The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama first broadcast between 1991 and 1993. It was produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network. It is set in an idyllic rural 1950s Kent, among a large, boisterous family. The three series were based on novels by H. E. Bates. Yorkshire TV called it a drama but it has been considered a comedy.
Plot introduction
The key characters in the show, based on the first novel, are Sidney Charles "Pop" Larkin (David Jason), Florence "Ma" Larkin (Pam Ferris), who are unmarried, their eldest daughter Mariette (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and tax collector Cedric Charlton (Philip Franks), who is renamed Charley by the Larkins. Charley arrives at the beginning of the first episode to get Pop Larkin to fill in his tax forms. He is distracted when he falls in love with Mariette Larkin at first sight, and the Larkins distract him further by attempting to teach him to play crib and getting him drunk. In spite of a hangover the next day, he becomes captivated by the idyllic country life led by the Larkins, and ends up a member of the family.
Production
H. E. Bates wrote five books involving the Larkin family, the titles of the first four of which were used as episode titles for the TV series:
- The Darling Buds of May (1958)
- A Breath of French Air (1959)
- When the Green Woods Laugh (1960)
- Oh! To Be in England (1963)
- A Little of What You Fancy (1970)
The first novel in the series was originally adapted to the screen in 1959 as The Mating Game, starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall as Mariette and Charley.
The Yorkshire TV series was filmed at Pluckley, Kent and nearby locations. Scenes in the former Wennington School, Yorkshire, were also in the programme. The farm used in the series is open to the public once a year for the Darling Buds Classic Car Show[1]. No filming was done inside the farmhouse, the interiors having been shot in a studio. "The darling buds of May" is from Shakespeare's sonnet 18: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May | And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Reception
The show was a success, its "feel-good" factor during economic recession often noted as the reason. It began the acting career of Zeta-Jones. The three series, plus special episodes, are available on DVD.
Characters
"Pop" Larkin is the eccentric and loving father. He has no regular employment but several projects and a succession of jobs provide income for the family. He invents things. His money-making schemes are often a side plot in each episode. Despite Pop's irregular income, the family does not lack money. They afford holidays abroad, a swimming pool and boarding school for the twins. He is proud of his large family and involved in his children's lives. While Pop adores Ma, he is also close to other women, although he never goes beyond flirting and kissing. Ma is aware of this and doesn't appear to mind.
"Ma" Larkin is the mother of the family. She occasionally becomes involved in Pop's schemes, or creates a scheme of her own. However she is usually cooking food, tending the garden or caring for the children.
Mariette Larkin is the eldest child. Her name was created by combining 'Marie' and 'Antoinette'. In the first episode she is shown to be the family beauty and slightly wild. However, she quickly marries Charley and settles down with him for the rest of the series. She has father's business sense and manages a brewery with Charley in later episodes. Her wedding ceremony reveals her middle name as Jane.
Montgomery Larkin (played by Ian Tucker) is the eldest son. He only appears for part of the series before joining the navy and attending college.
Primrose Larkin is the second daughter. She reads romantic poetry and dreams of love. She tries to seduce both Charley and the village minister but fails. She has other romances, one of which leads to her staying in France after a family vacation, to remain with her love. Her full name is Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa Larkin.
Zinnia and Petunia Larkin are the twins. They are identical and use this to pull pranks. In early episodes, the twins are often with Victoria. As they age, they see Victoria as an annoyance and avoid her. The twins' mischief leads to expulsion from the village school. They attend a boarding school, which they love. They share the middle names June Florence Nightingale.
Victoria Larkin is the youngest daughter. She often plays with the twins but feels left out. She enjoys teasing and embarrassing her siblings, especially Primrose.
Oscar Larkin is the youngest child. He grows from an infant to a toddler throughout the series. His full name is Oscar Columbus Septimus Dupont Larkin.
Cedric "Charley" Charlton is Mariette's husband. He was a tax collector but gave up his job after falling in love with Mariette and the Larkins' life . He holds on to some city ideas, though, and never fully develops the Larkin sense of business. He and Mariette eventually own a brewery .
John Blenheim Charlton is Mariette and Charley's son. He was born approximately one year after Oscar and both often play together and are cared for together. He has the middle names Churchill Marlborough. His character is played by Daisy-May Bates, granddaughter of the author of the books.
Timeline of TV series
The first episode is based on the first book, written and set in 1958. However, by the last episode of the 3rd series, when the children are older and the babies have been conceived, born, and grown to toddlerhood, a close-up of a calendar reveals that we are still in 1959. The end of the final episode takes place on 5 November, 1959 (Guy Fawkes Night).
Episodes
Series 1
- "The Darling Buds of May" (7 & 14 April 1991): Cedric Charlton, the tax inspector, arrives on Home Farm to help the Larkins fill their tax form. He is distracted by their beautiful daughter, Mariette. The Larkins distract him further by attempting to teach him crib and getting him drunk. He wakes with a hangover, and is unfit to return home. Eventually, he forgets life in the office. He accompanies the family on their annual strawberry-picking trip, where he attracts Pauline Jackson, the local flirt. Mariette and Pauline fight for him but Mariette wins and the episode ends with Mr Charlton (called Charley by the family), proposing to Mariette, and Pop Larkin giving them his blessing.
