The Charmer (British Mini-Series)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Episodes: B-

 

 

Though it may at first appear to be more stuffy British television, even down to the theme song being a seemingly benign cover of the Cole Porter classic You’re The Top, The Charmer (1987) is a much darker and disturbing Mini-Series than expected.  Nigel Havers plays seducer Ralph Gorse, who plays on the emotions and desires of women to control them and get their money.  He even marries a few of them.  However, when some of them start dying and he assumes one identity too many, things start to catch up with him.

 

One might ask if he is such a smooth operator, why would he suddenly make such simple mistakes, and it is simply because he is a sociopath-turning-psychopath who is tempting fate.  The question is: can a Britain of yesteryear be able to even identify this man let alone have the means of catching him?  As the title suggests, he will exploit the gentlemanly ways of this world out of a general disdain for it.  For the most part, this works, though there are parts where the program drags, but that may be in its attempt to be a thorough adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s book (Mr. Stimpton & Mr. Gorse) on which it is based.  Director Alan Gibson does a pretty good job for the most part, so it is definitely worth a look.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image was shot on tape and some film, looking good for its age.  The sound is here in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby 2.0 Stereo, with the 5.1 the slightly better choice.  The music is by Richard Rodney Bennett, who has scored several Agatha Christie feature films and has experience with Cole Porter.  He is a fine choice and his music helps this move and flow well.  The only extras on DVD 1 are stills and trailers for seven other Goldhil titles, though a making-of program would have been nice.  Otherwise, this is a solid double-DVD set.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo