she lost the Oscar for Travels with My Aunt to Liza. Liv Ullman said in her autobiography that Smith had to be escorted from the theater because she was so distraught.

by Anonymousreply 49May 9, 2024 10:35 PM

Travels with My Aunt is so bad. And this directed by Cukor and Smith camping it up. Torture.

by Anonymousreply 50May 9, 2024 10:37 PM

[quote]Liv Ullman said in her autobiography that Smith had to be escorted from the theater because she was so distraught.

Sure, Jan...and Liv.

by Anonymousreply 51May 9, 2024 10:38 PM

I found out I was straight when I went to see Smith give a tour de force performance in Miss Jean Brodie and came out only thinking of the naked Pamela Franklin.

by Anonymousreply 52May 9, 2024 10:44 PM

R25, you MUST watch Gosford Park! You'll thank me later.

by Anonymousreply 53May 9, 2024 10:53 PM

I didn't realize there were any differences in her performances (which I love), except for slight modifications based on characters' class status.

by Anonymousreply 54May 9, 2024 10:57 PM

I love her but her role in DA is very one note and almost a reprise from Gosford. Granted not her fault, there is almost no character except to sneer. Still , she is the one thing enjoyable about it.

by Anonymousreply 55May 9, 2024 11:23 PM

You must watch Gosford Park!

The film is a novel come to life, but at its core is the relationship between a young maid (Kelly Macdonald) and her Ladyship (Maggie Smith) over the course of a country weekend from Hell.

Directed by Robert Altman, written by Julian Fellows, and produced by Bob Balaban, the film has an impressive cast: Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Charles Dance, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon Derek Jacobi, Alan Bates, Emily Watson, Stephen Fry, and Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello.

So many characters, each with a complete backstory. You can watch the film multiple times and learn something new about a character each time.

by Anonymousreply 56May 9, 2024 11:54 PM

She's at her most hilariously acidulous in Gosford park, but there are no shadings to the character 9except at the very beginning when she's marooned in her car and looks frightened). It's not her fault--I think Julian Fellowes just did not know what to do with that character to develop her, because he was so fascinated by what a bitch she was. (Apparently it's based on a woman in his own family, who is the basis for all the other sharp-tongued and sneering aristocratic women who pop up through his oeuvre.)

by Anonymousreply 57May 10, 2024 12:01 AM

R56- THE best line in Gosford Park ( of which there were many)-

Bought marmalade ?

I call that very feeble.

by Anonymousreply 58May 10, 2024 12:02 AM

Travels with my Aunt was one of her very few misfires. She isn’t terrible, just very mediocre.

The lonely passion of Judith Hearne should be on your list.. Fantastic performance.

by Anonymousreply 59May 10, 2024 12:03 AM

R55- I don't think her DA character was like Gosford Park at all.

There was NOTHIING redeeming about her in GP. She was just petty and complaining and she had no fonts of wisdom to give unlike her character in DA. That being said her GP character was much more realistic of someone of her class than DA.

by Anonymousreply 60May 10, 2024 12:04 AM

[Quote] Liv Ullman said in her autobiography that Smith had to be escorted from the theater because she was so distraught.

R40 odd that Smith doesn't appear to have been at the Oscars that year

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by Anonymousreply 61May 10, 2024 12:16 AM

Man hands.

by Anonymousreply 62May 10, 2024 12:21 AM

Don't forget that Kate was originally cast in Travels With My Aunt.

by Anonymousreply 63May 10, 2024 12:34 AM

I wonder why Angela Lansbury didn't get the role since it was essentially Auntie Mame and she lost out on Mame the movie.

by Anonymousreply 64May 10, 2024 12:37 AM

She is a talented comedian and I always laugh at her jokes, she is such a character. I always thought that her and Stephen fry were related, they look a bit alike.

by Anonymousreply 65May 10, 2024 12:40 AM

I know it's a minor role, but she'll always be Wendy Moira Angela Darling from Hook to me. Her wonderful jewelry, her cozy London townhouse, and John Williams' pre-Potter score are stuck in my inner child's brain. Plus, watching Hook as an adult led me to discovering Michael Llewellyn Davies (one of Barrie's inspiration for the Peter Pan stories) and his tragic, but romantic drowning with his boyfriend at Oxford in 1921.

