A Widow’s Mite

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32379, 19 August 1970, Page 3

A Widow’s Mite

Tbe main item on Monday evening’s viewing agenda was “In Loving Memory Of”, in the “Half Hour Story” ser- : ies.lt was probably not everyone’s cup of'tea. Ewart Alexander’s script was probably saying merely that happiness is a fleeting thing. It was an interestihg study in the emotions of two women whose husbands were killed in a motor accident. Virginia McKenna, who made some fine films, notably “A Town Like Alice,” played the younger woman, whose marriage had been idyllic. Margaret Rawlings was the widow whose marriage had begun just as happily but had steadily deteriorated. And she came to tell the other woman that the unhappy husband had, in fact, committed suicide on the highway and had killed the other qian. It was a difficult subject to handle, but it was pretty well done. There were moments when it threatened to become very stagey, and perhaps it was a little on the maudlin side. But Margaret Rawlings, with her relentless self-flagellation, did not overplay her part and held the piece in firm control. *# . #

“Bewitched” shut its broom cupboard on Monday night, with another piece of nonsense neither better nor worse than those of the last few weeks. Viewers will feel it is of more consequence that “Wojeck” ended last

evening. And Monday’s Sherlock Holmes story was very run-of-the-mill top. * • * “Beggar My Neighbour” d|d not seem to have- a great deal to recommend it, but it was worth watching. Tbe British have a flair for the domestic comedy and while the developments of, “No Bed Of Roses” were very predictable, this comedy did not aim too high and-.succeeded quite admirably. Reg Varney’s clipped speech and East Endtype humour contributed rpost to a lighthearted halfhour, but Priscilla Morgan weighed in beautifully with her little part as the director of the marriage guidance service. ! : * * ♦ There are few television highlights in the next day or two, although for many the end of “Mission: Impossible” will be regarded as one. There are two new afternoon shows tomorrow and on Friday. The beginning of a repeat series from the famous Black and White Minstrels. An important documentary, "The Violent Universe,” starts on Friday evening and a new comedy series “Father, Dear Father” on Saturday night.

.Most Sunday afternoon viewers will enjoy the musical show, “Here’s Peggy Fleming,” and in the evening, there is the first of 13 parts of “Civilisation,” an outstanding documentary in which Lord Clark talks about contemporary art as a guide to the history of European civilisation. —PANDORA.