Sir Percy Blakeney, Chauvelin, and heoism...

[fajrdrako]

I love The Scarlet Pimpernel. One of the most romantic books ever written; one of the most romantic movies ever made. I like the Anthony Andrews version (with Ian McKellen as Chauvelin) best, which tends to horrify the Leslie Howard fans - which is okay, since Leslie Howard is wonderful and I like that version too. I hated the Richard E. Grant Pimpernel, but can't completely discount that version because Martin Shaw, Elizabeth McGovern, Denise Black and Jamie Bamber were all so good that it compensated for having a dead-loss Pimpernel.

Sir Percy Blakeney is one of the literary progenitors of Francis Crawford of Lymond, which would appeal even if he had nothing else going for him. But he does. All that muted heroism, all that deception and being misjudged... Ahhh. He's yet another heroic con man of the style I love so much.

So why am I happy that when I do the "Which character are you in The Scarlet Pimpernel meme, I get the villain? Well, maybe because Chauvelin is such a wonderful villain, so beautifully charismatic when done by McKellen or Shaw, such a Grey Eminence powerhouse....




This test brought to you by Blakeney Manor.

Find out:Which Scarlet Pimpernel character are you?

Cool beans!

(Later, you become Magneto and square off in a really big chess game against Patrick Stewart, which leads to some serious re-grouping and you decide to mend your evil ways and travel back to the time of Middle Earth where you become Gandalf the Grey and help all the little people.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And, I add, earlier you were a curly-haired Professional who got to shoot big guns and run a lot and hang out with Bodie, the best partner ever.

Comments

[gillo]

The characters are wonderful, though Orczy's writing sets my teeth on edge at times (Why is Sir Percy

always

"inane"?)Chauvelin is a cool villain, though, if not quite in the Reid Malet league...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Now, there's a challenge for you - Chauvelin vs Gabriel - who would take over Scotland first?

[gillo]

It depends if Lymond or Blakeney was opposing them. Lymond would so beat Blakeney into a cocked hat. *g*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And he'd take the hat, too!

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

I have seen the Scarlet Pimpernel musical on Broadway (FABULOUS!) and in Boston (not so good, they had the nerve to edit out an entire song and bits of other songs to bring the length down so we could all get home before the Boston trains shut down.) Oddly enough, the Scarlet Pimpernel was played by the character's understudy in the Broadway production, a last-minute substitution when the lead went down with flu, and he was incredible, what a voice! I can't imagine the role being played better by the original actor! Just so very alive and lively and bouncing with joy and mischief, a GREAT SP and a droll Sir Percy. I wish I could remember the guy's name. Looked a lot like John Barrowman, but I don' think it was him.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I have the CD of the show but I've never, to my sorrow, seen the Broadway musical version. And I hope to. Someday, somehow. And I was just thinking - wouldn't Barrowman be wonderful in that role?

I love that thought!

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Man, we need a movie version of the musical, and we need Barrowman to play the lead. Oscars (tm) for all!!!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'd love it.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

There's a musical? Oh my god. :( I need it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes. I don't know about the rest, but the music is fun.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Gotta love the internet: Bryan Batt was the understudy who shone bright as a replacement Sir Percy/Pimpernel. I found the "official" Broadway site and they had all the cast lists for every version of the show, including understudies, and I recognized his name immediately.

Also, the savage editing I witnessed was due to vast changes made in the show in an attempt to make it more popular, as it foundered quite a bit. There are in fact four distinct versions/reworkings of the show: it seems I saw SP2 on Broadway if I saw the version with Batt.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I looked Bryan Batt up online and he looks terrific.

More popular? I'd heard the show was tremendously popular on Broadway; must be just that my circle of Pimpernel-loving friends loved it. Four versions? I want to see them all!

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

You are Sir Andrew Ffoulkes!

The Scarlet Pimpernel's right arm, you are brave, trustworthy, and reliable. You are loyal to your friends in the League and never shirk a good adventure. You are just so spiffing that if you were a Boy Scout, you'd have made Eagle by now. You don't mind a little mud and dirt, but enjoy a good
meal and a bath.

Kudos to you!


I am going to spiff now!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[elebridith]

I haven't read the book yet, but the CD of the musical is on my to-buy-list. Would love to see the whole thing, but sadly it's one of those you rarely get to see...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I should reread the book. I'd already seen at least two movie versions when I read it. It's old-fashioned but there's so much about it that I loved... I read a number of the sequels, too. Loved the setting and the tone.