- "When The Green Woods Laugh" (21 & 28 April 1991): The day of Charley and Mariette's wedding is looming. Pop sells a country mansion to an aristocratic couple. When Pop rejects the advances of Corrine Perrigo, she gets her revenge by persuading the woman to charge him with assault, when all he attempted was stop her from falling. The Brigadier is best man for the wedding. He and Angela Snow (a flirt who has made advances on Pop) get cosy on the sofa, but the Brigadier feels queasy and Angela disappears. Eventually, Pop is found innocent and the wedding goes ahead.
- "A Breath of French Air" (5 & 12 May 1991): The Larkins go on holiday to Britanny. The weather is appalling, the food revolting, the receptionist unfriendly. The weather improves, and a mechanic sees the crest on the doors of Mr Larkin's car and thinks him a lord. As a result, he is treated better, even by the receptionist, Molet. The hotel patronne, Mademoiselle Dupont, gives Pa and Ma her room. Primrose, the second daughter, falls in love with a local boy named Marc Antoine and wants to stay in France. Tension springs up between Charley and Mariette when she attracts local young men and wants to spend time with them on the beach. She refuses to go on a miniature railway with Charlie. Incensed, Charlie says he will go on his own. The train is late and he wanders into a bar, where he meets a tomboy and her pals. They get him drunk; he misses his train and has to be escorted home by Pop. But he sobers up at the sight of Mariette playing in the sea with her new friends. Charley drags her away, and tells her she will come on the train with him next day whether she likes it or not. Mariette surrenders and enjoys it. The Larkins get together with the tomboy, Max (short for Maxime), and Angela Snow (who, by a coincidence, is also visiting Britanny) and her sister Iris, who with the hotel staff organise a wedding anniversary celebration for Charley and Mariette.
- "Christmas Is Coming" (22 December 1991): Mariette is pregnant, look at a place close by, and bump into an escaped convict (Ian Bartholomew). The Larkins help him see his family on the condition he goes back to prison afterwards. He is Father Christmas for the party at the village hall.
Series 2
- "Oh! To Be In England" (26 January & 2 February 1992): Mme Dupont comes to stay with the Larkins, and discovers the truth - Mr. Larkin is not a lord. She is disappointed but comes to terms with it, and enjoys her stay. Pop saves an old woman from being cheated, and buys a fair from his friend, Fruity Pears, who is unable to run it after being attacked by thugs. Primrose's relationship with the French boy has fizzled out; back in England she falls for Mr Candy, the young vicar in charge of christening the young Larkins... and a newly-arrived Charlton.
- "Stranger At The Gates" (9 & 16 February 1992): A young man named Pieter who says he is Danish arrives on the farm, and starts doing odd jobs for the people in the village. Everyone, including Mariette, thinks he's the bee's knees, much to the resentment of Charley. Meanwhile, Montgomery is being bullied by local boys, and Primrose is attempting to win Mr. Candy's heart. She mistakes his sister for a girlfriend, and angrily leaves him. Charley discovers that Pieter is German and has been hiding his identity because of the anti-German sentiment in post-World War II England. The villagers turn against him on this discovery, but Pieter is restored to favour again after he rescues one of the village children from a quarry ledge. The Larkins arrange for Pieter to marry his sweetheart, an English girl named Eileen.
- "A Season of Heavenly Gifts" (23 February & 1 March 1992): Pop Larkin unwittingly becomes involved in smuggling when he receives gifts from a grateful pilot he helped after a crash-landing. Meanwhile, an evil Polish man named Mr. Cope attempts to prevent Charley and Mariette from buying Mrs. Kinthley's hopgarden. The pilot invites the family to a party at his club, which they greatly enjoy. Montgomery Larkin is unhappy at Naval College, where he is training to be a sailor. The family go to his Open Day; the Brigadier goes along and helps them solve the problem by showing Pop how to humiliate the bullying instructor, Strickland.
- "Le Grand Weekend" (26 December 1992): Pop and Ma's proposed week-end in Paris is disrupted by a storm, and they spend the time in an English country house.
Series 3
- "The Happiest Days of Your Life" (28 February & 7 March 1993): The twins go to boarding school, while Charley starts doing the books as a part time job for the brewery to which he wishes to sell his hops. Charley and Mariette decide to buy the brewery. The whole family repairs the twins' boarding school, which was otherwise going to be forced to close by the bank for not keeping up with the repairs.
- "Cast Not Your Pearls Before Swine" (14 & 21 March 1993): Pop builds a swimming-pool, and buys two hundred pigs from a confidence trickster who is also cheating Edith, who has fallen in love with him. Meanwhile Primrose has a new love interest — a member of the swimming pool building crew, from Liverpool. Pop prepares a trick against George Harran to put all to rights without hurting Edith. Primrose runs away to Liverpool.
- "Climb The Greasy Pole" (28 March & 4 April 1993): Pop runs for rural councillor while Charley and Mariette struggle at the brewery and have problems in their relationship. Gypsies get involved in Pop's campaign for rural councillor. Charley and Mariette have to work on their marriage, and finalise the deal to buy Bristow's brewery.
References
- ^ Darling Buds Classic Car Show, UK, http://www.darlingbudsclassiccarshow.co.uk/ .
External links
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