The Woman in White

I saw this 1978 BBC production when it was rebroadcast in the early 1980s on US television. (PBS, I think, or possibly A&E.) It has remained 'stuck' in my mind ever since.

From the understated elegance of the acting and production design to the fabulous adaptation of the original novel, this miniseries is and ought to be a classic. Walter Gerroll and Jenny Seagrove are incredible, and the gentleman who plays Count Fosco is as gently creepy as you could want-- but the one who really steals the show is Diana Quick. Strong and determined, she becomes more beautiful the better you get to know her. Seagrove has the 'looks,' but Quick has the character.

A wonderful series.

Its 28 years since I watched this excellent BBC serialisation, and its memory is still fresh in my mind, from Alan Badel's wonderfully sinister Count Fosco, Georgine Anderson's icy Madame Fosco to Ian Richardson as the languid valetudinarian Mr Fairlie.. and all the other excellent characterisations from the rest of the cast. My first reaction on viewing it was to regret not possessing a video recorder, my second was to purchase the book, which I still re-read with pleasure. Please, please BBC release this on DVD or, failing that, has anyone a VHS copy made at the time of screening? This otherwise rather stingy Scotsman (!) would happily part with his money to obtain a copy...that's how good I think it is.

PS Today, July 5, I have just discovered that a DVD of this series is now available on Amazon..I've already ordered my copy!!

It's interesting to compare this version with the later briefer one of 1997, since they are so different. The 1997 rendering is more concentrated and more efficient as a dramatization, focusing on the dramatic highlights of Marion confronting the expected patient at the asylum and finding someone else, and of the church fire scene, which is the dramatic finale of the book as well; but this so much longer version of 1982 is definitely better made. It sticks to the book, is more realistic, it preserves the wonderful Victorian literary style, making the language almost as enjoyable as Shakespeare, and above all, the actors are all so much more convincing, with Alan Badel unforgettable as the absolutely splendid villain Count Fosco is. Diana Quick makes an equally real and true Marian, and Daniel Gerroll is the perfect Walter Hartright.

There are many supreme moments in this dramatization, usually offered by the book, like Walter's surprising presence at the grave, how Anne Catherick is always accompanied by music which almost throughout for the rest is silent, except when Laura is softly playing, all the secondary characters like the church warden, Gilmore, the housemaid, while perhaps the most impressive presence of all, like in the book, is the stunning performance by Mrs Catherick in only the fifth and final episode (Pauline Jameson). John Shrapnel as the gross human failure of Sir Percival Glyde, a monster of a brute, is also perfect in his monstrosity, while Alan Badel as Count Fosco will remain the character you'll always remember with relish. Alan Badel was always phenomenally personal in his performances and always dominated the whole scene, and here more so than ever. This could be his very best performance.

On the whole, I must agree with most other reviewers, that this is the definite film version of perhaps the greatest thriller classic ever written.

Because I agree with most of the reviewers' comments already submitted, I have very little to say except that Wilkie Collins' book is beautifully constructed, well written and very re- readable. It is a tremendous challenge to adapt to a 3-4 hour format, but Ray Jenkins has met the task with minimal damage to the characterizations and intricate plot lines. Kudos to him, and to the producer & director, as well as actors. And appropriately moody music.

I did find Daniel Gerroll insipid at first as Walter, but he grows on you, and by about the third time I viewed this 1978/82 version (first broadcast in '78, rebroadcast in '82), I began to appreciate his performance very much. Seagrove, the marvelous Anna Wing (Mrs. Clements (and Pauline Jameson (Mrs. Catherick) are also excellent.

Yes, it's available as a Region 2 DVD, and because I bought a Region 2 player for $30, well worth it, to play "The Green Man," which is also on Region 2 only, I can play this one, too, but not all my classic-loving American/Canadian neighbors can, without making the player purchase or complicated adjustments to their Region 1 player.

The UK continues to create superior adaptations of classics, keeping its rich literary traditions alive in so doing, although later remakes of most classics are generally inferior to the ones created in the '70s and '80s, if you're interested in seeing a film remotely in line with what the authors intended..

This version of The Woman In White is so good. I wish it was available on DVD. The casting is great, the pacing exciting, the mystery will truly hold your interest. If you get a chance to see this one take it. The part of Count Fosco is so well cast. He is truly sinister. The two women that are supposed to look alike really do, and the part of the sister is played to perfection. The invalid uncle is played exactly like he is written so obviously a hypochondriac who only cares about himself. The other characters are equally well acted.

There is no comparison between this version and the later 1997 version. I watched the 1997 version when it was first broadcast on Master Piece Theater, thinking that it was a repeated showing of this one, but was greatly disappointed when I found that not only was it not the version I loved, but that it was a very poor retelling of the story.