Now that there are three entries in my stage-door scrapbook for the 1934 stage-play based on the Mardlingham Saga, I thought it time to bring them together in one place:
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Double-Double-Crossed?
There is no doubt that in her heyday, Dame Edith Lissard was one of the very greatest character actresses of the 1930s. This photograph, signed ‘Ed is Ard’ on the back in her own fair hand, was taken as she arrived for the first of those three magnificent command performances enjoyed by that spectacular stage play, ‘The Huffells Inheritance’ in which she played Fribbins, the decrepit butler.
Dame Edith sporting her infamous kiwi-tail boa.
You will, of course, remember that it was the ancient butler, Fribbins, whose fiendish plot executed while dressed as a pretty young kitchen-maid, kept us all on the edge of our seats until that final denouement in the Library.
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A Tribute to Ferdie Moldman
Amazing that it has taken this long for the Mardlingham vicar's firstname and surname to be forced into the open. I must admit that one of the little games I have been playing with the saga is to see how few actual names I need to reveal. Mostly, job titles and nicknames have been enough, but every now and again, something like the signature on a letter, forces such data out into the open.
Ferdie Moldman, as he appeared playing the part of Rev. Jimpson
in the 1934 stage play "The Huffells Inheritance."
A gothic melodrama based on the Haugh-Wells family history.
So, with these latest revelations, what is the current common knowledge about the vicar? He's Church of England by training although his lack of enthusiasm for the religious side of his calling seems to suggest he's more of a Deist by belief; He either comes from, or was trained at Oxford, which makes him a definite "furriner" to the Norfolk villagers; He is unmarried, but has an attractive sister, called Rosamunda, who keeps watch over his household for him; and the recently revealed fact that his name is Cedric W. Jimpson. Although the middle initial is still a mystery, there is a very strong chance that it is "William" as that was very popular at the time.
Characterwise, he is scholarly, and is currently writing a history of the village to prove it; in terms of action, he is somewhat unpredictable and could easily surprise you by going either way, perhaps impulsive would be a better description, in which case that's something he would share with his sister. Financially, he has to rely on the ‘Living’ he gets from being the parish priest, although Rosamunda has a small income from old family money, which helps.
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Prelude to Romance
Recent mention on this blog (see above) of that amazing actor, Ferdie Moldman, and a similarly amazing response from his fans, leads me to follow it up with my favourite box-office publicity photo from that same 1934 production:
Rosamunda and Sir Marcus in Act II of ‘The Huffells Inheritance’
After the excitement of their horse-race, this is the moment when the couple leave the front-of-stage ‘sunshine’ and swirl blithely upstage into the more intimate lighting of the woodland glade.
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All Mardlingham characters are fictional
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