As for the Broadway show - on Sunday F. Murray Abraham was talking about how the immediate and ephemeral qualities of live theatre was part of its pleasure, and that's true, but there's a flip side to that: that if you don't get to go to a production, if you can't get to London or Toronto or New York to see these things - you're pretty much out of luck because when it's over, it's over. And each production is unique.

I did see the non-musical stage play, and found it very boring.

[cynthia1960.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Anthony Andrews. Mmmmm. Ian McKellen.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Delicous stuff.

[colliemommie.livejournal.com]

That is my go-to movie for being depressed. I just love it. Bruce thinks it's incredibly silly, but :P to him.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Silly? NOt at all! It's brilliant.

[maisedoat.livejournal.com]

Put me down as a Leslie Howard fan. Which is odd in a way, because the books - which I devoured as a kid - all stress how tall and powerfully built he is. sigh.

I wrote my first ever fic as a prequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel - ah me, long ago and far away.

I saw a stage play in London with, of all people, Donald Sinden in and he was actually rather good. I don't remember who Marguerite was but she was required to sing and missed the note completely. Bet she hopes no one who saw that remembers - heheheheheh

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Funny, I never really noticed (or thought about) the discrepancy between the way Sir Percy looks and the way Leslie Howard looks. He was so convincing!

I wrote my first ever fic as a prequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel - ah me, long ago and far away.

Is it online? Is it somewhere I can read it?

I'd like to see Pimpernel in a really good production. Maybe someday!

[maisedoat.livejournal.com]

Luckily, my Pimpernel fiction remains firmly in my head - just as well since I provided him with a twin brother, a tragic first marriage and an abusive father. Well I was only 12 at the time.

Where are all the 6 foot tall, sensitive, gorgeous actors?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ah, the imaginary Pimpernel! I have a few of those in my head, too. Guilty secrets and no torture or bribery could tear them out of me.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Richard Morant, who plays Max Robespierre in it, played Our Boy in the BBC version of The Talisman (1980-81).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Interesting cross-casting. I wonder if there was a train of thought there?

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

He played a few 'smarmy baddies' at the time. Which is, alas, how Walter Scott portrayed Conrad…

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

We have agreed that Sir Walter Scott was a know-nothing idiot who shouldn't have been meddling with history! He couldn't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Sexist, too.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

The sexism doesn't leap out at me, no more than any other novelist of his time.

But he shouldn't have been nasty about Conrad…

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

Richard Morant - wasn't he in Poldark?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, he played Dr Enys (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0603082/). You're good!

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

I **loved** him in that!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I loved just about everything about Poldark.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I loved him as Conrad in The Talisman, despite his being supposed to be the villain. It led to my getting to know, and falling in love with, the real Conrad. The ironic twist is: I found him more attractive than the ostensible hero in The Talisman because he was dark and the latter was blond, and because he tapped into my h/c complex. In 2005, I discovered that the real Conrad's whole family (probably including himself) was blond…!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I often prefer villains to heroes, particularly when the heroes are insipid.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

And Scott's heroes tend towards the insipid!
and besides, I couldn't resist the h/c content with his Conrad…!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There are too many things about Conrad that I can't resist.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Scott's version doesn't much resemble the real thing, but he has him getting badly wounded in a trial-by-combat, patched up, then stabbed to death in his bed by the Grand Master of the Temple. (Scott has it in for Templars as much as he does for Italians!)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And to be Templar and Italian must be ghastlier still - ! Shudder.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

At least he never combined the two in any of his novels! (I think of poor Thomas of Moncucco, the Preceptor of Lombardy, who was in the Cyprus trial, I think – he was from Montferrat, being from Moncucco Torinese!)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

At least he never combined the two in any of his novels!

Small mercies!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

But only in the first series. Then someone else took over the role.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I didn't like it when they made the change - or so I think. My memory of it is dim.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I loved the Grant version. (Especially Suzanne Bertish… ;-D)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

All the pictures I can find of her online, she's Cleopatra. Which is cool. Was she Margeurite?

