Public Eye: No Orchids for Marker and Conclusions (Sylvia Coleridge Season)
'It wouldn't be Friday without the "Sylvia Coleridge Season" at Cult TV Blog,' said Mitchell at itsabouttv.com last week and so I hope he won't be disappointed that this is in fact the last post in my series of posts featuring the work of this actress. She also had quite a cinema output and there is also her tiny appearance on Victoria Wood as Seen on TV which I would recommend if anyone wants any more.
Delighted, of course, that she had a major role on a final series episode of Public Eye. In this series Marker has just made one of his periodic moves, this time to posh Chertsey in Surrey. He has a new office which magnificently still carries the last business's sign saying 'Apollo Aerials' and of course the constabulary quickly make his acquaintance because of his criminal record. I would note that Marker's locations tend to be either bohemian and down at heel (Brighton and Birmingham) or connected with English history or royalty (Windsor, and of course Chertsey is ancient itself and isn't far from Runnymede); in those places his rather scruffy persona contrasts magnificently with the setting.
That is certainly the case in this episode because Mrs Alexander, an elderly old colonial, employs him to safeguard her collection of orchids which she thinks are being interfered with or stolen. This he does; I have to say it's not really mentioned as part of the plot but he really doesn't keep an eye on them very well. His mission is to sit in the conservatory with the orchids overnight, but he falls asleep in the heat. At one point an intruder steps over him and he only finds out because the intruder drops something and wakes him up. It turns out that the intruders are after something quite different from the orchids and a whole mystery is revealed which isn't apparent to anyone at the start.
The episode has a magnificent film noir feel to it. Much of the beginning is dominated by a thunder storm and so many scenes take place at night or else in Mrs Alexander's darkened room. I like the atmosphere of this one hugely.
Sylvia Coleridge of course plays Mrs Alexander to perfection. It is one of the lowest-key roles I have seen her in and she performs the indomitable old colonial very quietly. Of course she had the advantage of growing up in British India and so had met many an elderly old colonial in her time.
There is a possible criticism of this episode that you will either like the ending or find it utterly disappointing, but that's built into the design and I like this episode hugely.
Conclusions on This Series of Posts
SInce I have started doing these themed series of posts I have noted that they always tend to get out of hand. I start off with about 6 or 12 shows in mind to blog about and suddenly these series go on for months and take over my life. Perhaps the series of posts on orphaned episodes was the best example, although this series is no different and this is the seventeenth blog post I have written about Sylvia Coleridge's TV output!
She has revealed herself to be a more versatile actress than I would have expected her to be (and in fact performed some Shakespeare); before actively seeking out her work I had only encountered her in her more eccentric roles. I am also struck by the very slight roles she took on, despite being an immediately recognisable actress. I am afraid that her active period was right at the height of wiping TV in the UK and so IMDb lists many roles which I would love to see but in shows which no longer exist in any form.
As a result of this series of posts, Artemis 81 is now sitting on my hard drive, when I had never seen it before. I was pleased to see another episode of Cluff, and also to revisit The Lotus Eaters which it has been some years since I watched and which I had managed to forget.
This series of posts has been an interesting exercise in getting a better acquaintance with an actor's work and as always acquainted me with some things I wouldn't otherwise have discovered.
Image credit: publiceye1965-1975.uk which is a great resource on the series.
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