Celebrate Poe

Mary Shelley at the Movies

April 18, 2021 George Bartley Season 1 Episode 53
Celebrate Poe
Mary Shelley at the Movies
Show Notes Transcript

Learn about the BBC production of Byron, and how accurate it is.
Learn how Byron handled being an overnight success
Learn the reasons given why Mary Shelley might have written Frankenstein
Learn why Mary Shelley did not initially publish Frankenstein under her own name.
Is it possible that David Booth as Shelley is TOO handsome?


00:00 Introduction
02:41 BBC Byron
04:01 Byron casting
07:08 Jonny Lee Miller as Byron
10:11 Description of the plot and cast
18:50 Mary Shelley (the movie)
20:21 Douglas Booth   
21:48 Mary and Shelley
24:09 Mary writes Frankenstein
26:31 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - A Documentary
29:29 Prologue to Bride of Frankenstein
31:40 Sources and Outro
 

Byron (BBC)
on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t3xHPn2JH0&t=161s
on amazon prime
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Byron&i=instant-video&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - A Documentary

on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbG3OEPO5H0
on amazon prime
https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Shelleys-Frankenstein-Jack-Roberts/dp/B00LM5LGP0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mary+shelley%27s+frankenstein+a+documentary&qid=1618793487&s=instant-video&sr=1-1

Clip from The Bride of Frankenstein
on youtube
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+bride+of+frankenstein+prologue&docid=608009958645441023&mid=DB9E0F06DA848E55B02FDB9E0F06DA848E55B02F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

0:00 INTRODUCTION 

Welcome to Celebrate Poe, Episode FiftyThree - Mary Shelley at the Movies. And just to let you know - plans are to release this podcast every Monday night at 12:00 Midnight. The opening melody is Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite song - Come Rest in This Bosom.  This series of  episodes deals with some of the English writers who heavily influenced Poe - especially the English Romantics. 

Now you have probably gathered that I really like movies and television shows.  One reason is that through video depictions we can learn a great deal about history. Unfortunately, Edgar Allan Poe has not had that many historically accurate movies done about his life - although several excellent documentaries are out there.  Perhaps the best movies is “The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe.”  True, some of it is way off target with scenes that never happened, but some of its attention to detail is really impressive. And we will definitely cover much of the media dealing with Poe and Poe related subjects at the appropriate time. But currently are fortunate that there are comparatively so many excellent movies about writers from the Romantic period.  I don’t think anyone REALLY goes to the movies or     watches TV to learn history - for example, the character of P.T. Barnum made a fortune exploiting the disabilities of other people, but P.T. Barnum as played by Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman is very entertaining and quite likable. I don’t think most people enjoy films about unlikeable persons - especially if they are targeted for a family audience.

I will certainly point out some of the sections from historical movies covered by this podcast that are supposedly not historically accurate, but we can also learn a lot from their mistakes.  Sometimes public perception - even if if is based on incorrect information - is worth looking at.  Legend often has a way of becoming accepted fact.

Finally, historical dramas can bring a character or incident to life in a truly significant way.

TRANSITION

02:41 BBC Byron

I had originally planned to include a review of the BBC movie Byron in the last episode, Byron at the Movies.  Oh, I did include discussions of 3 films and 1 TV show that included Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati in the episode, but not the BBC 2 part presentation of Byron.  Interesting enough, the BBC Byron does not deal at all with the summer at the Villa Diatoti.  And when you think about it, the main importance of Villa Diadatti rested with the literary accomplishments of Mary Shelly and John Polidari - Lord Byron only acted as the person who provided at atmosphere for Mary Shelley and Polidari to write their masterpieces - he didn’t do the actual work.  So today I am going to turn the attention back to Lord Byron and how he became famous in the first section of this episode - the  excellent two parter from the British Broadcasting Corporation about Lord Byron.  For the second part of this episode, I’d like to talk about the movie Mary Shelley, another excellent bio-pic.  So even though I called this podcast Mary Shelley at the Movies, only the second part of this podcast really deals with Mary Shelley

One thing that really distinguish the BBC Byron is the excellent script by the English writer, Nick Dear.  Mr. Dear also wrote the script for the stage version of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating the roles of Dr. Frankenstein and the creature every night. Cumberbatch and Miller both emphasized different nuances in their approaches to Dr. Frankenstein and the creature, and they shared the Olivier award for best actor.  There is a full version of Frankenstein on youtube with Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein, and Jonny Lee Miller as the creature, and a full version of Frankenstein on youtube with Jonny Lee Miller as Dr. Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature - Got that? Both castings are awesome.