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

No, Elizabeth McGovern was Marguerite. Suzanne Bertish was the butch cross-dressing lesbian swordswoman. We need more of those on TV!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You bet we do! My kind of woman!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

And, in the episode in question, she had a canonical relationship with her protégé, Cécile.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think I have to watch that again. I remember them, but only vaguely.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Canonical femslash is always good to find!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Especially when the characters are interesting ones.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Yes. What was fun was the way they shift between gender-roles on and off-stage: in The Marriage of Figaro, Cécile plays Chérubin en travesti, and Mme Touraine/d'Orly plays Countess Almaviva; offstage, Cécile is more 'femme', while Madame cross-dresses and is an assassin/spy/swordswoman. i haven't written anything, but in my mind, they conjure some interesting fic scenarios.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

My goodness, they certainly do!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

…And I wasn't 100% convinced of her 'death'… I'm sure Chauvelin could have duped Max (who was very short-sighted).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'll buy that. No, really.

[chazzbanner.livejournal.com]

Umm..! I bought the paperback of that very Scarlet Pimpernel, because of the McKellen-as-Chauvelin photos. :-)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That is absolutely the sensible thing to do.

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

I hated the Richard E. Grant Pimpernel, but can't completely discount that version because Martin Shaw, Elizabeth McGovern, Denise Black and Jamie Bamber were all so good that it compensated for having a dead-loss Pimpernel.

Isn't *that* the truth! But I was so happy with Martin and the rest of the cast that I was able to overlook Grant.

I *loved* the musical - I wish they would film stage plays; I'd love to have a copy of this.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't go so far as I say I could overlook Grant - quite frankly, he made me cringe - but I loved everything else about the show so I enjoyed it anyway.

I'm hoping the stage musical version will come to Ottawa one day - or I'll find myself in a city that plays it.

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I liked Richard E Grant.

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I liked him in "Withnail and I", if that counts!

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't go so far as I say I could overlook Grant - quite frankly, he made me cringe

Me, too. But Martin Shaw was so damn good that he definitely made up for it. Still, I can't help mentally casting a better actor into Percy's role....

I'm hoping the stage musical version will come to Ottawa one day - or I'll find myself in a city that plays it.

It's tremendous fun. I've seen it twice and would go again in a minute.

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So who would you cast as Sir Percy Blakeney?

I'm going to have to think about this.

David Tennant might be fun in the role.

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

I'm terrible at names, but if I could have the actor from the musical in the movies with Martin Shaw, I'd be a happy camper.

David Tennant - oh yes! I'm beginning to think he'd be perfect for almost anything...!

Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

David Tennant - oh yes! I'm beginning to think he'd be perfect for almost anything...!

Well, not anything, but he'd be rather good in many kinds of roles that involve dual identities and intensity overlaid by flippancy. And he's good at anger and suicidal angst.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

So, you're Ian McKellen under the skin. Doesn't surprise me a bit.

Those images of him are utter art. Beautiful in so many ways.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

He has a wonderful face, doesn't he?

I'd like to be Magneto, or Magneto-like - I don't think I fit the bill, but it's a nice thought!

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

Like cionaudha, I too wound up as "Sir Andrew Ffoulkes".

Is there a pattern here? :-)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

A pattern? Depends how you interpret the characters, I imagine.

WHAT A SURPRISE - not

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

This test brought to you by Blakeney Manor.

Find out:Which Scarlet Pimpernel character are you? (http://www.blakeneymanor.com/test/sctest.html)

Re: WHAT A SURPRISE - not

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

LOL - yes, things are just as they should be!

[timberwuf.livejournal.com]

Ahh, but you forgot, in the meantime he became one of those Kings of England, the one who accidentally got offed by Blackadder in the very first episode. Hmmm. Celebrity Deathmatch: Ian McKellen as Richard III against Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet. Neaah. Too easy. Ian wins.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Too easy. Ian wins.

Yes - but wouldn't it be fun to watch?

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Oh dear lord, woman, Andrews' Pimpernel is my favorite thing ever. I own and love that version. Everyone is great in it, and yes, I love Ian, hehe.

I didn't like the Grant version personally.

I came out Margaurite. I want to be Percy.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Margeurite is the next best thing, no?

[star-momma.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, Scarlet Pimpernel! Of course, I'm biased since I'm the list owner of the unofficial Anthony Andrews fan club (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnthonyAndrewsFanClub) :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oooh yummy.