Laugh a Little Louder Please
Encyclopedia
Laugh a Little Louder Please is the third episode of the fifth and final series of the period drama
Upstairs, Downstairs
. It first aired on 21 September 1975 on ITV
.
, party as an inspiration for this episode. We Danced All Night was also used for other episodes in which Georgina played a main role. Sisson also
brought some of her own experiences and feelings, as a child in the Second World War
, into this episode. In Laugh a Little Louder Please Madeleine Cannon makes her first appearance as Lady Dolly Hale.
on League of Nations
business. Shortly after the Party has started, Miss Treadwell, Alice and William's new Governess, arrives at Eaton Place. Later in the evening, Georgina and Robin are upstairs in the nursery talking and Robin asks Georgina to marry him. When she says no, Robin says that he will kill himself if she does not as he can not live without her. She does not believe him and walks out of the room. Not long after, Miss Treadwell finds that Robin has shot himself just outside the nursery. Hudson, who arrived seconds after Miss Treadwell found the body, reads a letter that Captain Eliott had written on the back of a drawing from the nursery. It read "My dearest Georgina. You will never know how much I loved you. My life would be unbearable without you. God bless. Robin". Hudson screws this up before James and Georgina arrive. The following morning, Georgina carries on as normal merely saying "it did rather spoil the party, didn't it?".
Meanwhile, Edward suggests to Daisy that they emigrate to Canada
, but Daisy reminds him how lucky they are compared to many others. Diana Newbury and James talk about her marriage to Bunny, and she shows little affection for him.
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
. It first aired on 21 September 1975 on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Background
Laugh a Little Louder Please was recorded in the studio on 6 and 7 February 1975. Rosemary Anne Sisson, the writer of this episode, used We Danced All Night, the autobiography of Barbara CartlandBarbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
, party as an inspiration for this episode. We Danced All Night was also used for other episodes in which Georgina played a main role. Sisson also
brought some of her own experiences and feelings, as a child in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, into this episode. In Laugh a Little Louder Please Madeleine Cannon makes her first appearance as Lady Dolly Hale.
Cast
- Lesley-Anne DownLesley-Anne DownLesley-Anne Down is a British film and television actress, former model and singer.Down achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs...
- Georgina Worsley - Angela BaddeleyAngela BaddeleyAngela Baddeley, CBE , born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
- Mrs Bridges - Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
- HudsonAngus HudsonAngus Hudson was a fictional character in the ITV drama Upstairs, Downstairs, portrayed by actor Gordon Jackson from 1971 until 1975.-Biography:... - Jean MarshJean MarshJean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
- Rose - Simon WilliamsSimon Williams (actor)Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...
- James BellamyJames BellamyMajor The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975... - Celia BannermanCelia BannermanCelia Bannerman is an English actress and director, born 3 June 1944 at Abingdon, Berkshire, trained at the London Drama Centre. She started her professional career with Ralph Richardson as Dolly in Bernard Shaw’s You Never Can Tell and Lucy in Sheridan’s The Rivals at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket,...
- Diana Newbury - Christopher BeenyChristopher BeenyBorn in London, Beeny began his career at the age of six when he danced for the ' Ballet Rambert. He spent several years at the ' Arts Educational School before later progressing to 'RADA.His first screen role was in the 1952 film The Long Memory...
- Edward - Osmond Bullock - Captain Robin Eliott
- Karen DotriceKaren DotriceKaren Dotrice is an English actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey to two accomplished stage actors...
- Lily - Jacqueline TongJacqueline TongJacqueline Tong is an English actress who is best known for playing Daisy Barnes in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs from 1973 to 1975. In 1975, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in the Primetime Emmy Awards.-Early life:Tong was born in Bristol,...
- Daisy - Gareth HuntGareth HuntAlan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
- Frederick - Jenny TomasinJenny TomasinJenny Tomasin is an English actress best known for her roles in Upstairs, Downstairs and Emmerdale.-Career:Tomasin became well known in the early 1970s when she joined the cast of Upstairs, Downstairs as kitchen maid Ruby. She stayed with the series until the end in 1975, appearing in 41 episodes...
- Ruby - Shirley CainShirley CainShirley Cain is a British television actress.Her television appearances include Upstairs Downstairs , Malice Aforethought , Pride and Prejudice , Dombey and Son , The Pickwick Papers , Harem , The Bill...
- Miss Treadwell - John QuayleJohn Quayle (actor)John Quayle is an English actor who is best remembered for his roles in many sitcoms including All Gas and Gaiters, Terry and June, Steptoe and Son and The Liver Birds.-Career:...
- Bunny Newbury - Madeleine Cannon - Lady Dolly Hale
- Trevor RayTrevor RayTrevor Ray is a British actor who has appeared in many TV-series..Ray penned the final version of the first episode of the Doctor Who serial The Ambassadors of Death, though he was not credited on the episode...
- The Hon. Tommy Spenton - Anne Yarker - Alice Hamilton
- Jonathan Seely - William Hamilton
- Marsha FitzalanMarsha FitzalanLady Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard, better known as Marsha Fitzalan is an English actress.-Personal:...
- Bluebird (Party Guest) - Julia Schofield - Geraldine (Party Guest dressed as Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
) - Victor Langley - Bather (Party Guest)
- Nicholas Hunter - Red Indian (Party Guest)
Plot
It is Summer 1921, and Georgina, James, Diana Newbury and Captain Robin Eliott, decide to hold a fancy dress "Freedom Party" while Richard and Virginia are away in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
on League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
business. Shortly after the Party has started, Miss Treadwell, Alice and William's new Governess, arrives at Eaton Place. Later in the evening, Georgina and Robin are upstairs in the nursery talking and Robin asks Georgina to marry him. When she says no, Robin says that he will kill himself if she does not as he can not live without her. She does not believe him and walks out of the room. Not long after, Miss Treadwell finds that Robin has shot himself just outside the nursery. Hudson, who arrived seconds after Miss Treadwell found the body, reads a letter that Captain Eliott had written on the back of a drawing from the nursery. It read "My dearest Georgina. You will never know how much I loved you. My life would be unbearable without you. God bless. Robin". Hudson screws this up before James and Georgina arrive. The following morning, Georgina carries on as normal merely saying "it did rather spoil the party, didn't it?".
Meanwhile, Edward suggests to Daisy that they emigrate to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, but Daisy reminds him how lucky they are compared to many others. Diana Newbury and James talk about her marriage to Bunny, and she shows little affection for him.