A Doll's House

I've seen more than one "Doll's House", and only recently discovered this gem, which makes the others pale in comparison. This version was short and to the point and didn't waste time with unnecessary scenes and talk. Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer are perfection as Nora and Torvald, and I also prefer Eileen Heckert as Kristine, Hume Cronyn as Krogstad and Jason Robards as Dr. Rank, to any of the other actors I've seen play these parts.

Julie says so much with just her expressions, like when it first dawns on her how Torvald really feels upon learning what she did, ready to condemn her without even considering her side of things, ready to toss her aside; then his abrupt about-face when he finds himself reprieved, ready to take her back again and forget the whole thing, as if she were family pet he'd thought of giving away rather than his wife. The look on her face when the truth about their relationship dawns on her was worth an Emmy.

Too bad they don't make Hallmark shows like they used to.

Long ago now before Hallmark started mass producing mind-numbing romance pablum their Hallmark Hall of Fame productions were the benchmark for quality television. Either well crafted new material or renditions of classics, such as this, which drew the highest caliber of talent which invariably became award magnets.

In this case, taking into consideration of the limitations of the time and the newness of filming in color, this is an accomplished production with a cast, Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Hume Cronyn, Jason Robards and Eileen Heckert, of staggering skill at work on one of the masterworks of literature.

The actors, particularly Julie Harris as Nora will knock your socks off.

I won't add much to what has already been written on this site except to say that it benefits from a dream cast for the time in which it was aired: 1959. Julie Christie, Christopher Plummer, Hume Cronyn, and Jason Robards. Wow! This was a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, made back when Hallmark sponsored truly high-quality theater for the small screen. Growing up in the 50s and 60s, my family never missed HHOF presentations. Today they are a pale imitation of the past, mostly rom-coms such as the kind that litter the Hallmark channel daily, churned out like those cheap romance novels. Sad situation to see a venerable series eviscerated in such a way. I disagree with two comments by another reviewer here: 1) the entire broadcast IS in color, and 2) it is not a kinescope film of a live broadcast. It is a color videotape of it. Kinescopes were used before the advent of videotape and were typically shot in black & white (like Peter Pan of 1956, shown in color but only available in B&W kinescope today, alas). Highly recommended.

The VHS release that I saw of this included an introduction by Richard Thomas, who played a bit part as one of Nora's kids.

There were also interviews with Robards, Plummer, Harris, and director Schaefer that are a bit more candid than one usually expects. For instance, Plummer and Robards got so hammered the night before the broadcast that they both showed up late for the dress rehearsal. Plummer even adds that he vaguely remembers being with a girl he'd picked up, but had probably been unable to "perform" with her.

Meanwhile, Robards and Harris can't help smirking a bit about Schaefer, who would regularly fall asleep in a wheelchair midway through rehearsals. He didn't *need* the wheelchair -- he simply didn't like walking!

In any case, the whole group came up with a first rate, streamlined version of the play. Harris is believably superficial and dishonest early on, and doesn't overplay her final act epiphany. Robards, who may well still have been drunk, has no trouble appearing "under the weather" but is also believably low-key in his hushed admissions of love.

Plummer is a bit too smooth, perhaps, as Torvald, the sometimes smug, sometimes insecure husband. Honestly, I kept thinking, "He's far too charismatic and attractive to play a moralizing, stick-in-the-mud banker."

Best of all is Hume Cronyn. As with everyone in this production, he's obviously (and wisely) been directed to steer clear of melodramatics. And even though, on paper, he's the least sympathetic character (a blackmailer), in performance he's the most understandable and convincing.

In all, this is better than the more familiar versions from the '70s (with Claire Bloom and Jane Fonda). Worth seeing if you can find it.

Christopher Plummer was in his 20s when he turned in this good performance in a movie that was aired and filmed live on TV in 1959. A younger Jason Robards also turns in a good performance in a smaller role. Without being downright good, the film is fairly good, and frankly, I'm glad the film still exists as it is not uncommon for live films from that era to be lost, destroyed, taped over, etc.