Life of Malcolm Sargent made fine documentary

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32568, 30 March 1971, Page 4

Life of Malcolm Sargent made fine documentary

Outstanding personalities in well-produced documentaries are nearly always far more interesting than the shadowy creatures of television fiction, and the “Omnibus” story of the life of Sir Malcolm Sargeant was a case in point. This Sunday night documentary was much more than a profile: it gave a very good, studied look at the famous conductor.

The 8.8. C. seems to be especially able with this sort of assignment There was a genuine attempt to see Sargent as he was, and not to romanticise too much. The sharply-varying sides of his personality came through clearly, m the clips of some of his concerts, in his own words, in the interviews with his former wife, his son, his colleagues and contempories. some of Sargent's own music was heard.

The excitment of the Proms, where Sargent seemed to hold the young people in the palm of his hand, could also be felt. And there was triumph with tragedy in his last appearance there, and his speech, when he knew he was very near death through cancer.

Richard Attenborough introduced the film and provided the narration. It was a competent job on a most interesting subject. * • « Whichever of the wonderful worlds of Disneyland comes to the screen, there is a uniformly high quality about the fare. They are first-class entertainment for youngsters —and often their parents. There is usually plenty of action, and virtue is nearly always triumphant The Gallegher stories of the last few weeks have been excellent. On Sunday, the likable young Gallegher was again surrounded by familiar TV personalities, among them Peter Graves and Dennis Weaver. * * *

Jennifer Comer’s mad-en-thusiasms for this and that took her into the field of domestic help, and it was by no means a bad comedy halfhour, although “Not In Front of The Children’’ sometimes has been a bit tiresome and very forced. “Domestic Help” was the better for the familiar face of Majorie Rhodes as the lugubrious Mrs Gumby, Jennifer’s first choice as a helping hand. Not that Mrs Gumby's hands allowed her to do very much—until she had a' rival, a modem young miss, country style. * ♦ *

This viewer is a firm admirer of the good, even quality of the “Dr Finlay’s Casebook” series, even If there are occasional problems with the language. But “Sweet Sorrow" was a little too contrived; everything fell too neatly into place at just the right moment.

As usual, there were two inter-related stories, one about the diabetic boy who ran away from home and a harsh, forbidding father and whose life was in jeopardy; the other about Mistress Niven, and her sale of a home-made cure-all, a sort of witch’s brew. Dr Cameron threatened her

with the traditional hair-brush treatment if she did not desist, and this was another challenge to the viewer’s power of make-believe, bearing in mind that Dr Cameron almost died recently from pneumonia. and the magnitude of the task presented by Mistress Niven’s ample lines.— PANDORA.