Ivor Novello Documentary - BBC Wales

Penfold · Post by **Penfold** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:36 am

Currently on BBC iplayer, so possibly only accessible from the UK, but a documentary on the multi-talented Welsh silent star; http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... r_Novello/
featuring a contribution from Neil Brand and the late and much missed Dave Berry.

Arndt · Post by **Arndt** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:42 am

Thanks for the tip - by the way I'd love to take you up on that offer of a pint.

BBC iplayer is only accessible from the UK...unless you route through a British proxy server. IDENTITY CLOAKER is a good one.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:43 am

Novello also made a half dozen talkies, including The Lodger and Once a Lady which I've seen and I Lived with You which I have but haven't watched yet. The other talkies are Symphony in Two Flats, Sleeping Car, and Autumn Crocus.

These last three have no votes on IMDb so they're probably lost....

R Michael Pyle · Post by **R Michael Pyle** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:40 pm

Make sure you watch "I Lived with You", Ed, you'll love it. It's a small, forgotten gem! I just watched it about two months ago or so, and I really enjoyed it. It's early Ida Lupino, too.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:59 pm

It's odd that, looking at info in IMDb, that of the 6 talkies Novello made, apparently he played a foreigner in 5 of them. He had a great voice. I wonder why all the accents?

urbanora · Post by **urbanora** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:57 am

Currently on BBC iplayer, so possibly only accessible from the UK, but a documentary on the multi-talented Welsh silent star; http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... r_Novello/
featuring a contribution from Neil Brand and the late and much missed Dave Berry.

The programme was simple-minded to the point where I felt like throwing something at the screen, but Neil was eloquent as ever (ably deconstructing 'Keep the Home Fire Burning') and it's both sad and good to see Dave Berry there, encyclopaedic in his knowledge as always.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:11 pm

I watched I Lived with You today and agree it was a gem. Novello was terrific as a Russian prince living with a working class London family. The plot wavers between comedy and drama but the cast was uniformly top notch. The high point was probably the old ladies' tea with vodka thrown in.

I wonder why Novello gave up on films. As he approached 40 he surely could have continued.... He died in 1951, still in his fifties.

Penfold · Post by **Penfold** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:31 am

drednm wrote: I wonder why Novello gave up on films. As he approached 40 he surely could have continued.... He died in 1951, still in his fifties.

Because he was earning an absolute fortune performing on and writing for the London Stage, and seemed to prefer that life anyway ??

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:42 am

Novello rivaled Noel Coward as England's brightest theatre light as actor, writer, composer, etc. during the 20s and 30s. But somehow Novello didn't carry across the Atlantic as well as Coward did.

Novello's plays and music appeared on Broadway in the 20s, however his famous play, "The Rat" written with Constance Collier was staged in New York but without Novello in the cast (the silent film version stars Novello and Mae Marsh). Not until 1930 did Novello appear on Broadway, in "Symphony in Two Flats," which he also filmed as his talkie debut. Also in 1930 he appeard in "The Truth Game." Neither play was a hit.

Fella · Post by **Fella** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:21 am

drednm wrote:Novello rivaled Noel Coward as England's brightest theatre light as actor, writer, composer, etc. during the 20s and 30s. But somehow Novello didn't carry across the Atlantic as well as Coward did.

Without wishing to seem pedantic, especially as it's my first post, but Ivor Novello was Welsh, not English.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:42 am

He worked on stage in London's West End

Fella · Post by **Fella** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:35 am

drednm wrote:He worked on stage in London's West End

So does that make someone from Toronto, who appears on Broadway, American?

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:43 am

Learn to read. I didn't say he was English.

Fella · Post by **Fella** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:28 am

drednm wrote:Learn to read. I didn't say he was English.

No need to get nasty.

I merely pointed out that you had said “England’s” (i.e. belonging to England, hence the apostrophe – possessive case), so I wished to express that he was Welsh, rather than English. But I do notice that people say England when, at best, they mean Britain, so, perhaps, that’s where the confusion occurs.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:06 am

Well then stop picking this to death. Obviously he was a star of London's West End theater scene. I know he was Welsh and I did not say or imply that he was English. The possessive refers to England's THEATER which is what I said. If you choose to infer from this that Novello was English, go right ahead, but it's not what I said.

Post by **Mike Gebert** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:27 am

Okay, I think we're at NitrateVille's "you can say the same damn thing twice, but not three times" rule. Let's move on to other things, and let this drop.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:27 pm

Novello was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison (he served 4) in 1944 for fraudulently procuring gas for his Rolls Royce. His conviction likely cost him a knighthood.