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by Anonymousreply 66May 10, 2024 3:02 AM

Post 31 Rod Taylor publicly said she was beautiful and very sexy. They starred in The VIP’s which led me to believe they had an affair. I think she’s to private to say they shagged.

by Anonymousreply 67May 10, 2024 4:16 AM

“Leeeeeeeetle geeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrls…!!”

by Anonymousreply 68May 10, 2024 4:23 AM

A little bit of Lettice and Lovage for you:

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by Anonymousreply 69May 10, 2024 4:27 AM

R36 She was pleasant enough in the Sister Act films - a few hilarious scenes and pointed barbs in the first - but she really didn't have very much to do overall in either one.

She was rather honest about that, too. Apparently she asked the writer or director on day one something along the lines of: Are you the one that's going to give me the substance of my part? Because I don't know what the hell I'm even doing here. She took 2 and 2 and made it 10, as it were.

by Anonymousreply 70May 10, 2024 4:33 AM

Bed among the Lentils.

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by Anonymousreply 71May 10, 2024 4:39 AM

I've posted this before, r67...

[quote]The intensity of Rod and Maggie’s on-screen relationship led several people who worked on the film to conclude that they were really falling in love.

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by Anonymousreply 72May 10, 2024 5:09 AM

Post

Apostrophe

Too

by Anonymousreply 73May 10, 2024 5:19 AM

Who?

by Anonymousreply 74May 10, 2024 5:29 AM

R74 Watch your step, Judi.

by Anonymousreply 75May 10, 2024 5:30 AM

Maggie Smith is also great in "Tea With Mussolini" (1999) directed by Franco Zeffirelli. It also has lovely performances by Cher, Judi Dench, Lily Tomlin & Joan Plowright.

Maggie is also funny in the two 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' movies.

by Anonymousreply 76May 10, 2024 8:52 AM
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by Anonymousreply 77May 10, 2024 9:02 AM

I also like Maggie Smith in the original "Clash of the Titans" (1981) as the goddess Thetis who has a power struggle with Zeus (Laurence Olivier).

It also stars DL fave Harry Hamlin & his nipples.

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by Anonymousreply 78May 10, 2024 9:09 AM

Thanks R71 and R77. One fantastic monologue as an malcontents alcoholic Vicar's wife!

by Anonymousreply 79May 10, 2024 9:11 AM

[quote] I wonder why Angela Lansbury didn't get the role since it was essentially Auntie Mame and she lost out on Mame the movie.

She wasn't considered a box office draw at the time. The only leads she got in movies in those days were in Disney kids' films.

by Anonymousreply 80May 10, 2024 8:10 PM

[quote] I also like Maggie Smith in the original "Clash of the Titans" (1981) as the goddess Thetis who has a power struggle with Zeus (Laurence Olivier).

I like her performance in that movie, but what's so weird is that the key plot engine is after Andromeda's mother Cassiopeia claims in Thetis's temple that her daughter is more beautiful than Thetis herself. tthis makes Thetis so angry she demands Andromeda has to be sacrificed to the Kraken, which starts off perseus's quest to find the necessary tools (Pegasius, the head of the Medusa) to defeat the Kraken.

By the point, her years of smoking had done a number on Maggie Smith's looks, so that she looked much older and more withered than the age she actually was (as she herself admitted). So Cassiopeia's comparison of her gorgeous daughter's beauty to that of Thetis just seems bizarre.

by Anonymousreply 81May 10, 2024 8:14 PM

Sorry for all the typos.

by Anonymousreply 82May 10, 2024 8:15 PM

Travels...

