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(More customer reviews)Produced in 1980 and penned by britcom veteran Roy Clarke (Keeping Up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours), Flickers is a light, entertaining six-part comedy-drama (with the emphasis on comedy) set amid the burgeoning film industry in 1920's England.
The series stars Bob Hoskins (Mrs. Henderson Presents, Thick as Thieves) as Arnie Cole, an outspoken Cockney with little dress sense and even less manners; yet despite his faults, he is shrewd, determined and hard-working. Arnie is in the business of showing films, but what he really wants to do is make them. He's a man with a dream--a vision, even; what he lacks, however, is money. The need for a loan or a backer poses a huge obstacle in a time when the more conservative, traditional lenders and investors were very leary of putting money into what was viewed by many as likely being a here-today-gone-tomorrow industry.
Frances de la Tour (Rising Damp) stars as Maud, the well-spoken, well-bred, but very uppity, not to mention plain-looking, daughter of a well-off family. It is Maud's brother, Clive, who himself has a tidy nest-egg, that Arnie hopes to smooth-talk into investing in his dream. Maud, however, sees right through Arnie, and turns him down flat.
As it happens, circumstances conspire to bring Arnie and Maud together. Theirs is an uncomfortable, not to mention unlikely, alliance--at least initially; and it is an uphill battle all the way, with shoe-string finances being only the tip of the problem. From a Shirley-Temple-like little girl who's becoming noticeably not so little anymore to a depressive comic and a grand, self-obsessed theatrical diva, there are a number of temperamental, highly-strung thespians, whose egos must be placated. Then there is Max Legendre, the agent of the big-name comic star whom Arnie hopes to snag. The problem is that Max, who has no people skills whatsoever and is no more than a temperamental bully, has aspirations in the directorial direction; that he gets his way only adds to Arnie and Maud's problems. Circumstances are not assisted by the reappearance of Letty, Arnie's tarty (but certainly not plain) former flame, who kindles a spark of jealousy in Maud.
With 50-minute episodes, romantic tension, a delightful blend of comedy and drama, and an unusual period setting, this series is quite a departure for Roy Clarke (who also displayed a flair for comedy-drama in the feature-length film Hawks). Viewers ought not, therefore, to expect something akin to the above-mentioned character comedies for which Clarke is so well known. Though characters abound, this is not character comedy. It really is in a class all its own--I can think of nothing to which to compare it! Having said that, it is a well-written, superbly-acted series with an engaging storyline, and it is a series our family really enjoyed.
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Flickers (1982)Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Enemy at the Gates) stars as Arnie Cole, a lovable Cockney rogue who wants to move up in the fledgling silent-film industry. Prowling for potential investors, Arnie finds haughty, hypercritical Maud (Frances de la Tour, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rising Damp)-and gets far more than he bargained for. While keeping creditors at bay, squabbling actors on task, and an egotistical director under budget, Arnie and Maud try to build a business based on make-believe. In the process, they manage to kindle an unorthodox-but very real-romance. Crackling with droll dialogue and punctuated by moments of true poignancy, Emmy®-nominated Flickers takes you behind the cameras for a hilarious look at the eccentric entrepreneurs, ambitious actors, and assorted other oddballs who populated the British movie business in the days before talkies.
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