Sarah Miles double feature ...

THE HIRELING: Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles star in this dark and powerful story of loneliness, loss and destructive passion from the pen of L.P. Hartley (THE GO-BETWEEN). 

Shattered by the death of her husband, Lady Helen is confined to a sanatorium. When she is released she strugges to rebuild her life, striking up a nervous and hesitant relationship with her chauffeur, Steven Ledbetter. As the months progress Lady Helen becomes more and more reliant on his company and he finds himself drawn to Lady Helen in turn. The promise of a forbidden relationship hangs over them - until she meets the charming and aristocratic Captain Hugh Cantrip (Peter Egan), her social equal. What Lady Helen does not know is that both the roughly hewn Ledbetter and the smooth Captain are concealing secrets from her, and that she is trapped in a love triangle that could explode into a violent and heartbreaking confrontation...

So goes the blurb for the 1973 THE HIRELING, a nice little costume drama by Alan Bridges (who also did the terrific RETURN OF THE SOLDIER and THE SHOOTING PARTY - terrific movies I must return to, he also though directed that totally unnecessary 1974 remake of BRIEF ENCOUNTER, terrible in every respect, despite starring Loren and Burton - both totally out of place here. 

THE HIRELING now looks ideal on television, even if it is all dark interiors. A downbeat story with only one conclusion. Miles and Shaw are of course excellent, Lady Helen is another of her emotionally fragile women - after RYAN'S DAUGHTER and LADY CAROLINE LAMB .... the '20s period detail is nicely evoked with ex-army man Ledbetter sinking his money into his motor business and running a boxing club. He pretends to be married when Lady Helen asks about his family as he does not want her to see how lonely he is .... the gallant Captain is also lying as he sees how Lady Helen will be of use to his political ambitions. Finally, things come to a head .... Helen also lends the chauffeur £400 when his business gets into difficulties, giving him further cause to think they could have a future together; of course she does not realise how obsessed about her he has become ...  it will be nice now to see Bridge's RETURN OF THE SOLIDER with another good quartet in '82: Alan Bates, Julie Christie, Glenda Jackson and Ann-Margret fitting in very well with the British thesbians.  James Mason and Sir Gielgud head that powerful country house tale THE SHOOTING PARTY in '85. 

After her iconic '60s roles (THE SERVANT (seen again recently, as per posts below and Miles label, as it is now out on Blu-ray and I saw Miles with co-stars James Fox and Wendy Craig discussing it at a special screening recently), I WAS HAPPY HERE (a particular favourite of mine), my cult classic BLOW-UP, RYAN'S DAUGHTER) the early '70s saw Miles as LADY CAROLINE LAMB written for her and directed by her husband Robert Bolt - his solo directing effort after scripting the likes of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and DR ZHIVAGO as well as RYAN'S DAUGHTER and the play VIVAT VIVAT REGINA where Miles played Mary Queen of Scots, which I saw at the time circa 1970), then came THE HIRELING (but it was that other LP Hartley adaptation, Losey's THE GO-BETWEEN in 1971 which got all the attention and awards). She then did those 2 troubled productions, a brutal western THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING and that bizarre Mishima adaptation THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA in '76 - after that there were lesser items like a Michael Winner THE BIG SLEEP, a snake on the loose film VENOM and tv dramas like HAREM and that enjoyable film WHITE MISCHIEF, John Boorman's HOPE AND GLORY etc, and also her marvellous autobiographies covering her colorful life and career. She was also back with Losey for his last film STEAMING in 1985. Of those British actresses of the early '60s she remains as essential as Julie Christie, Susannah York or Rita Tushingham or the Redgraves, even if she does not act anymore.

LADY CAROLINE LAMB now plays like a superior costume drama, full of big names and romantic gestures as Lady Caroline scandalises society in her relentless pursuit of Lord Byron, affecting her marriage. Richard Chamberlain is an effective Byron, the first rock star?, Jon Finch plays her husband, the Prime Minister William Lamb, Margaret Leighton his unforgiving mother Lady Melbourne - who has a marvellous last line; with the likes of Laurence Olivier as Lord Wellington, Ralph Richardson as King George IV, with John Milles, Pamela Brown and Peter Bull, all perfectly in regency period. Lady Caroline is rather annoying, no wonder Byron gets fed up with her endless dramatics and grand romantic gestures, like dressing up as the blackamoor following his carriage, and her suicide attempts. Poor Lady Caroline, abandoned by society, eventually dies of a broken heart. Leighton as her exasperated mother-in-law says "she would, wouldn't she?" ...

Coming attractions: After 2001 (see recent review) more outer space with Trumbull's SILENT RUNNING and Carpenter's blissful DARK STAR in '74;

After BRANNIGAN (below) more gangsters in '70s London with Burton's VILLAIN;

To Greece with Quinn, Bisset and more in the trash classic THE GREEK TYCOON; and back to the South of France with BONJOUR TRISTESSE;

3 big ones from 1966: Otto's HURRY SUNDOWN, Penn's THE CHASE, Smight's HARPER;
David Warner as MICHAEL KOHLHAAS;

We covered some of the new guys in the last year or two: Fassbender, Gosling, Tatum, Firth, Reynolds etc - 2000s label - now for some of the younger set: RPatz as BEL AMI ? Taylor Lautner in ABDUCTION, Tom Hardy in DESERTER.

Today's guys in MARGIN CALL, BLUE VALENTINE, STEP UP and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY;
Catching up with THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & HER LOVER;

More British costume drama with RETURN OF THE SOLDIER, TRIPLE ECHO, THE SHOOTING PARTY.
Magnani & Masina together in HELL IN THE CITY (CAGED), set in a women's prison;
THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, TOYS IN THE ATTIC and other U.S. dramas;
More on BLOW-UP & MODESTY BLAISE with Dirk, Antonioni & Vitti 

More Romy Schneiders, Robert Hosseins, Gerard Philipes, Anouk Aimees ....