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by Anonymousreply 83May 10, 2024 8:16 PM

California Suite and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne show her staggering range

Lettice and Lovage was a Broadway highlight for me. A delight.

by Anonymousreply 84May 10, 2024 11:21 PM

One perfect moment...

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by Anonymousreply 85May 10, 2024 11:39 PM

Much ado...

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by Anonymousreply 86May 10, 2024 11:41 PM

I was lucky enough to see her in A German Life in London and she sat alone on stage for the entire show and just captivate the audience. Terrific

by Anonymousreply 87May 11, 2024 12:51 AM

I would love to have see her in Much Ado. (Well, I'd love to see her in anything...) Did she ever do Earnest?

by Anonymousreply 88May 11, 2024 3:30 AM

The Guardsman...Stratford '77

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by Anonymousreply 89May 11, 2024 4:12 AM

Also that year at Stratford...

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by Anonymousreply 90May 11, 2024 4:14 AM

Where is her Phaedra? Her Lady Macbeth?

by Anonymousreply 91May 11, 2024 7:39 AM

R81, it's nice to see Sian Phillips in the role of Cassiopeia, even though it's a small part. She's always been good at playing Queens and regal figures.

by Anonymousreply 92May 11, 2024 7:40 AM

This is one of her top performances--as herself.

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by Anonymousreply 93May 11, 2024 8:15 AM

R91 she did Macbeth in 78. I might be misremembering but I thought she could do the California Suite role in her sleep, she should have won her second Oscar for Gosford Park, especially as Jennifer Connelly did very little to merit her win that year and although Mirren was excellent in a couple of scenes she didn't really do enough to justify a win.

by Anonymousreply 94May 11, 2024 9:21 AM

R94, I thought Smith and Mirren were both excellent in 'Gosford Park' in different ways. Smith had the more fun, flashier character. Mirren was playing an understated, low-key role as the housekeeper, and that's the point of her character. I agree with you that Connelly was overrated and some people felt she should have been in the Lead Actress category instead of Supporting. I wish the Supporting Actress Oscar had gone to Smith or Mirren.

by Anonymousreply 95May 11, 2024 9:25 AM

Connelly was a wasted Oscar

by Anonymousreply 96May 11, 2024 10:41 AM

I agree , they were both great, r95, only Mirren, unlike Smith, had a character arc, giving her an edge.

by Anonymousreply 97May 11, 2024 10:45 AM

Apparently Dame Helen was unsure of accepting the role of Mrs Wilson as there were no scenes that required her to get her big old titties out for a paying audience

by Anonymousreply 98May 11, 2024 11:01 AM

I get Sian Phillips and Sian Clifford confused.

by Anonymousreply 99May 11, 2024 3:44 PM

[quote] Jennifer Connelly did very little to merit her win that year

She put some part of her body in, near or on some part of Harvey Weinstein's hideous, corpulent flesh and pretended to like it, which was apparently THE Oscar winning performance of the century.

by Anonymousreply 100May 11, 2024 3:45 PM

[quote] I get Sian Phillips and Sian Clifford confused.

It's the double letters next to each other in their last names right?

by Anonymousreply 101May 11, 2024 3:46 PM

R101 Maybe? I know Sian....Phillips? has had a much longer career. But I never remember who is who right off the bat, I have to Google them to confirm.

by Anonymousreply 102May 11, 2024 3:48 PM

Maggie Smith on Charlie Rose

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by Anonymousreply 103May 11, 2024 3:53 PM

I saw her in Lettice & Lovage in London - my only time in the city and it was wonderful!

I can't watch Gosford Park because of what happens to the little doggie.

