The Stage

TV review

Published Monday 14 May 2007 at 15:05 by Harry Venning

When Marie Lloyd died in 1922, the route of her funeral was lined with more than 100,000 mourners. Stars didn’t come any bigger than Marie.

Miss Marie Lloyd - Queen of the Music Hall was a shallow but entertaining gallop at breakneck speed through the Edwardian superstar’s event-filled life, which paused only to recreate some of her most celebrated stage routines.

Showbiz biography cliches abounded, with heavy dependence upon that helpful narrative link, the newspaper headline montage (although by some oversight The Stage was conspicuous by its absence). There was even an appearance from the ever popular “intervention of fate” scene, whereby a waiter dropped a box of Lloyd matches on our heroine’s table, just as she struggled to find a suitable stage surname. It is interesting to speculate that had the waiter brought the gravy instead she might have ended up as Marie Bisto.

Jessie Wallace was excellent in the title role, convincing both onstage and off. But then, it takes a star to play a star. I confess to total bewilderment at the involvement of a character credited as The Showman, who appeared intermittently to sing a ditty or cast a wry glance into the camera. Clearly very symbolic, but I’m really not sure what of.

Personally I find Channel 4’s Top 100 countdown shows addictive and appalling in equal measure. The clips are invariably fascinating, but I cannot stand the mouth-for-hire has beens and celebrity z-listers invited to comment on them.

Which is what made The 100 Top Actors such a delight. If Trevor and Simon hold a position on the subject, they had to keep it to themselves for a change. Only actors were involved, as voters or contributors, and subsequently their insights and opinions were passionate, enthusiastic and engrossing.

Top names as well. Mike Myers paid homage to his hero Peter Sellers, Whoopi Goldberg sang a hymn of praise to Maggie Smith, and Brian Blessed fondly recalled chasing Sir John Gielgud backstage at the National Theatre, trying to grope the revered Knight Of The Realm’s arse. Not sure why. I think I must have missed that bit.

So basically you had three hours of great actors exalting those they believed even greater than themselves, which is a pretty rare phenomenon in itself, combined with tasty morsels of acting brilliance in the form of film clips. Apart from the shameful exclusion of Arthur Lowe, and the baffling inclusion of Brad Pitt, almost all the actors you would expect to see were present and correct.

Very nice to see personal favourites Gene Hackman and Rod Steiger so highly regarded.

The last in the series of Shrink Rap saw Pamela Connolly in conversation with Robin Williams.

What was the most common misconception people had of him? Connolly enquired of her permanently manic guest.

“That I am always manic”, came the reply.

Williams was admirably candid, confessing to barely suppressed feelings of rage and aggression, but slipped into performance mode when things became a little too uncomfortable. He was distractingly funny, which just shows he knows his audience, if not himself.

DETAILS

Miss Marie Lloyd - Queen of the Music Hall - BBC Four, Wednesday, May 9, 9pm

The World’s Greatest Actor - More4, Monday, May 7, 9pm

Shrink Rap - More4, Wednesday, May 9, 9pm