Dulcima

I saw this film 20 years ago on with my friends. It is a wonderful film we still talk about it today with great fondness. This comedy starring John Mills is a credit to both the actors and the extremely talented Director Frank Nesbitt. We always wished to see this film again but although we all remembered this film in great detail as it is such a memorable film, the characters especially, John Mills who played Mr Parker we could not remember the title of the film. After all this time I am so happy I have finally found out the title. Dulcima is one of these masterpieces you should not miss. I will now find this film on D.V.D and I cannot wait to see the delight on my friend faces when it starts to play

Enchanting in the way it accurately depicts the Gloucestershire countryside, towns and villages (Minchinhampton, Tetbury, etc.) 50 or so years ago. Enchanting too in the acting by all involved - the much missed Dudley Foster giving a compelling cameo as Symes and even Kristin Hatfield delights as the assistant in the dress shop. Johnny Douglas's score and recurring theme is just right for the characters and the locations.

Yet disturbing in its climax which comes as a shock but which captures the counterpoint between rural charm and human frailty. An underrated gem from Frank Nesbitt.

I recall seeing this movie by chance on TV many years ago and have been hoping that one day it will be shown again, or at least available to hire or purchase. Without repeating the plot or the other useful comments already posted, I'll just say that this film left a lasting impression on me. I wouldn't call it a comedy, it was much more than that; although there were some amusing scenes, I remember it primarily as a portrayal of off-the-beaten-track country life with ultimately a tangle of emotions and a tragic, moving ending. John Mill's portrayal of the lonely farmer, whose state went from sober to legless and soft to nasty, was excellent. Yet I submit that the star of the film was Carol White, whose moving performance as the simple and comely country girl confirmed her talents that had first come to public notice in Cathy Come Home.

Dulcima," based on a story by H. E. Bates, is a new English film about pastoral passions of the sort that I associate with D. H. Lawrence, perhaps because the story's catalytic agent is a dopey gamekeeper who doesn't look as if he'd spent much time outside.

A stingy old farmer named Mr. Parker (John Mills), a widower with an attic-full of crumpled banknotes, falls in love with his young housekeeper Dulcima (Carol White), who comes to work for him because she feels sorry for him, and then stays on because she fancies both him and his money. Dulcima is earthy, a bit avaricious and essentially good. She doesn't mind a roll in the hayloft with Mr. Parker, but when she falls in love with the gamekeeper (Stuart Wilson), she decides to move out. It is a really great film, not to be missed.

http://bobmeades-ivil.tripod.com/id13.html

This wonderful film captures a time gone by when county life in rural England had hardly changed since the Second World War. John Mills, plays Mr Parker, a drunken farmer, living on his own in total squalor. His farm though, is stuffed full of his money. It's hidden in every conceivable place, under the floorboards, inside the toilet cistern and even in the lining of his Trilby hat. Dulcima, a twenty something year old, played by Carol White, lives on an adjacent farm and is down trodden by her brute of a father, played by Bernard Lee. She is expected to do everything in the house while he sits happily on his backside complaining about her all the time. Longing to escape this drudgery, she dreams of meeting and falling in love with a handsome stranger, who will sweep her of her feet and take her away from it all.

By chance one day, Mr Parker is returning home in his beat up old Land Rover from a trip to the pub. Drunk as a lord, he clips the baby's pram that Dulcima had just been pushing. Intent on giving him a good piece of her mind she strides up to the farm to confront him. Unfortunately she finds he's crashed out in a drunken stupor on the floor. Seeing the state he's in and the farm, she decides to straighten both out and immediately begins by cleaning the kitchen, much to the bewilderment of Mr Parker when he finally sobers up. The relationship between them, then begins to grow, with very amusing consequences as she tries to get him to part with some of his money while he tries to get her to bed.

John Mills made, at roughly the same time 'The Family Way' which was a huge success. It also stared his daughter Hayley Mills along with Hywel Bennett. Another very fine film of John's in indeed.

Carol White made two excellent hard hitting social films for TV in the late 60's, 'Poor Cow' and 'Cathy Come Home', both available on DVD, showing what a superb young actress she was at the time. Sadly she died in 1991 from a liver disease.

Dulcima is a very delightful film that to my knowledge has only been screened once on British TV. I have a fading copy on Betamax, but would love to have a crisp clean copy of it on DVD. I live in hope!

I'd just like to add here that since I posted this review Frank Nesbitt the Director contacted me thanking me for my comments regarding his film and also kindly sent me a DVD copy of 'Dulcima' for which I will be forever grateful.