But I will go into more detail about that production and give you links in the next episode. In that episode, which I call True to the Original, I would also like to talk about an epic movie version of Frankenstein with Kenneth Brannaugh and Robert DeNiro.  I highly encourage you to follow those links to the Frankenstein stage performances, but you might really enjoy seeing Jonny Lee Miller in Byron first. 

TRANSITION 

The BBC video of Byron is fairly accessible.  You may be able to get it from your library - it seems to be fairly popular among libraries, and many libraries also have it available free online.  Also you can access it free if you have amazon prime.  Byron is not one of those Amazon Prime movies that you have to pay for.  Byron especially looks good in 1080HD. And you can also see both 75 minute parts on youtube.  But even at HD, I don’t think the video is quite as clear on youtube, but that just might be me.  In any case, I put the link to see Byron on youtube in the show notes for this episode.

7:08 Jonny Lee Miller as Byron

Jonny Lee Miller (that’s Jonny without an h) gives a very nuanced portrayal of Lord Byron.  It is said that he even resembles early portraits of Lord Byron. And not surprisingly, the BBC production is extremely high quality.  I think it will become fairly obvious from this review that I really enjoyed this re-enactment of Lord Byron’s life.  Miller is perhaps best known for playing Sick Boy Williamson - the blonde heroin addict obsessed with Sean Connery in Trainspotting.  Miller’s character in Trainspotting is appealing, but he has an amoral quality - he basically just thinks of himself and doesn’t mind rejecting his friends if it suits his purposes - much like Miller’s portrayal of Lord Byron - who doesn’t mind flaunting societal standards and destroying personal relationships to satisfy his personal desires.  Lord Byron is quoted as having said, “Sensation is our only proof that we exist - that is why we crave it.”  And that pretty much sums up Lord Byron’s character. 

When I saw Byron - and especially the video of the stage production of Frankenstein, I became a Jonny Lee Miller fan.  I don’t think I had ever heard of him before, but during the past few weeks he has become one of my favorite actors. I read that he has played the character of Sherlock Holmes more than any actor in history - and that’s saying a lot. He did 7 seasons - that’s 24 episodes a season - of the show Elementary, so I started checking Elementary out from the local library. I have just watched several episodes of Elementary, and am eager to watch all 7 seasons while I exercise - if the quality stays the same.  Elementary is a CBS crime drama set in Manhattan - where Jonny Lee Miller plays a wicked smart detective by the name of Sherlock Holmes recovering from a drug habit.  The actress Lucy Liu plays Joan Watson - a former surgeon who is hired by Sherlock Holmes’ father to help his son sober and off drugs, and of course they eventually begin to work together.  When this podcast gets to such Poe stories as The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Purloined Letter, I will talk about Poe’s basic invention and development of the detective/mystery story - and naturally Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  At first, I thought - who is this Jonny Lee Miller that spells his name without an H - He sounds like he is from the South.  But after seeing some of his acting, I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role of Byron - handsome, charismatic, romantic, sometimes snobbish, always endearing, hedonistic, and wildly rebellious.

The BBC Byron is more about his life and loves, rather than his literary works, although the drama certainly does touch on his writing and the effect that sudden fame had upon his character.  

Apparently, Lord Byron initially struggled to be accepted as a poet.  But that changed almost overnight when Childe Harolde’s Pilgramage  was published. Lord Byron famously wrote that he woke one morning to find himself famous.  Almost overnight, he the became the toast of London society.

In one of the coolest exchanges of dialog I have ever seen, Lady Melbourne (played by Vanessa Redgrave) is wittingly talking with Lord Byron.  She smiles, and even flirts - not in a creepy way - just establishing the fact that while there are decades separating Lady Melbourne and Lord Byron, they are basically earthy people and look at the world in the same way.

Lord Byron speaks to Lady Melbourne while they are dining together - He muses Were there fewer years between us - and then pauses

Vanessa Redgrave immediately replies with - Were there fewer years between us, dinner would have ended long ago.  And you don’t need any continuation of any explicit action to know what is or has been on the character’s minds.

Lord Byron has an affair with his half-sister, Augusta, an actress who acts so chaste and innocent that you almost forget Bryon and his half-sister are involved in serious incest.

