#despard

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 31

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” Starting today, I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Our countdown begins with Number 31: Sir Despard Murgatroyd, from Ruddigore.

I have to admit, the main reason this performance makes it onto the countdown has more to do with the production itself than Vincent or his work in it. I just really, REALLY want to talk about “Ruddigore.” Is that so wrong? I hope not. For those who don’t know already, “Ruddigore” is an operetta – a light opera – made by the famous duo of Gilbert & Sullivan. These two creative geniuses created arguably the best, and certainly the most popular, comic operettas in history; their works are typically regarded as the forerunners to modern musical theatre. While my favorite of their works is the ever-renowned “The Pirates of Penzance,” this somewhat lesser-known work of theirs is a close second. “Ruddigore” is, in a bizarre way, a sort of forefather to stories like “Wicked,” as it actually asks the same basic question as that show and explores the concept in its own unique fashion. That question, of course, is “Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Are people we regard as evil just naturally inclined to do bad things, or are they simply products of circumstances? Ruddigore plays with these themes in a way that is both poignant and totally absurd; it is, like most of Gilbert & Sullivan’s creations, a farcical comedy, but it has a darker tone and a slightly more complex message than most. The plot of the story focuses on the Murgatroyd Family: a long lineage of nobles in England who have long guarded the estate of Castle Ruddigore. Long ago, one of the Murgatroyds quite literally made a hobby out of burning witches (as you do). While most of his victims were innocent people, this hobby did come to bite him in the arse when one witch he chose to persecute turned out to be a REAL enchantress. Before her death, she cast a hex upon the Murgatroyd Family, declaring that all future Baronets of Ruddigore would be forced to commit a crime every single day of their lives upon inheriting the estate. If they do not, they will suffer fits of tortuous agony and die. This leads to a long line of Bad Baronets of Ruddigore, as this lifestyle quite literally transforms each inheritor into a stereotypical Moustache-Twirling Villain. It happens. The main character – Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, a.k.a. Robin (please hide all your Dick Graysons) – is the rightful heir to the castle. He is also a naïve and sweethearted young lad who has absolutely no desire to do evil and become the next Bad Baronet. This is where Sir Despard enters the picture: he is Ruthven’s younger brother, but when the fellow fakes his death and goes into hiding, becoming the humble gentleman Robin, Despard is forced to take the role of the next Bad Baronet. Despard is thus forced to abandon his fiancé – who goes mad from the loss – and commit numerous crimes, leading to him become a despised and physically ghoulish figure. It is only when Robin’s true identity is revealed that Despard is able to find a way to abandon this lifestyle and return to his beloved. The story is a mockery of typical Victorian melodramas: in here, the main character is both a handsome young man AND a moustache-twirling nasty. Despard, meanwhile, at first plays the role of the moustache-twirling bad guy, but eventually is redeemed. The damsel who gets embroiled in all this is never in any REAL distress, and – very ironically – the real bad guy of the story turns out to be the character who, in other tales, would typically be the hero. That role goes to Richard Dauntless: a sailor who at first starts off as Robin’s best friend, practically a brother to him…but when he falls in love with the same woman Ruthven does, he conspires with Despard to take the lady for himself. I absolutely love Ruddigore’s story and its sense of style. It’s a delightfully dark and Gothic comedy with some deep themes that lie beneath its completely silly surface. Really, my only problem with the play is it’s completely redonculuous ending, but…eh. It’s a comedic farce filled to the brim with patter songs, I wasn’t expecting a Shakespearean conclusion. :P Now that I’ve jabbered about that for so long…let’s get to Vincent himself. Vincent played the role of Despard in a TV production made for the 1980s. It was part of a series of televised productions of Gilbert & Sullivan’s plays, all of which featured a mixture of opera-trained theatre performers, mixed in with bigger-named screen actors to sort of draw in crowds. Vincent was a perfect choice to play some role in this story, as the show does have a wonderfully spooky and decadent atmosphere. Price had also done some musicals before this, both onstage and onscreen, so one would expect him to have the chops needed. To Vincent’s credit, he gives it his all, as he always did; there’s a wonderful, ironic charm to the way he plays Despard, especially in his more villainous mode, which contrasts delightfully with his more mild-mannered and somewhat persnickety persona when he is allowed to reform. However, as much as I love Ruddigore – and I love seeing Vincent in it – it’s a little hard for me to buy Despard as Robin’s YOUNGER brother in this film, considering the actor playing Robin – Keith Mitchell - was twenty whole years Vincent’s junior at the time, and he looked it. Also, Vincent’s voice is actually not as strong here as you might expect: while Price did have some musical training, the mixture of age and a constant smoking habit weakened his vocals over time, and you can definitely hear it in Ruddigore. It’s not necessarily bad, and he acts his heart out to make up for it, but when you compare it to virtually everybody else in the cast, it’s an obvious weak spot. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with my pick for Number 30!

