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Marie Lloyd - Queen of the Music Hall
RRP: £16.99
Our Price: £6.02 (subject to change)
"Is Everybody 'Appy?" - Watch This & You Will Be!
Review date: 2007-05-13 Rating: 10 out of 10
Saw this on BBC4 and was impressed enough to want to seek out the DVD asap. Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater from EE) sings up a storm as the chirpy Cockney sauce-bottle who scandalised the music hall in her day - and many of her best known songs are here. "A Little of What You Fancy", "The Boy I Love", "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy", "My Old Man", "Oh Mr Porter", the presentation of these music hall standards is glorious, as are the costumes and staging of the numbers.
Narrator Shaun Parks gives a brilliant rendition of "Berlington Bertie" and "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" as we see scenes from Marie's ill-fated marriage to a husband who had to cope with press attention and fan adoration (Richard Armitage), yet the star of the boards keeps smiling through - lending her support to a musical hall strike for fair wages for all employees and holding her own 'Command Performance' when her naughty lyrics cause her to be barred from the "Royal" Command Performance. This is a programme for all ages. At 80 minutes it speeds along, telling the story with pace and wit. Younger viewers will be amused at how offensive Ms Lloyds songs were considered - see her take on the 'Decency Committee' who have a real problem with "She Sits Among The Cabbages and Peas"....
I hope a CD is released to accompany this as Ms Wallace has a previously unheard brilliant singing voice. Unlike the many soap stars who warble every chance they get, she has kept her talent under wraps and we are fortuneate to be able to appreciate it on this DVD. And I suspect she owes the saucy giggle to Barbara Windsor, the much loved land lady of the Queen Vic!
The latter scenes show Marie's real funeral - the funeral procession was met by 150,000 fans following her death at the tragically young age of 52. This is a wonderful slice of the 'good old days' and a DVD which will be a great favourite for a long time.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tom Payne
Jessie Wallace
Richard Armitage
Creators:
Richard Armitage (Primary Contributor)
Jessie Wallace (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Acorn Media UK Ltd
Manufacturer: Acorn Media UK Ltd
EAN: 5036193096259
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-07-09
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 80 minutes
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Original Language)