Marie Lloyd - Queen of the Music Hall [DVD]

I saw this on BBC 4 and got it for my birthday as I adore Richard Armitage, he was brilliant in this as the pushed aside first husband of the legend that was Marie Lloyd. I do warn you, there are spoilers ahead so don't read on if you don't want to know. Her story begins as a young girl, watching the dancers on stage and wanting to become a famous singer. When her outragous pefomance catches the attention of the audince and Percy Courtney, her name changes from Tily to Marie and her fame rises to new highs. She marries him, has a child and life seems sweet until she pushes him aside to keep on singing and thinking only of her fame. Things go bad to worse as broken marriages, a forbidden affair, the near loss of the stage due to naughty lyrics and then succumbs to death at 54. It is a truely sad story of a woman who is funny with her catchy songs and is totally in love with the men in her life, she never healed her heart after her breakdown of her first marriage and that's probably what killed her. Jessie Wallace did a amazing job as Marie, her singing voice is excellent and there should be a cd of her work for it. Richard Armitage is also stunning as Percy, there is real chemisty between the two and you really feel for the both of them as fame ruins their love affair. So if you like period drama with a difference or just like Richard Armitage like me, this is for you.

Saw this on BBC4 and was impressed enough to want to seek out the DVD asap. Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater from EE) sings up a storm as the chirpy Cockney sauce-bottle who scandalised the music hall in her day - and many of her best known songs are here. "A Little of What You Fancy", "The Boy I Love", "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy", "My Old Man", "Oh Mr Porter", the presentation of these music hall standards is glorious, as are the costumes and staging of the numbers.

Narrator Shaun Parks gives a brilliant rendition of "Berlington Bertie" and "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" as we see scenes from Marie's ill-fated marriage to a husband who had to cope with press attention and fan adoration (Richard Armitage), yet the star of the boards keeps smiling through - lending her support to a musical hall strike for fair wages for all employees and holding her own 'Command Performance' when her naughty lyrics cause her to be barred from the "Royal" Command Performance. This is a programme for all ages. At 80 minutes it speeds along, telling the story with pace and wit. Younger viewers will be amused at how offensive Ms Lloyds songs were considered - see her take on the 'Decency Committee' who have a real problem with "She Sits Among The Cabbages and Peas"....

I hope a CD is released to accompany this as Ms Wallace has a previously unheard brilliant singing voice. Unlike the many soap stars who warble every chance they get, she has kept her talent under wraps and we are fortuneate to be able to appreciate it on this DVD. And I suspect she owes the saucy giggle to Barbara Windsor, the much loved land lady of the Queen Vic!

The latter scenes show Marie's real funeral - the funeral procession was met by 150,000 fans following her death at the tragically young age of 52. This is a wonderful slice of the 'good old days' and a DVD which will be a great favourite for a long time.

A reminder of how we found entertainment before cinema, then soaps and "Big Brother", brought quality into our lives. At the Music Hall Marie Lloyd endeared when young with her saucy routines - gradually, though, to alienate with a succession of scandals and husbands, the third only half her age.

Jessie Wallace impresses as earthy Marie - savouring the acclaim, defiant when criticized. Richard Armitage and Matthew Marsh are rather overshadowed as the first two husbands, as were their real life counterparts. Lee Williams is good as her gay dresser, more loyal than she sometimes deserved. Sadly the production is knocked off balance by the linking "Show Man". There is no denying actor Shaun Parks' considerable talent, but the "wink,wink, nudge, nudge" character seemed contrived and pretentious and, to be honest, a bit irritating.

The modest bonuses contain interesting revelations (Marie's makeup sabotaged with powdered glass; a rival, Belle, destined to marry, then be murdered by, Dr. Crippen).

On the whole, a quite entertaining glimpse of the escapism which in those times helped make life more bearable. The atmosphere of the Music Hall has effectively been recreated. This is Jessie Wallace's show and she makes the most of it.