English actress Brenda Blethyn will be starring in the upcoming film Fools, which sounds interesting: “England, 1553 – Queen Mary I‘s reign begins amid unrest across the country. Cardinal Pole vies for control of power, but it is Jane Foole, a humble jester, who becomes his most unlikely of stumbling blocks.” I’ve followed her career for some time, but I associate her more with modern-set working-class British films. Looking her up, I was surprised to find she’s done more historical films and TV shows than I realized! So let’s count ’em down.
As always, there are a few I can’t find images of:
- Mary Magdalene/Mary in The Mysteries (1985-86)<
- Rose in Maigret (1992-93)
- Gwen in Screen One: “The Bullion Boys” (1993)
Otherwise, here’s Blethyn in our frock flicks world!
Mary in Play for Today: The Imitation Game (1980)
“A young woman involved in secret work during World War II finds herself in difficulties, and maybe even danger – from her own side” per IMDB.
Lady Froth in The Double Dealer (1980)
A 1693 comic play; I’m assuming this was a “staged play shown on TV”?
Cordelia in King Lear (1982)
A BBC TV airing of the Shakespeare play.
Joan la Pucelle in The First Part of Henry the Sixth (1983)
Another BBC filmed staging. Joan la Pucelle is Joan of Arc!
Ticki Tocquet in Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987)
A bit part as the governess of very rich future socialite Barbara Hutton.
Mrs. Maclean in A River Runs Through It (1992)
Two boys grow up in Montana between World War I through the 1920s, and apparently they’re really into fly fishing.
Louella Parsons in RKO 281 (1999)
A film about the making of Citizen Kane (1941). Parsons was, of course, the famous gossip columnist.
Auguste Rottgen-van Pels in Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001)
The mother of the family that moves in with the Frank family while in hiding.
Aggie in The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
An Englishman goes to Borneo and becomes romantically involved with an indigenous woman. I think Blethyn plays the mother of his wife?
Polly Cassotto in Beyond the Sea (2004)
A musical biopic about singer/actor Bobby Darin. Polly was Darin’s grandmother and taught him music.
Nesta Pett in Piccadilly Jim (2004)
A romantic comedy based on a 1917 Wodehouse novel, but whose costumes and settings meld the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s. “An American with a scandalous reputation on both sides of the Atlantic must do an about-face in order to win back the woman of his dreams,” per IMDB.
Mrs. Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005)
She played the tragic hausfrau version of Elizabeth’s mother in this crappy adaptation of the Jane Austen classic novel.
Grace Turner in Atonement (2007)
A sad, sad movie about People With Issues in 1930s-40s England. Grace is love interest Robbie’s mother and the rich family’s housekeeper.
Márja Dmitrijewna Achrosímowa in War & Peace (2007)
Aka Marya, “relative of Count Rostov and matchmaker.”
What’s your favorite of Brenda Blethyn’s historical roles?
I saw “The Mysteries” live, then when it was filmed for Channel 4. Brilliant ensemble piece – all the actors played multiple parts in a story running literally from the Creation to Doomesday! Brenda Blethyn was particularly moving as Mary – the Nativity scene was wonderful. You can see the whole thing on YouTube, though the quality’s not brilliant: https://youtu.be/OzIrZIXaozc?si=X49elE2Kopbl6EOl
Costumes ranged from modern work clothes to a sort of simplified “mediaeval”, so you haven’t missed a lot in terms of frocks. But the show was amazing.
I felt her Mrs Bennett was one of the few redeeming features of P&P meets Wuthering Heights – more nuanced than Alison Steadman. But I couldn’t sit through that film again for any money!
I agree about her Mrs Bennett. I’m not really a fan of cartoon character versions of this character, and I think she did a great job of portraying a believable version of the silly woman she was.
I actually enjoyed her as Mrs. Bennett in P&P. It wasn’t bad. They really didn’t let her freak flag fly though. Not my favorite adaptation, but I felt it was, at least, a pretty film.
I like her and think she is a wonderful actress, but I can’t stand her Mrs. Bennet. I find both her and Alison Steadman’s interpretation are too strident and annoying even for this particular character. In addition, they present her as almost slovenly, putting her feet on the furniture, her hair always rather messy…like all the other women in Pride and Prejudice and Pigs. Love her In the early episodes of Vera and the film Secrets and Lies. Not flock flicks but good acting.
Brenda’s servant outfit in Atonement is appropriate to the period and her station. She gets nothing!
She is brilliant as Vera, but alas, it’s not a FF!
I did like her performance in A River Runs Throught it. The film has a great cast. There is not much fishing actually, and it’s 100% accurate for the time period.
I must see Picidilly Jim, it looks like a fun romp!
I don’t think the 2005 version was crappy. I thought it was pretty good, with some memorable moments. My only real issue with the film was the presentation of the Bennet family as middle-class, when they were actually upper-class, aside from Mrs. Bennet.
I adore Brenda! She’s just a gem — I hope they make her a dame soon.
If I could, I would dress as her Cordelia in that exact same Goth-adjacent Elizabethan costume EVERY FRIGGIN’ DAY of my life.