Country Matters - The Complete Series

Adapted from short stories by A.E. Coppard and H.E. Bates – and available on DVD for the first time – this BAFTA-winning anthology series from the early 70s presents all 13 episodes on a 4-disc set. At the core lie unsentimental tales dealing with all facets of human emotions (the good, the bad and the ugly) played out in rural settings mostly the turn of the 20th century. The various episodes include early performances from actors like Ian McKellen, Peter Firth, Pauline Collins and Michael Kitchen to name but a few.

Both authors were renowned for setting their stories primarily in a rural landscape and we are led to believe that country folk take things at a considerably easier pace than city folk. Coppard was born in Folkestone, Kent, to a poor family as long ago as 1878; Bates was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, some twenty-five years later. Often the outcome (by modern standards) of relatively mundane scenarios is only too predictable as in the case of the highly regarded and quite unpleasant 'The Mill' (a Bates story) about gauche young woman Alice Hartop (played by Rosalind Ayres) who is put into service at a nearby farm - only to be taken advantage of by randy old farmer Holland (an ungratifying part for Ray Smith) whose bedridden wife (Brenda Bruce) suffers from dropsy and thus can no longer ‘satisfy’ him… “It won't hurt”, he says in his dastardly efforts to seduce Alice and in no time the unfortunate lass returns to her old parents up the duff.
In Coppard’s story ‘Craven Arms’ we can see a very young Ian McKellen as charismatic artist David Masterman teaching an art class comprised of young ladies only, all of whom seem to have the hots for Masterman and he for them (you got to laugh at the mere thought of it), in particular the forward and flirtatious Ianthe Forrest (Susan Penhaligon) and her more reserved sister Katherine (Prunella Ransome).
The denouement of ‘An Aspidistta in Babylon’ (a Bates story) features a young and dashing Jeremy Brett as an army officer with an eye for… is it really just the one lady? It’s nicely done and Jeremy never looked better.

For this reviewer, however, there are four tales which particularly stand out: 'The Sullens Sister' (a Coppard story) features a painfully young Peter Firth as Tommy Adams, a lad madly in love with the considerably older Rachel Sullens (Penelope Wilton) who can't resist playing him along. Well, it isn't that she’s that much older, it’s just that Tommy at the tender age of nineteen is still a minor. Finally she tells him she is to be married and so he decides to marry her younger sister Lindy (Clare Sutcliffe) who has the raving hots for him anyway - but there are complications due to him and Lindy being underage and Tommy’s unsympathetic mother is not exactly helpful. When mutual friend Molly Blatts (Queenie Watts) poses as the mother at the registrar office tragedy beckons when Tommy’s real mum finds out the truth... All they had to do was wait a little longer - didn't they? Firth and Wilton make this tragi-comedy all the more resonant and the editing is inspired what with sepia photos replacing honeymoon scenes.

'Crippled Bloom' hits the mark with a resonance - yet another tragic love triangle from a Coppard story featuring Joss Ackland, Pauline Collins and Anna Cropper. This tale benefits from location shooting at Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire. Collins plays Ruby Bloom, a young woman with a crippled leg who is being romanced by Potter Jones (Joss Ackland) - a nice and seemingly decent man a little older than her. She makes the mistake (you can see it coming a mile off) of taking him home to meet her unmarried older sister Nan (Anna Cropper). Within no time they fall for each other and are soon married - but what about our poor Ruby who is still living under the same roof? Potter, by this time, has moved into the sisters’ house. This is not a Bloomsbury group and a ménage-a-trois is quite out of the question. To rub even more salt into poor Ruby’s wound, Nan gives birth to a baby girl and wants her sister, who up until now has been emotionally dependent on her, out of the way – not helped by the fact that there is still a strong attraction between Ruby and Potter. We can see tragedy looming - who will be the one to take the brunt then? It’s nicely acted and photographed though for some peculiar reason Joss Ackland sports a Scots accent which comes and goes.

'The Little Farm' (a Bates story) is heartbreakingly poignant and features an excellent performance from Bryan Marshall as Tom Richards, a friendly and trusting farmer who happens to be incredibly shy and also sadly illiterate. One day, he decides to advertise for help ‘round the house, as he’s incapable of keeping things in order (the ramshackle 'little farm' is a veritable pigsty at best). Help soon arrives in the shape of attractive Edna Johnson (Barbara Ewing) who has things 'shipshape and Bristol fashion' in no time. There even is some long overdue romance in the air for our daft Tom. Sadly, he hadn't counted on his ‘right hand man’ Jack (Michael Elphick playing the kind of role he excelled in) who is outwardly friendly but in truth horrible and scheming. Forever having the naïve Tom over, he decides to put a serious spanner in the works, thus bringing the romance between his master and Edna to an abrupt end.

Back in Bates country we have 'The Ring of Truth' - once again the themes are deceit and love (Bates' stories are invariably darker and possibly less dimensional than Coppard's). Here, young George Pickard (Nicholas Hoye) is having nightmares (you might be forgiven for thinking, albeit briefly, that we have entered M.R. James territory) about his recently deceased father. The dream, ah yes… a deserted railway station and a stranger making off with his Dad's bag - just what might this be a metaphor for? In reality, George’s Dad is actually lying dead in his coffin in the downstairs room. His dreams tell him to go to a town called Skelby Moor - to be precise The Midland Hotel just outside the station exit where he encounters employee Kitty (Cherith Mellor). Thanks to Kitty, Pickard Jr. discovers and learns much as he attempts to follow in his late father's footsteps. His unsympathetic mother Babs (Prunella Scales doing an earlier scaled down Sybil Fawlty) might just provide a vital clue as to his father’s death - always have a closer look on your own doorstep. This is a nicely rounded tale of a boy who becomes a man and we even have a happy ending, which is a comparative rarity in this series.
Still, one simply cannot help but to think the majority of these stories would perhaps READ better - unlike Hardy (to some extent) or M.R. James (the supernatural has its obvious advantages for filming).

Sound is in mono and Bonus Feature is comprised of a Limited Edition booklet by Barry Forshaw.