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Seventy years after the young Wendy Hiller starred as Eliza Doolittle in "Pygmalion," it is stunning to see her act the part of an old woman in "All Passion Spent," a three-episode version of a Vita Sackville-West novel. She was still beautiful, still a splendid actress. I won't attempt to summarize the story but the TV program is filled with English actors whose faces you will recognize even if you don't know their names. Particularly effective is Harry Andrews, as a wealthy elderly eccentric who fell in love with Dame Wendy's character decades earlier, though they met only fleetingly. Also noteworthy is Jane Snowden as the great-granddaughter who is inspired to follow her own path in life by her great-grandmother's example. Although she lived to be 91, Dame Wendy was only in her mid-70's when this series was made; her character is in her mid-80's.

Lady Slane faces an uncertain future, when her husband, a politician dies. Her children discuss taking her in, but Lady Slane decides to move to Hampstead, there she strikes up a friendship with a man she once knew in India.

A quality, captivating drama series, almost perfect in every detail. The story, not particularly grand or bold, but a study of human nature, contentment, happiness, greed and much more. Visually it's terrific, nobody did costume drama like The BBC, and best of all, the acting.

I loved the family, they really are a scheming, greedy and conniving lot.

Wendy Hiller gives a terrific performance, what a talented actress, her scenes with Harry Andrews, and her grasping family unit in particular are terrific.

Wonderful performances throughout, Harry Andrews and Denholm Elliot are great, but Hilary Mason is a joy, so often she played vinegary spinsters, nice to see her playing a much sweeter part, she's delightful.

Definitely worth getting the DVD, it's one of those you can watch over and over.

8/10.

This 3-part production is the most perfect thing I've ever seen on television - the writing, acting, direction, locations, costumes, etc are faultless. Episode two, where Lady Slane learns that Mr Fitzgeorge fell in love with her when they were young, but never revealed his love, is a triumph, and reduces me to tears every time I watch it. Why this series isn't available on commercial release is a mystery, because they just don't get any better than this.

Everything about this production is first-class. Interesting story, fine actors, realistic sets - all combine to make this a believable story. We have watched our own tape annually for 15 years and enjoy it more each time - the true test of any film. It is the finest thing we've ever seen on TV. Why has it never been released?

I saw it when it came out in the eighties and I have it in vivid memory as an extraordinary experience. The quiet telling of an intriguing life, and the very way the story unfolds. Wendy Hiller does excellent work here and the gallery around her is the true British tradition of character description. It is one of the very few cases, where I went out and bought the book, and the book disappointed me. It is one of my highest priorities as a DVD and it is crying shame, if this mini series is forgotten. The story begins at the funeral of her husband and her consequent decision to live out the rest of her days according to her own wishes after a long life as the wife of a very successful politician. Prime minister and viceroy of India among his accomplishments. We get retrospective insights in her perception of this life, but the very amusing part is the description of her family's reaction to her buying a house on Hampstead Heath and not wishing visits from anybody below 40! With on exception, a granddaughter, whom the family subsequently tries to bully unto spying! This story is sheer delight, and i sincerely hope to see it on DVD soon

"All Passion Spent" is one of the finest dramas ever produced for television. The casting was a triumph with some of Britain's best character actors. Dame Wendy Hiller was perfect in her quiet, dignified, yet resolute portrayal of Lady Sloan. Maurice Denham's eccentric Mr. Bucktrout will always be one of my favorite supporting roles. This film was one of my all time favorites and never failed to give my spirit a lift and help me "consider the lilies of the field". We lost our copy in an accident a few years ago and I fear I will never have the opportunity to view this magnificent film again.

"All Passion Spent" is based upon a novel by Vita Sackville-West published in 1931. Henry Holland, 1st Earl of Slane, distinguished elder statesman, is dead. Although Lord Slane was a prominent member of the British establishment, a former Prime Minister and Viceroy of India- a double not achieved by any one person in real life- he was originally from a humble social background in Huddersfield and possessed little private wealth. His elderly widow, Lady Slane, therefore decides that she cannot afford to keep up their grand house in central London. Where, therefore, should she live? Her children decide that she should come and live with them, but Lady Slane has other ideas. She decides to rent a cottage in Hampstead, today one of London's most fashionable and expensive areas but evidently something of a backwater in the 1930s, where she can live alone with her maidservant.

