The Bad Lord Byron
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
Dennis Price doesn't actually look like he is having to do much acting as he portrays the bravely errant soldier-cum-poet in this drama. He is bedridden, seriously ill, and wondering how he might be looked upon by St. Peter as his day of reckoning looms. The film now sets out to show us a little of his reminiscences - his lives and loves, most notably with an on-form Mai Zetterling ("Teresa"), Sonia Holm as his long-suffering wife Annabella and, of course, Lady Caroline Lamb (Joan Greenwood). It takes the form of a trial - with people giving testament to his behaviour and character under the gaze of the sagely, if frequently quite bemused judge (Ronald Adam). Price plays well here, and his scenes with Greenwood remained me of their scenes together in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (also made in 1949). Sadly, though it starts off quite entertainingly, it becomes very wordy and slow quite quickly and the last forty minutes or so dragged a bit, I thought. I like Price, he has something about him, but this all wears a bit too thin. Maybe his libertine, naughty, side fell foul of the censors, but what we have here is ultimately rather plain. Adequate, nothing more.