Review of Charmer, The

Introduction

Ah, 1987, the year England retained the ashes, the world learned that nobody puts `Baby` in the corner, Margaret Thatcher was re-elected, Rick Astley had his only number one hit with `Never Gonna Give You Up` and Nigel Havers played a dastardly cad in `The Charmer`.

Based on the book by Patrick Hamilton, `The Charmer` is set in the 1930s and concerns Ralph Gorse (Nigel Havers), who is an unscrupulous user of women: he preys on them using his looks and charisma and then milks them for all they are worth. He sets his sights on Joan Plumleigh-Bruce (Rosemary Leach), a lonely widow with her own house and enough money to interest Gorse. However, Gorse hadn`t counted on Donald Stimpson (Bernard Hepton), who also has his eyes on Mrs. Plumleigh-Bruce, sees through Gorse`s ruse and is determined to destroy him.

Video

I was only six years old when `The Charmer` was shown on TV, however I now know exactly what the broadcast quality was like then. Soft and blurry, with every light source giving flare and streaking across the screen, I imagine this DVD has perfectly recreated the look of a 1987 TV show.

The costumes and set design are very good but the exterior shots are far from convincing in recreating the period.

Audio

A perfectly serviceable mono soundtrack with no noticeable problems. I have to say that I hated the theme tune and scanned through it at every opportunity!

There are no subtitles.

Features

Only an interview with Nigel Havers on `Aspel and Company` from 1987 in which he briefly talks about the forthcoming TV mini series. A ten minute puff piece.

Conclusion

The son of Baron Lord Michael Havers, QC, who was a Conservative MP, Attorney General and Lord Chancellor and nephew of Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, Nigel Havers did not follow in the family business, choosing acting over law. Love him or loathe him, Nigel Havers is an actor who exudes charm due to his upper class affectations. Sometimes he comes across as smarmy and sometimes he`s genuinely fun to watch. He is therefore perfectly cast as `The Charmer` as he is able to use his natural traits to convincingly portray a suave womaniser, albeit one with no scruples whatsoever.

Havers is brilliantly supported by Rosemary Leach as the subject of the con and Bernard Hepton`s obsessed Donald Stimpson keeps the tension high throughout. I can`t say that `The Charmer` is my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it more than I expected. Annoyingly though, the gaps where commercials would have been shown are still there, with the logo at the bottom of the screen and the theme music remaining.

`The Charmer` was originally released on DVD on March 8th 2004 by Cinema Club and now appears to be out of print, so this seems to be another Network/Granada release of something for which there is little or no demand. I suspect this has only been re-released because Nigel Havers is now back in the public eye following his appearances in `Little Britain` and `Room 101`.