When Lady Caroline Lamb is first introduced to Lord Byron, she makes it quite obvious that she is not interested - which of course, fascinates Lord Byron.  Then later the two are seated with quite a few other people in a quiet drawing room where everyone is speaking in hushed tones.  Lord Byron asks her what she wants.  She promptly answers loudly, “I want to be your lover” while everyone stares in shock.

Lady Caroline Lamb later wrote that Lord Byron was “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.”  To be honest, Lady Caroline Lamb was more than a little “mad, bad, and dangerous” to know herself.  

And in the drama, her hair looked somewhat close cropped - when I saw the actress, I thought to myself that the hair just doesn’t look right - that it looked too modern - and then I saw a painting from the period of Lady Caroline Lamb, and the hair was exactly the same as in the drama - I guess with the BBC, you are going to have historical accuracy.

Lady Caroline Lamb is played by English actress Camilla Power,  She apparently is no stranger to raunchy scenes and said he had to film quit a few for Byron.  She was purported to say “This wasn't a problem, because Jonny “is so lovely, just gorgeous and looks so like Byron as well. I was stunned when I saw him.”

Camilla describes Caroline as "child woman, incredibly vulnerable and one of those people with a huge life force". But Caroline can also be a loose cannon.  She is quite obsessive who does not understand the meaning of the word “no,” This doesn't bode well with Byron's free-spirited character.

At one point Lady Caroline Lamb tries to pass herself off as a innocent messenger, so she can enter a room and attack Lord Byron.  I felt like I was watching a scene from Fatal Attraction.  For those of you who are not familiar with Fatal Attraction - it was the awesome movie where Glenn Close cannot accept the fact that her lover is over her, and she keeps coming back.  Fatal Attraction scared me so much that I haven’t been able to watch the movie again, but I think enough time has passed so I can handle it.  

Excuse my digression - I’m sure it won’t be the last.

But back to Byron -

On the other hand, the character of Annabella Milbanke is far more stable.

She met Byron in 1815 when he was London’s most celebrated poet.  Lord Byron is not the least interested in Annabella because her interest in Byron was only because of some kind of Christian concern for his wild ways.

Eventually Annabella married Bryon in 1815. Byron was at the center of court gossip over the incestuous relationship he was conducting with his half-sister, and he really need the money that her family could offer. The way he treated her was completely insensitive.  Unfortunately, the marriage was doomed to fail.  Byron was not about to change, and Annabella’s attempts to alter Byron’s behavior backfired.  She suffered mental abuse from him, and their marriage collapsed after the birth of their daughter Ada.  Lord Byron was to leave England permanently.

Towering over the rest of the cast is Vanessa Redgrave.  Tennessee Williams called her the Greatest Actress of our Time, and in Byron, Vanessa Redgrave plays Lady Melbourne - a lady who was basically Byron’s society confident.  They had an interesting relationship - she was in her sixties, and he was in his twenties - so there wasn’t any possibility of sexual tension - well, with Byron, I would say there was LESS possibility of sexual tension.  She was certainly no prude, but did not hesitate to point out to Byron occasions when he stepped over the line.

When asked about the role of Byron, Jonny Lee Miller said ”I feel I've come to understand Byron a lot over the nine-week shoot but it would be foolish to think you could understand someone completely just by reading about them and trying to portray them. He had the ability to be an extraordinarily nice, kind man but he could also be really quite cruel when he made his mind up about somebody. I certainly don't like the way he treated some people."

Byron certainly shows a tremendous attention to detail, and while it is firmly set in early 19th century London, emphasizes such themes as the cult of celebrity, handling overnight success, and wealthy talents who emphasize their bad boy image.  Byron follows the rise and fall of a charismatic and extremely handsome genius who seemed to have it all and rose from obscurity to superstar.  At the height of his fame, he realized he was not satisfied, and threw it all away.

In my reviews or comments about a movie or TV show, I may give away some plot elements, but not the twists and turns that a good show usually takes.  And Byron has its share of engaging characters, witty dialog, and a plot that draws you in.  I know this is almost a cliche to say about a movie, but I think Byron is worth watching twice to catch all the dramatic events and character development you inevitably miss the first time.

