THE AMAZING MR BLUNDEN (1972) *** Lionel Jeffries knows good actors (especially Lynne Frederick and Laurence Naismith) when he sees them, he knows how they should be cast (especially Marc Granger and Diana Dors), he knows what early 19th century England should look like, and he knows how to put it all together. He is, in short, as they say, about the perfect director for this sort of thing. This sort of thing being Antonia Baker's tale of time travel, drugs, witches, and all that. In a most civil and understated way, I assure. All quite dignified. Jefferies' pace may leave some chomping at the bit: he establishes a rhythm that can only be described as slow and steady, but it is steady. Eventually satisfied, but not immediately by any stretch of the imagination, he chooses to first mix in slight tidbits of humour (that are amplified hopelessly by the preceedings, to the point of seeming terribly witty) before suggestively lurching into high drama, suspense, and all points north of mystical intrigue. It could seem speculative, but it's not played that way. It could seem dreary, or more ominous than it is, but there's a sense of humanity that always...if it isn't shining through there's a sense that it's readily accessible, like the works of Charles Dickens. Well then, I don't know that there's any need for complements after that.
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