It has been said that every generation rebels against its parents and makes common cause with its grandparents. Lady Shane, by contrast, rebels against her children and makes common cause, not with her grandchildren (none of whom appear) but with her great-granddaughter Deborah. , whom she sees as a kindred spirit. Deborah is engaged to marry the son of a Duke, but she does not really love him and would rather pursue a musical career. Lady Shane feels that she has spent her entire life as mere footnote in her husband's life, and has basked in his glory without achieving anything of note herself; she wants to save Deborah from a similar fate.

It is easy to see why Lady Slane and her children do not always see eye to eye. Most of them, especially her eldest son Herbert, are pompous, stuffy and money-grubbing. The one exception is one of her younger sons, Kay, a gentle and reclusive bachelor who lives alone with his collection of antiques. Through Kay, Lady Slane meets his friend Mr FitzGeorge, whom she knew during her days in India, who was secretly in love with her. Lady Slane and FitzGeorge renew their acquaintance and become firm friends. When he dies, he leaves her his fortune, which includes many valuable works of art. The question then arises of what she will do with this unexpected legacy.

The series features some well-known names of the British acting profession. Some of the casting seems at first sight eccentric; Lady Slane and FitzGeorge, both opposed to being their mid-eighties are played by Wendy Hiller and Harry Andrews, both in their mid-seventies at the time. Hiller was only ten years older than Graham Crowden as Herbert, even though they were supposed to be playing mother and son. It is possible that the programme-makers were unable to find any actors in their eighties, but I feel that it is also possible that this casting may have been deliberate. Lady Slane is of course physically older than her children, but mentally she and FitzGeorge seem younger than them, and the casting of actors younger than the roles they are playing may be a way of stressing this. FitzGeorge is a generation older than Kay, but the two seem more like contemporaries.

The standard of acting is high, with good performances coming from all those mentioned in the previous paragraph. (The one performance I did not like was from Eileen Way was Lady Slane's French maid Genoux, too much the caricature of the "funny foreigner"). I did, however, have a problem with the series. When I read the book, I felt it was one of those novels which was all talk and little action, and it never really struck me as being a suitable subject for a television adaptation. Even less did it strike me as suitable for serialisation as a three-part mini-series as opposed to a one-off drama of, say, sixty to ninety minutes. It is perhaps not surprising that the series as made, extending to three hours, struck me as too drawn out and slow-moving. The title is perhaps appropriate. The whose thing seemed rather devoid of any passion. 6/10.

I agree with the others who say that All Passion Spent should be made available commercially, I vote for a DVD. It has stayed with me since I saw it on Masterpiece Theatre in the '80s. It is a perfect piece. The performances, the cinematography, the music, and the sometimes poetic script combine to provide a very affecting experience. I have an old tape that I made from TV, it isn't very good quality and each time I watch it I worry that it is going to disintegrate. While on a tour of Hampstead, I came across the house that was used in the film as the house that Lady Slane bought, it was quite exciting. I pray that somehow this moving, gentle, inspiring work of art will be re-issued, so that it can be enjoyed again by the many who love it and enrich the lives of those who have yet to see it.

All Passion Spent... A class act!

This 30-year-old masterpiece wears well even (especially?) today (2017) and as another reviewer writes "is the most perfect thing I've ever seen on television"! The haggling over the rent at the end of episode one is a sublime piece of theatre!

WARNING! The action moves at a steady canter but the horses are old... VERY old! However, the pedigree of this harras is drawn from the very highest stock that British acting can offer. Actually, the youthful and beautiful Jane Snowden does a turn as the granddaughter (She reminds me of Koo Stark) but everyone else is a well-worn valuable antique of English social class, manners and propriety!

Set in the London area, between the two world wars, recently widowed Lady Slane frustrates her family by moving to a home on Hampstead Heath to enjoy her remaining years, to reflect on her past and finally learn to 'be herself', after a long life as a devoted and socially correct wife.

Her kids disappoint her but Lady Slane patiently wades through their dreadful behaviour as she seeks to take control of her own life. In the third act, events take over and as in all good telly, the baddies get what's coming to them and the goodies end up rewarded.

There is lots of humour here but it is all to be found in studying the reactions of players as events unfold or dialogue is spoken to them. These subtle, unspoken performance gems elevate this production beyond mere 'drama'. And Genoux (tireless working actress - Eileen Way) is a treat as Lady Slane's French maid and companion, who has served Lady Slane her entire adult life.

