[Afamilyatwar-list] Episode 36

[Vibeke Kold]

My favorite epiode too :-)

Remember I taped the episode on my little taperecorder in the 70's -
which means that every word still seems familar to my ear.

One of my favorite scenes is the one with Margaret at the piano playing
Debussy just before the pivotal scene with John.

Best wishes to you all!

Vibeke, Denmark

----- Original meddelelse -----

> Fra: John Tomlinson via Afamilyatwar-list
> <afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
> Til: afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu, "Veit, Richard"
> <Richard_Veit at baylor.edu>
> Dato: Fre, 11. jan 2019 19:37
> Emne: Re: [Afamilyatwar-list] Episode 36
> 
> My absolutely unquestioned favourite episode of this great series. I
> feel a little saddened that I’ll never again be able to experience
> the overwhelming “wow” factor I felt on watching this episode the
> first time a few years ago. It was just so absorbing I wasn’t aware
> of anything else around me. Utterly drawn in. I was delighted to
> discover it is also John Finch’s favourite episode of the programme.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> On 11 Jan 2019, at 15:12, Veit, Richard via Afamilyatwar-list <
> afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu [mailto:afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu]>
> wrote:
> 
>   Episode No. 36, "The Things You Never Told Me"
> 
>   <image001.png>
> 
>   This fine, concise episode is among the most dramatically focused
>   in the entire series. There are but five credited speaking roles,
>   and John Finch's screenplay unfolds within only two settings—the
>   Ashton home and the Liverpool train station’s lunch room.
> 
>   That is not to say that little transpires. This a pivotal episode
>   that examines four significant relationships in great detail.
>   Foremost among them, of course, is the troubled marriage of John
>   and Margaret. When Celia divulges to her son that Margaret was
>   seeing a man and had his baby, we are left to wonder how he will
>   react and whether there can be any forgiveness. But in doing so,
>   perhaps we are giving John Porter too little credit, for he has
>   matured considerably since his repatriation. He is, as Margaret
>   tells her father-in-law, "much more confident, more sure of
>   himself." The scenes that find John and Margaret alone are quite
>   gripping, whether confrontational or, soon thereafter, in the
>   spirit of reconciliation. This, we sense, is one marriage that
>   will emerge stronger for all the tribulations through which it
>   has suffered.
> 
>   That complicated mother-son relationship (Celia-John) also
>   receives substantial attention. It is intimated that the
>   self-centred Celia may have revealed Margaret's transgression as
>   a means of securing John's return to his mother and father in
>   Chorley. She is hurt when John suggests this would mean a return
>   to "the old hook and chain." Worse yet, her claim that he was
>   always happy at home elicits his cynical response that he was
>   "miserable as sin." But even more than these, what she cannot
>   accept is his graphic description of how he contracted a "dose"
>   while in Belgium. His attempt to comfort her is met with a
>   disdainful "Don’t touch me!"
> 
>   The hopelessly contentious relationship between Margaret and her
>   mother-in-law finally reaches the breaking point. Celia scoffs at
>   the notion that Margaret would ever have gotten around to
>   informing John of her terrible secret. Margaret, in turn, accuses
>   Celia of enjoying the rupture of her marriage to John, tearfully
>   alleging, "It's your big day!"
> 
>   More than anywhere else in the series, it is here that we learn
>   of the irreversible failings that exist within the marital
>   relationship of Harry and Celia. Irate at her scheming to retain
>   John's affection, Harry declares to her that their marriage has
>   amounted to "wasted years, wasted lives." Earlier, he explained
>   to Margaret that he stays with his wife primarily out of pity—and
>   that, he adds, is the ultimate degradation.
> 
>   Some random comments about "The Things You Never Told Me"...
> 
>   This is one of only two Liverpool episodes (those which primarily
>   stay at home, not following Philip or David in their military
>   exploits) in which patriarch Edwin Aston does not appear. The
>   other is the previous installment in the series, "Happy Returns."
>   His absence is explained by a visit to his cousin in Castleford.
> 
>   That long sequence between John and his mother in the train
>   station's lunch room has an underlying tension that keeps us
>   captivated by what is being said, despite the fact that much of
>   it (sandwich, soup, public display of affection) would be
>   inconsequential in any other context. Paradoxically, the
>   protracted dialogue serves to heighten the suspense, to make the
>   viewer wait for the "pay off," which is sure to come. And it does
>   not disappoint. What an intense moment that is when Celia informs
>   her son that, while he was away in uniform, Margaret had a baby
>   by another man. This is exceedingly well played by Ian Thompson,
>   who never falls to the temptation of over-acting in tasteless,
>   melodramatic fashion.
> 
>   When Celia sings Vera Lynn's "The White Cliffs of Dover" to her
>   son, she substitutes the name "Johnny" for "Jimmy."
> 
>   There is a poignant voice-over flashback when Celia's mind
>   wanders to what Harry said about his feelings toward her as he
>   left for the trenches.
> 
>   I always enjoy watching that scene-stealer Paul Brett as John
>   George Porter. His antics before the camera are amusing, though I
>   rather suspect that his unpredictable energy was worrisome for
>   producer and director.
> 
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