[henk-heijmans]

95-year-old Charlotte Despard (1844-1939 / Scottish/Irish) speaks at an anti-fascist rally in Trafalgar Square, London, 1933 - by James Jarché (1890 - 1965), English

[baensurgery]

very abandoned people

[flipperbrain-awakes]

Ross gives good hug.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

TODAY’S FROZEN MOMENT - 90 Years Ago Today - June 11th, 1933 - Anglo-Irish activist Charlotte Despard riles the crowd at an anti-Fascist rally in Trafalgar Square. Fascinating character Charlotte was. A pacifist, socialist, novelist and famed suffragette, she led countless initiatives and protests on behalf of the poor, women’s equality, against war, and for several political causes. She was frequently arrested, but was fearless and tireless, and her speeches, like this one here, riveted the crowds… Feisty girl…

[Mary Elaine LeBey]

* * * *

“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

[needlesandnilbogs]

depressing realization because I'm relistening to ruddigore: if g&s wrote this today there would be a loud group of fans and/or Tumblr leftists who would go "actually he shouldn't have agreed to take the title at all :) actually he should have just said no and then he wouldn't be responsible for the atrocities :) actually he should just abolish his baronetcy" (and would not pay attention to the part where robin is 0, not into the crime a day thing in the first place, 1, kinda forced back into it against his will, and 2, practicing harm reduction by doing things like forging his own will or adam's check or disinheriting his unborn child)

[mzannthropy]

I picked up Cards on the Table for a re-read (bc every time I get this strong urge to re-read any Agatha Christie, I have to do it immediately) and a character asks Poirot: "have you met Mrs Oliver?", to which I went, ofc they are besties--I forgot that this is the book which introduces Ariadne Oliver!

She's such a vivid character, a pure chaotic energy. I'm pretty sure everything she says about writing is Agatha's own experience (Rhoda: it must be wonderful to write! Ariadne: No, it isn't.) Also I just realised that Ariadne's fictional detective, Sven Hjerson, has the same initials as Sherlock Holmes.

Anyway, Cards on the Table is one of my faves. Some unforgettable characters in this one (once again, it's not true that Agatha Christie's characters are not well developed). I don't think it's one of the popular ones, probably bc of how much the game of bridge features, but I think personally, that you don't need to understand bridge to enjoy the book. As with everything, YMMV, I like it bc it's a true locked room mystery and as it features also Superintendent Battle and Colonel Race, it's the Agatha Christie version of Avengers!

[tsrdfs]

undefined

Ruddigore 第一夜 Mad Margaret和Despard Murgatroyd的对话，但他们之后的二重唱似乎乐谱丢失了😂

[basingstokemercury]

Maybe I'll just open the Sims and share my child G&S designs

[awesomesaurous]

Do you have any other favourite characters from Ruddigore?

Mad Margaret and Robin/Ruthvyn are my favorites.The rest of them are fine, just not as interesting to me. It depends on the actor. I think the cartoon does the charm pretty good. Kenneth Sanford’s Despard is great, especially in Act 2 after he’s “good” again.

[cinemacentral666]

An Elastic Affair (1930)

Movie #1,027 • TGI-HITCHCOCK!

EVERY OTHER FRIDAY I'M REVIEWING THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

I love the bullshit, so must keep the bullshit going. I decided I would also "review" all of the Hitchcock lost films during my Alfred Hitchcock chronological filmography review. Per Wikipedia:

An Elastic Affair (1930) is a 10-minute short comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which features the two winners—Cyril Butcher (1909–1988) as "the Boy" and Aileen Despard (1908–1981) as "the Girl"—of a film acting scholarship sponsored by British film magazine Film Weekly.

The film was shown on 19 January 1930 at a ceremony at the London Palladium at which the two winners were presented with their award, in the form of movie contracts with the film producer John Maxwell of British International Pictures. The film is now considered a lost film.

So there you have it! I have nothing more to say about this! (As per my custom, every "lost film" immediately gets a perfect 10/10!)

SCORE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[hiraasiddiqi]

EVENINGS ~ . . . . . . . . . #tour #tourism #food #streetphotography #despardes #travel #traveling #islamabad #foodgasm #travelgram #architecture #november #winters #tourist #burger #evenings #missyou #familyfirst #foodlover #foodie #pakistan #eveningvibes #archeology #foodblogger #foodoftheday #follow #hellofrom #officelady #evening #officelife (at Walls) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClJcdNnjb2p/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lurking-latinist]

I like it when Act II Despard and Margaret are played with a simmering, Addams-like sexual energy running beneath their prim and proper facades. I don't know if this is a minority interpretation, but I think they really are blissfully happy and playing the roles of fun-hating Victorian moralists is exactly what they want to do together.

[robinoakapple]

Despard for the headcanon meme?

Headcanon A: Spurning Margaret was one of his daily crimes (I feel like it's implicit?)

Headcanon B: obsessed with moe slice of life anime. Regularly passes out while watching K-On and slamming down boxes of Pocky

Headcanon C:  He tore up Castle Ruddigore's rose garden and filled it with nothing but underappreciated wildflowers: marigolds, mallows, and (of course) violets

Headcanon D: He never really "disliked" Margaret!! Perhaps he found her odd/annoying when he first met her (maybe he was assigned to find a lady and break her heart?) but she grew on him very, very quickly.

Thank you for asking!!

[fuckyeahgilbertandsullivan]

EXCUSE ME

(From today's installment of the League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk comic)

Sir Despard Murgatroyd voice: YOU

[poems-from-around-the-world]

"The ancient Greeks believed a stone fell to the ground" - Eldrid Lunden - Norway

Translator: Annabelle Despard (Norwegian)

The ancient Greeks believed a stone fell to the ground because it belonged there

We believe in gravity. But we feel that the Greeks’ idea is much more poetic