Dennis Potter Between Two Worlds: A Critical Reassessment

235 Pages·1998·12.745 MB·English

by  Glen Creeber (auth.)

DENNIS POTTER: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
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Dennis Potter
Between Two Worlds
A Critical Reassessment
Glen Creeber
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-71390-7 ISBN 978-0-230-37465-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230374652
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17774-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Creeber, Glen, 1962-
Dennis Potter : between two worlds : a critical reassessment I
Glen Creeber.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-17774-4 (cloth)
I. Potter, Dennis--Criticism and interpretation. 2. Television
plays-History and criticism. I. Title.
PR6066.077Z62 1998
822'.914---dc21 97-26514
CIP
© Glen Creeber 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 978-0-333-71389-1
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10987654 3 2 I
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98
For Mum and Dad
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Contents
List of Plates viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 'Switch on, tune in and grow' 1
1. In Search of an Author: Biography, Authorship
and Methodology 11
2. Between Two Worlds: Class, Nostalgia and the
'Democratic Medium' 30
3. Between Good and Evil: Religion and the Romantic
Vision 70
4. 'Banality with a Beat': The Paradox of Popular
Culture 110
5. Mothers and Mistresses: Women, Sexuality
and the Male Unconscious 149
Conclusion 'A Fitting Memorial?' 190
Filmography 199
Bibliography 204
Index 211
vii
List of Plates
1 Blue Remembered Hills (1979): Audrey (Janine Duvitski)
and Angela (Helen Mirren) are literally caught
between two worlds.
2 Son of Man (1969): Potter's Christ (Colin Blakely)
is crucified.
3 Where the Buffalo Roam (1966): Willie (Hywel Bennett) and
his mother (Megs Jenkins) grapple with the printed word.
4 The Singing Detective (1986): Philip Marlow's
(Michael Gambon) loathing of women is physically
turned in on himself.
All photographs are reproduced by kind permission of the BBC
Photograph Library and Archive.
Vlll
Acknowledgements
This book originally began as research for a PhD thesis at the
University of East Anglia. V.ery special thanks therefore goes to
my supervisor Professor Roger Sales for his invaluable help,
support and continued encouragement. My thanks also goes to
the British Academy who funded my research and made it possible
for me to visit the Museum of Television and Radio in New York
(where Potter's work was the subject of a comprehensive retro
spective in 1992). To the staff at the BBC Written Archives Cen
tre at Caversham and at the BBC Television Script Unit (sadly
no longer in existence). To Stephen Lesley at the BBC who helped
me to obtain copies of video material and to John Wyver and
Philip Purser for their help in acquiring archive material. Thanks
should also go to the members of various conferences who kindly
commented on papers which were incorporated into the final
book- in particular the 1994 and 1995 Screen Studies conferences
at Glasgow University and the 1994 conference of 'The Romantic
Child' held at the University of Keele. Finally I would like to
thank my commissioning editor Charmian Hearne for her help
and support, and all those who kindly gave their permission to
reproduce copyright material. Particular thanks to Faber and Faber,
Media, Culture and Society and the Judy Daish Associates Ltd.
A book of this kind is always built upon a deeper foundation
than those who helped specifically with its construction. Thanks
must therefore go to all my friends and colleagues at the Uni
versity of North London, Lancaster University, the University of
East London and the University of East Anglia. Very special thanks
to Rita and Melanie Broughton, Claire and James Buckland, Warren
Buckland, Dani Cavallaro, Jack Creeber, Kevin Donnelly, Tony
Gillings, Laurel Goss, Clifford Harris, Pat Jackson, Jason Jacobs,
Cormack Kirby, David Lewis, Alan McMurtrie, Jane Scott Moss,
Dermot Power, Derek and Pam Newland, Georgia Poulopoulou,
David Shaddick, Eileen Spowart, Karl Swainston, Delia Toberty,
Jane Woolf, Eckart Voigts Virchow, 'Z Block 94', and to all my
students past and present. Finally, very special thanks to Karen
Broughton, without whom none of this would have been possible.
ix