Review of The Black Velvet Gown (1991) by Aldanyh + — 18 Dec 2014
This movie really has two stories in one: first is the story of the widow with her three children searching for a place after being left peniless and alone; second is the story of one of the children growing up into a young woman and finding her own place in the world - the latter being the one I found most interesting.
Biddy is a girl who is really too clever to be working as a servant, and too proud to hide it and act 'her place'. In those times, servants were not expected to be able to sign their own names, let alone read poetry and stories the way Biddy does, and boy does it get her into trouble. Biddy makes an excellent protagonist and heroine: she is clever but too proud to hide it; she is a servant but is unwilling to be told what to think; pretty but too cynical to welcome male attention; has no power yet stands up to injustice all the same.
Overall, it was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed watching and one of the more optimistic of the Catherine Cookson series of films.
This review of The Black Velvet Gown (1991) was written by Aldanyh + on 18 Dec 2014.
The Black Velvet Gown has generally received mixed reviews.
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