Hobson’s Choice
Charles Laughton, who played Henry Horatio Hobson, owner of a shoemaker store, was what first held my attention. Laughton was a wonderful English leading and character actor whom I always admired. He passed away in 1962; I guess this is the reason I haven't seen him in anything lately. I recall he was married to the wonderful character actress Elsa Lanchester who also died in '62.
Laughton appeared in numerous plays, television productions and many, many movies.
The third character to catch my attention was Maggie Hobson, eldest daughter of Henry Hobson, played by Brenda De Banzie. I must admit I know next to nothing about the actress, but she was wonderful as the determined, self-assured Maggie.
I believe I was watching the movie on Turner Broadcasting. Ted Turner received a lot of criticism for his colorization of old films for use on television. In this case he didn’t colorize the movie because it was produced in the color era, but I suspect some work was done on it because of the pristine quality of the images. Hats off, Ted.
I guess the movie would be classified as a romantic comedy, and it was both humorous and heart touching. I found myself laughing out loud and empathizing with the characters, a rare event these days.
Hobson’s choice is an old expression which dates to the middle of the Seventeenth Century. Basically it means not really having a choice. An example would be someone asking you if you want soup and salad or salad and soup. After father Hobson refused wages to his eldest daughter for running the shoemaker’s shop, Maggie gave the young Will Mossop no choice other than “marry me” or “wed me.”
I assure you, all works out well in the end thanks to the steely determination of Maggie.
Well, what’s my point you may be asking? My point, my good reader, is that not everything new is better. Storytelling is an ancient art not practiced widely or well today. The sitcoms and movies too often today neglect the basics of telling a story. You youngsters must do better. You’re boring us to tears.
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