This BBC offering is a genuinely 'class act' in every sense of the word!

This DVD IS available on Amazon for those saying they cannot find it. I have had it for almost two years now. We watch it often. This short series is a real gem. The chosen settings are perfect. Dame Wendy is über perfection in this role, as are Maurice Denham (Bucktrout)and Harry Andrews (Fitzgeorge). I particularly liked Maurice as Mr. Bucktrout and his friend Mr. Gosheron, so wonderfully played by David Waller. In fact, what a cast! Every now and again a cast meshes amazingly well and this is one of those times. Not a flaw anywhere. The wisdom and depth of Sackville-West's wonderful book shines through in this adaptation. It is pure joy to watch.

This film/TV series should be in commercial release and I, too, as do the other viewers commenting online, wonder why it has not been made available. I have looked for it now for about five years. The production is memorable, and should be remembered. This plot is a perfect one for Steven Spielberg for a large screen movie production. I can just imagine what he would do with the plot involving the lives of "senior" just as he has done with other specified groups. It would be a blockbuster. I recently have re-read the book which, on the jacket, mentions the TV series. The author is Vita Sackville-West, and given the popularity of the genre at this time, I would encourage an issuing of this tape as there would be good market viability.

Lady Slane (Wendy Hiller) spent all her life being an et ux. She enjoyed being the wife of the viceroy, a mother, and a leader of charities. However, when her husband died, she finally, against her children's wishes, had time to contemplate her life, what it could have been, and what it will be.

She moves into a smaller house that she had seen 30 years before. Now she strikes up a friendship with people such as the house owner, the craftsman repairing the house, and others.

Unknown to her is a friend of one of her sons, who knew her 60 years ago in India. He relived the time and she realized that they both had a great depth that was not required of them at the time, forming a unique friendship.

We get the privilege of watching Lady Slane make her discoveries and the reaction to this by the family. Of particular interest is her great-granddaughter is now on the cusp of making the same life choice that Lady Slane succumbed to.

Based on the novel by Vita Sackville-West, "All Passion Spent" we see a lot of Vita's real-life parallels. The screen adaptation is by Peter Buckman. This film has that BBC quality.

Colin Rogers had the direction skills needed to allow some of the greatest actors in the country to do their subtle best. Harry Andrews and Wendy Hillier - and everyone else - exemplify how crucial superb actors and great script writing can work. For instance, when Lady Slane shares a Hampstead bench with Fitzgeorge (Hiller and Andrews) they gently discover their past; it is magical and moving. And when Wendy Hiller watches Maurice Denham - who is unaware of her being there - do his little dance in the hallway of the Hampstead house it is thrilling. The entire team - costumes, props, photography, lighting - demonstrates the richness of insight and the interpretation of what must have been a superb shooting script. Words are not always the only thing, but they are the important start to drama, and Peter Buckman adapted Vita Sackville West's novel with grace and charm and insight. This magnificent and moving three part drama has all the ingredients in place; I cannot imagine it being better done.

I can get a Region 1 DVD of "All Passion Spent",but as I am in Region 2 that is not much use to me.I don't want to "hack" my DVD player in case it all goes pear shaped,and I don't want to pay out for a multi region player either. Has anyone heard any rumours if it might come out on a Region 2 disc? It really is annoying that a BBC production like this is only available in Region 1. BTW nobody has been able to explain(logically) to me WHY we NEED so many regions for DVD's. All this is doing is preventing me from seeing a production(and a British one at that). I did ring Acorn Media UK,but they could only tell me what I knew already,namely that it was Region 1 only.They couldn't say WHY it was not available in Region2!

Wendy Hiller is a favorite, wonderfully showcased here. TV is regarded a writers medium but take note of director Martin Friend's filmography. He has a large number of successful projects, many now found on YT, as I found this in 2019. Remarkable career!

I watched this for the first time in 2024 knowing nothing about the series or the book on which it is based. I was gripped from the start principally because Wendy Hillier is mesmerising. I wanted to meet her. Also outstanding is the great granddaughter. But most of the characters are intriguing. The only one who seemed out of place was the French Maid who seemed like a mix of several characters from Allo Allo.

It's the kind of series you want to tell everyone about because is so good. While it does look like something from the 1980s it covers themes which have not dated and somehow I think it may handle them better than might be done today.