HALLIE EPHRON: I was so sad to hear that one of my all-time favorite actresses has died. From her roles as Jean Brodie to the dowager Countess of Grantham to Professor Minerva McGonagall, I have adored Dame Maggie Smith's dry wit and tartan vulnerability. She could vanquish with a pursed lip and a well directed gaze.
My favorite Dame Maggie Smith movies are, of course, the Harry Potter series. I can hear her rolling her R’s – “Mr. Po-tter…”
But she had so many star turns, even when she wasn’t the “star” of the show.
My favorite is “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." She was only 35 when she played the imperious teacher with unorthodox methods and a special hold over her “gels.”
That role won her the best actress Oscar.
There are so many roles she would have aced… which got me wondering, what fictional detective could she have played. Certainly NOT Miss Marple. She’d have been horribly miscast.
But what if… Miss Marple had an acerbic cousin, living in Glasgow…?
What are your favorite Maggie Smith roles, and what kind of sleuth do you think she could have played, adding to it her own special panache???
Favorite Maggie Smith roles? There are so many, but Daphne Castle in "Evil Under the Sun" is one of my favorites . . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you, Hallie, mourning Maggie Smith's passing. She was brilliant in Downton Abbey, and we got to see her year after year, which was such a treat. Not sure about which fictional detective she could have played.
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