[Afamilyatwar-list] Episode 17

[Veit, Richard]

Episode No. 17, "Is Your Journey Really Necessary?"

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Beyond any other episode in the series, “Is Your Journey Really Necessary?” examines in considerable depth the complex relationship between Sefton Briggs and his son, Tony. A telegram from Sefton requests that Tony ring him at once, and their subsequent conversation finds an apathetic Tony on the receiving end. He is not inclined to discuss finances, having more beguiling matters on his mind, sweetheart Jenny Graham. Tony’s description of his father is revealing. “Business before pleasure?” Jenny asks. “Business before living,” Tony replies. “Before people.”

Just when Tony has arranged for an idyllic weekend with Jenny, Sefton takes it upon himself to pay an unannounced visit, nearly scuttling the young couple’s plans in the process. Tony resents the intrusion, and, in turn, Sefton resents the fact that Tony seems more interested in pursuing romance than in securing a stable financial future for himself.

Another source of frustration for Tony: Sefton and Jenny get along surprisingly well, and she seems quite content to postpone the amorous weekend. Furthermore, Jenny hesitates to accept the ring Tony has bought for her, only agreeing to do so with the understanding that she be allowed to keep it in its box until such time as they become formally engaged. I find it intriguing that Jenny never tells Tony that she loves him, even after he openly professes his love for her. And yet, only a short while later, she readily informs Tony’s father that they love one another. Clearly, she is wary of premature commitment, a healthy attitude that demonstrates her practical nature. Tony, by contrast, appears positively impulsive, rushing headlong into a serious relationship.

Prior to Sefton’s journey to the east coast, we witness his scheming to have Edwin Ashton consent to become one of the three managing directors of the works. After thirty years of career disappointments at Briggs & Son, Edwin’s lack of trust is justified, and, accordingly, he delays giving his brother-in-law an answer until Sefton’s return to Liverpool.

Sefton’s discussion of shares with solicitor George Askew seems rather academic at this stage of the story, but these tedious numbers will grow in significance as months and years go by, particularly when provisions of the will become operative after the death of Mrs. Briggs. “You need Tony’s ten percent to be safe,” remarks Askew, an innocuous line that might easily be overlooked. Still, it is a crucial point that generates dramatic tension for much of the rest of the series.

Director Gerry Mill calls for a compelling camera shot, gazing through a broken window pane at the printing works, as we view some damage caused by the most recent air raid.

There is a beautifully acted scene in The Dolphin when Sefton asks his son about Jenny, their planned tryst (“We used to call it immoral.”), and why Tony conveniently failed to mention that he had some leave time coming.

A touching comment by Tony comes in the presence of Jenny Graham. Sefton wonders aloud, “How long has it been since we’ve talked? About three months?” With cynicism but evident sadness too, Tony quips, “I’d put it at about twenty years.”

I certainly can see why Tony might fall for the beautiful and classy Jenny Graham, and it is nice to know that a real-life romance was blooming on the set between Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton, who later would marry and have a son, the famous actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

I find that brief exchange between Sefton Briggs and Mr. Daniels (on the train) to be quite fascinating. Sefton’s hidebound sense of morality contrasts starkly with Daniels’s more tolerant view: “Well, we must expect moral standards to be suspended in wartime.” Of course, an underlying influence on the young people’s behaviour must surely be the war itself. In peacetime, when the feeling of urgency was not so desperate, no doubt they would have sought a more private place to express their affection. Initially, it is Daniels who does virtually all the talking, with Sefton grumpily muttering one-word answers. But then, after the young lovers leave the compartment, the men’s roles are reversed. Sefton becomes the chatty one, and Daniels seems to have lost interest in conversing, closing with a one-word answer of his own, “Yes.”





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