TRANSITION

18:50 Mary Shelley (the movie)

Mary Shelley is a movie that is so ambitious in scope that it almost bit off more than it could chew.  Mary Shelley is not one of the best movies I have ever seen, but is definitely a good film and worth your time.   The movie follows Mary”s first love and relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelly, and how she came to write her 1818 novel, Frankenstein.  Mary’s mother was the pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft.  Mary Wolstonecraft died in childbirth, and her birth mother does not really play a role in the movie except for her the influence of her ideas on her daughter. Mary’s father was the publisher and political philosopher William Godwin, a brilliant and strong-willed man who eventually seems to reject Mary completely.  When the movie opens, Mary is living with her father and her father’s second wife, to whom she seems to have a very strained relationship.  They don’t get along at all. Her step sister, Claire Clairemont, also lives with the family, and Mary and Claire have become very close.

Elle Fanning is excellent as Mary Shelley - a highly intelligent lady who eventually becomes a strong willed writer. While still a youth, she meets Percy Shelley - who is played Douglas Booth.And wow! I can see why anyone would fall in love with Douglas Booth. A few years ago, he appeared in a great BBC version of Great Expectations.  A reviewer for the Telegraph criticized the choice of Booth for that role - not because of his acting, but because he was “so distractingly lovely” in the role of Pip.  The reviewer wrote, “"It’s not that Douglas Booth was bad, it’s just that one can’t imagine that Dickens ever intended Pip to be more beautiful than Estella, who, after all, has been brought up to break men’s hearts.”  And David Booth beat out 300 young actors for the role of Romeo in a 2013 production of Romeo and Juliet with the director of Downton Abbey.  He again received some criticism for coming across as TOO handsome - something that is always happening to me NOT

So David Booth has a history of being easy on the eyes in a love story, as being well as a talented actor.  

Back to the movie -

21:48 Mary and Shelley

Even though Percy is still married to Harriett, Mary and Percy elope, taking Claire with them. Shelley has little money of his own, but borrows against his wealthy father's estate to set himself up in lavish style in Bloomsbury. At a dinner party, Shelley flirts with Claire, and Mary is propositioned by one of Shelley's friends. When Mary understandably complains, Shelley tells her that in his view lovers should be free. He wants her to take other partners, and demands the same freedom for himself. He calls her a hypocrite, and she expresses her disappointment in him. Later, Mary, Claire and Shelley attend a public display of galvanism in which a dead frog is made to twitch by the application of electricity. Also in the audience is the handsome and famous poet Lord Byron. Claire introduces herself, and is immediately smitten.

I think it is interesting that Edgar Allan Poe was later to also become fascinating with galvanism and other pseudo sciences of the period.

One night, Shelley's creditors arrive unexpectedly, and Mary, Claire and Shelley have to flee. They take up cheap lodgings. Mary gives birth, but her baby does not survive for long. Claire announces that she is pregnant by Byron, and that he has invited them all to stay with him at a villa near Geneva - and I am sure you know what villa I mean - the Villa Diotatti.

When they arrive, Byron makes it clear that the "invitation" is little more than Claire's wishful thinking. Nevertheless, he asks them to stay. This is another example of the person in love with Lord Byron thinking there is more to the relationship than Byron himself.

The poor weather keeps them indoors for days, and one evening out of boredom Byron challenges the group to write a ghost story, a task which captures Mary's imagination.  That night she dreams of galvanism. A message arrives for Shelley informing him that his wife has just drowned herself. Throughout the visit, Byron treats Claire with increasing contempt. She loses patience and confronts him, but he laughingly responds that he has no interest in her. He says that he will provide financially for her baby, but nothing more.  What a classy guy!

The three return to their lodgings in England, and Mary starts to write a novel called Frankenstein. The stresses drive Mary and Shelley apart. No publisher will take the work under Mary's name because the general belief is that such a horror story is unsuitable subject-matter for a lady.  Percy Shelley solves the problem by adding a foreword under his name, and the book is eventually accepted for anonymous publication. The book is a success, and Percy Shelley is given the credit until he discloses that the book was written by a lady.  Then the couple reconnect.

Mary's father arranges for Frankenstein to go through a second edition - this time under Mary’s Shelley own name, ensuring that she derives an income from it.  In the last scene of the movie, Mary, dressed in black, is seen walking with a young son. An afterword explains that Mary and Shelley had married, and that they stayed together until Shelley's death at the age of 29. Mary never married again.

My biggest positive impression of the movie is that it is lush and beautiful - with wonderful lighting and excellent music.  Even so, it tries, but somehow falls short. 

Tonight while my computer was tied up with another activity, I ran across an amazon prime video (which is also on youtube - the links are in the show notes) for one of the best documentaries I have ever seen - Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - A Documentary. The photography and pacing are very good, and the video looks at the mind and creative journey of Mary Shelley, and what caused her to write Frankenstein.  The video also examines early 19th century London to discuss the people and places that influenced her.  

