Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4939 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-12
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Colour, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 215 minutes

Synopsis
Joyce Grenfell was a true all-rounder; a gifted actress, comedienne and musician, she was responsible for creating memorable monologues, poems and songs. This compilation features four episodes, including some of Grenfell’s most famous routines.

Customer Reviews

'' George Don't Do That ''
Joyce Grenfell was beautiful, elegant, well spoken and a very clever lady who seemed ageless. Hinge and Bracket once said that when Joyce was 60 she looked 40. Joyce observed everyday people and turned all her observations into very funny, sometimes touching monologues and a collection of beautiful songs, such as 'I'm Going To See You Today', or funny songs, like the tragic opera duet 'Freda and Eric', (all the words of the songs and monologues are by Joyce herself). Many of the favourite monologues are here including, 'Shirley's Girlfriend' who has a boyfriend Norm that drives the lorry with big ears, 'The Terrible Worrier' Mrs.Moss who wins a dead rabbit at the local raffle, 'Eng Lit' with the wife of the vice chancellor of the Oxbridge university, sitting in her book lined study, with many group photographs around and over the door a pair of crossed (Wh)oars!, the two faced, know-all woman running the 'Committee' and the famous 'Nursery School Sketch' where Joyce is the nursery teacher, not quite in control of Neville pretending to be a train, '' Neville finish being a train dear and come and sit down''. Tim discovers he has some toast and marmalade in his pocket, ''I don't think you'd better eat it dear, it's covered in fuzzy bits''. of course we musn't forget little George ''Don't do that''. The lovely songs are here too, such as 'Stately As A Galleon', 'The Women On The Bus', 'Three Brothers', 'Time' and many more. Everything about this 2 DVD set is lovely, i even think it is lovely, when Joyce, (who never drank alcohol) is content, to have a sip of water between monologues, ''must have a drink of water, it is water'', one of my best friends met Joyce years ago at a party and said how lovely she was. Joyce represents an England that was a much nicer place to live in, when people were kinder to each other. Joyce Grenfell was enchanting and this DVD is a must for all fans Joyce.

Joyful noise
In many ways, Joyce Grenfell represents another age - one of comedy in post-war Britain. But watching Joyce properly for the first time (I'd only seen the excellent Mureen Lipman in Re:Joyce before), I couldn't help feeling slightly shocked by how fresh the material is. I suspect this is because Joyce's observations are exceptionally sharp; and they just go to show that, essentially, people don't change. There's the neurotic and over-analysing Mrs Moss; the wile wife of a celebrity who knows exactly what her philandering husband is really up to; and the delinquent school child, Sidney, who's told: "don't shoot Neville - it's not nice." Of course, this is seeing the sketches through modern eyes, but the resonances are unmistakable. And if you like music, there are satirical jibs at opera, encores and amateur productions.

There are two DVDs included: the first is two 50-minute programmes from 1964, which are in black and white and the sound quality is a little aged (as you'd expect); the second disc contains four good quality, half-hour programmes from 1972. There is very little cross over in material between the two discs, so both contain gems.

Joyce said that the older she got, the more she understood why people were the way they were and, consequently, it became harder to be funny about them. It's the 30th anniversary of her death in 2009, but certainly her humour doesn't seem to diminish with age and, so, here's to decades more enjoyment from Grenfell monologues.