And I also think about what Noel Coward replied when he was asked what it was like to sleep with Ivor Novello......"Musical," he said.

by Anonymousreply 104May 11, 2024 4:09 PM

R104 nothing happens to the dog...

by Anonymousreply 105May 11, 2024 4:14 PM

[quote]Apparently Dame Helen was unsure of accepting the role of Mrs Wilson as there were no scenes that required her to get her big old titties out for a paying audience

r98...

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by Anonymousreply 106May 11, 2024 4:16 PM

The Dame documentary should have been Maggie, Glenda Jackson, Diana Rigg and Vanessa Redgrave.

Judi came later, Eileen Atkins is largely unknown in the states, and I have no idea why Olivier’s second wife was even invited.

by Anonymousreply 107May 11, 2024 4:44 PM

He ends up out on the street!

by Anonymousreply 108May 11, 2024 5:15 PM

I always heard that "musical" quote ascribed to Winston Churchill...?

by Anonymousreply 109May 11, 2024 8:36 PM

[quote]R107 The Dame documentary should have been Maggie, Glenda Jackson, Diana Rigg and Vanessa Redgrave.

I don’t know those women went out of their way to socialize, particularly. The group the film focuses on has intertwining friendships that go back forever.

by Anonymousreply 110May 11, 2024 8:41 PM

R98- Better to see those BIG old titties than be forced to endure even a second of Irene Cara's

RAISIN TITTIES

by Anonymousreply 111May 11, 2024 8:43 PM

I thought she was dreadful as Desdemona and miscast. I think John Simon said it was rare you have two Emilias in Othello and I thought that was accurate.

by Anonymousreply 112May 11, 2024 8:49 PM

Every couple of years or so, I'll read Alan Bennett's "A Bed Among the Lentils," and all I can hear is Maggie's voice in my head, her performance was that indelible.

by Anonymousreply 113May 11, 2024 9:36 PM

R110, that's correct. I believe Dench is good friends with Jackson from their RSC days, and Smith and Plowright were part of The National Theater while Olivier ran it, so they have that history. In the documentary, Atkins mentions marching with Redgrave on some issue back in the 60's.

There was some bad blood between Smith and Redgrave when the latter had an affair with Smith's then-husband Robert Stephens, but that was a long time ago. But Redgrave's general sanctimoniousness (however well-intentioned) would, I imagine, make the other women want to keep her at arm's length.

I would have to wonder how either Smith or Plowright would get on with Jackson given the egos involved.

by Anonymousreply 114May 11, 2024 9:39 PM

R112, I agree with you about Smith's Desdemona, though John Simon was not a fan of Smith's in general. He was quite negative about her performance as Jean Brodie:

"Maggie Smith does fine in the quieter moments of the part, but much of the time she does a grossly mannered, female-impersonatorish camping around..."

I don't really agree with that, but the latter part of his quote certainly applies to her performance in TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT.

by Anonymousreply 115May 11, 2024 9:44 PM

[quote]R114 There was some bad blood between Smith and Redgrave… I would have to wonder how either Smith or Plowright would get on with Jackson given the egos involved.

Redgrave and Jackson are too blunt and political for that tea party set.

I don’t think the women in the Dames documentary ever ventured very far outside a theater, so those other two might not have much time for them over the years.

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by Anonymousreply 116May 11, 2024 11:13 PM

Doesn't Helen Mirren have a breakdown scene in Gosford Park? That would be sure to get her nom over Maggie.

by Anonymousreply 117May 12, 2024 4:30 AM

That interview with Charlie Rose is annoying, He keeps repeating back to her what she has told him.

by Anonymousreply 118May 12, 2024 5:09 AM

[quote] I always heard that "musical" quote ascribed to Winston Churchill...?

That sounds right. He delighted in sleeping with Ivor Novello, after all.

Even though it put Clementine out of countenance.

by Anonymousreply 119May 12, 2024 5:17 AM

[quote]R117 Doesn't Helen Mirren have a breakdown scene in Gosford Park?