It points out that her mother, Mary Wolstonecraft, was not anti-man, but anti-establishment.  And she wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” partially in reply to Thomas Paine’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Man.”

Mary Shelley’s mother also suffered from depression, and at one time tried to commit suicide by jumping in the Thames River.  Fortunately the Thames during that time in the history of London was always crowded - and so it was relatively easy to fish her out.

The documentary convincingly suggests that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein partially to deal with the many stresses in her life - her half sister, Fanny, and Percy Shelley’s wife both committing suicide - a fact for which Mary felt responsible.  It was also believed that she felt a great deal of guilt regarding her mother’s death - her mother died in childbirth while giving birth to Mary.

One little bit that was new to me - the video points out that Mary Shelley learned how to write her own name by tracing the inscription on her mother’s tombstone - it is said that Poe learned how to write much the same way - oh he did not use his mother’s tombstone, but he was going to Stoke Newington at the time, and learned how to write by tracing the inscriptions on tombstones. Did they both share some sort of morbid mindset from an early age?

The video does a great job of briefly going through the plot of Frankenstein, and shows the connection of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stephen King.  At less than an hour, the video is half the length of the movie regarding Mary Shelley that I reviewed in this episode, but I think it is a much better use of time.  Sure, it is not as lush - but I think it keeps your interest better with its intriguing ideas.

29:29 Prologue to Bride of Frankenstein

I’d like to end with a brief description of a famous section of a full-length movie related to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein that I will talk about in the future - not the next episode, but the one after that. 

The classic 1935 movie Bride of Frankenstein begins at the Villa Diodatti - on that ole dark and stormy night.  I couldn’t find the entire film online -at least without paying for it - but I left a link to the opening clip in the show notes for this episode.

THUNDER  WIND

The Bride of Frankenstein opens in the ornate settings of the Villa Diodatti. - and I hope this will be the last time that I say anything about the Villa Diodatti. The characters of Percy Shelley and Lord Byron praise Mary Shelley for her literary achievement with Frankenstein.  She tells them that the reason she wrote the novel was to impart a moral lesson - in other show in words the consequences of a mortal man who tries to play God.  Then the introduction shifts to the end of the previous Frankenstein film from 1931.

I think it is interesting that in her dialogue, Mary Shelley emphasizes the purpose of the novel was to teach a moral lesson.

To most people this basically was the way that literature was viewed at the time - that there must be something edifying behind literature.  This was one of the many reasons that Edgar Allan Poe was frequently misunderstood - that his works were just not edifying. Poe felt that art should be appreciated for its own sake - that it did not have to teach a moral - and this upset quite a few people.

By the way, the actress Elsa Lancaster who plays Mary Shelley in this introduction - later plays the actual Bride of Frankenstein.  

31:40 Sources and Outro

Sources for this episode include Byron in Love by Edna O’Brien, In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson, Mary Shelley, A Literary Life by John Williams, Mary Shelley: A Biography by Muriel Spark, Byron: Life and Legend by Fiona MacCartney, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a documentary directed by Liam Dale, Mary Shelley, a motion picture with Elle Fanning, and Byron a BBC production written by Nick Dear, 

Why not visit my podcast web site at celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com - click on the episode you want to learn more about to see its show notes and a transcript.  And remember, I have links to 3 out of the 4 videos or films reviewed in this episode on the show notes.

Join the next episode of Celebrate Poe called True to the Original,- as the podcast delves deeper into some of the many portrayals of Frankenstein - from movies relatively close to the original story to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Young Frankenstein. I also plan to really delve into James Whale, the legendary director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.  There are dozens of films - not counting television shows and video games - based on the Frankenstein monster that I don’t have time to include, but I do want to talk about what I think is the best version of Frankenstein.  This is because of the movie’s production values, epic scale, talented actors, and the fact that is is so close to Mary Shelley’s original novel. Released in 1994, the movie Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein starts Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branaugh (who also directed the movie) Robert DeNiro as the creature, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, John Cleese from Monty Python, and Shakespeare actor Ian Holm from The Lord of the Rings.  And as I mentioned, I plan to discuss the stage Frankenstein that stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller with links to the complete versions of the plays. So join Celebrate Poe as we look at what could be the best versions of Frankenstein out there.

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.