Another success for Angela Down

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32959, 4 July 1972, Page 4

Another success for Angela Down

Avril may be the least attractive of the principals of “Take Three Girls,” but Angela Down makes her even more interesting a personality than Kate, or Victoria, and probably gives a more convincing performance than Susan Jameson or Liz Goddard. Not that there are any complaints about them; all three have contributed to the success of the series.

The story line of “Sweet Basil’’ on Sunday evening was simplicity itself — Avril applying for a secretarial job, and being offered by her new boss the chance of a year’s art studies, because her employer, the quaintlynamed Mr Britch, was an admirer of the arts. But it was sufficient material for Angela Down to present a delightful, sometimes touching study of Avril, at 18 outwardly tough, certainly rough of speech, suspicious, essentially practical, determined to make her way in the world and not spend her time “messing about with pencils.” Julia Jones’s script gave Avril some penetrating observations on the human race which were very much in sympathy with her principal proclamation: “I just wanna be on me own.”

But Avril, it seems, is destined for Paris, art studies, and the flat belonging to Doris Bostock, the amiable lady she was supposed to replace in Mr Britch’s office. Miss Bostock (Ruth Dunning) and Mr Britch (Tenniel Evans) the man with no talent as an artist but a deep admiration for those who had it, were both well drawn. It is a feature of “Take Three Girls” that the supporting roles have been given such depth and conviction.

For the rest, it was just an average Sunday evening. The Walt Disney series is consistently good. “Comanche” was no doubt enjoyed by older viewers as well as children. The lead is played by a magnificent horse, trained to an astonishing level of ability. A meditation written by Peter Cape, “A City is a Person” took on a well-explored theme, but there was some beautiful photography, especially in the opening minutes, to complement Cat Stevens’s “Morning Has Broken.”

The “Des O’Connor Show” was bright and tuneful, but “Dad’s Army” was not on its best behaviour. The desert sequences were delightful, but in general this episode was lame and forced. The evening ended with an invigorating German film in mime, “Do You Like Mozart”—a wildly imaginative battle between jazz and the classics, notable for some fresh comic touches, a great amount of rousing jazz playing, some brilliant dancing, and skilful photography. —PANDORA.