Yes, but it’s pretty brief. She’s great in that part, though.

by Anonymousreply 120May 12, 2024 5:33 AM

It's a pity The Lonely Passion Of Judith H didn't come out in one of the weaker years for Best Actress, such as 84 or 86.

by Anonymousreply 121May 12, 2024 8:10 AM

R107, you're correct that Eileen Atkins & Joan Plowright are unknown in the United States, outside of film buffs such as those of us on DL. Judi Dench & Maggie Smith are much bigger stars and have had lots of success at the Oscars, too. Plowright only had one nomination and Atkins has none.

by Anonymousreply 122May 12, 2024 8:47 AM

Imagine going from Vivien Leigh to Joan Plowright!

by Anonymousreply 123May 12, 2024 9:01 AM

Well, he quickly went from Plowright to Sarah Miles…

by Anonymousreply 124May 12, 2024 9:06 AM

Vivien Leigh was batshit crazy. You should read about some of her antics when she was married to Olivier.

by Anonymousreply 125May 12, 2024 9:16 AM

I showed The Lonely Passion to my aunt. I thought she would like Maggie in it but when we got to the rape scene she was not impressed.

by Anonymousreply 126May 12, 2024 10:14 AM

R118 I thought it was good. He was asking her to dive into more detail about her incredible life

by Anonymousreply 127May 12, 2024 5:29 PM

R117, both Mirren and Smith were nominated for 'Gosford Park'. I agree with you that I would have given the win to Mirren over Smith if I was choosing the Oscars for that year.

by Anonymousreply 128May 13, 2024 7:35 AM

Maggie even attended that year.

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by Anonymousreply 129May 13, 2024 9:20 AM

Helen Mirren is forgettable in Gosford Park. Maggie stole the entire movie with just a tilt of the head.

by Anonymousreply 130May 13, 2024 3:32 PM

Maggie Smith is often accused of a lack of subtlety, but in Gosford Park she delivered a master class in understatement. I just rewatched the film last night, and was struck by how little she did while creating such an interesting and memorable character.

by Anonymousreply 131May 13, 2024 9:48 PM

I love Maggie Smith, but her role in Gosford Park is an easier & flashier one to play than the Helen Mirren one.

by Anonymousreply 132May 14, 2024 7:35 AM

She died this weekend, so I am bumping this thread.

by Anonymousreply 133September 30, 2024 1:58 AM

[quote]r9 OP, the title of the movie is “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.”

It’s actually [italic]”Inside Miss Jean Brodie”

by Anonymousreply 134September 30, 2024 2:08 AM

Her comic timing and line delivery were always impeccable. Evil Under the Sun, Death on the Nile, Murder by Death, California Suite, Sister Act.

by Anonymousreply 135September 30, 2024 2:12 AM

She was able to gag and roast everyone as granny Violet Crawley.

by Anonymousreply 136September 30, 2024 2:36 AM

Loved Maggie as Lady Hester, the sharpest of the "scorpioni," in "Tea With Mussolini." A dry run for her great "Downton Abbey" turn...

by Anonymousreply 137September 30, 2024 3:21 AM

The way she giggles when Ryan Phillipe gets something spilled on him in Gosford Park is priceless. It's only one small moment in a very enjoyable movie but i love it every time

by Anonymousreply 138September 30, 2024 3:33 AM

I always felt the heart of Gosford Park was Smith's relationship with her young maid, Kelly Macdonald

by Anonymousreply 139September 30, 2024 3:34 AM

Her range of characters, expression, voice, emotion, all so uniquely her own make her one of the genius actors of her time. A treasure.

by Anonymousreply 140September 30, 2024 3:56 AM

I've seen Atkins twice on stage in New York and she was magnificent. Though little known here she deserved to be with those other women. Plowright has done some wonderful stuff which you see in The Entertainer, Enchanted April and though I did not see it my mother loved her in Avalon.

by Anonymousreply 141October 1, 2024 10:28 PM
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