Julie Walters in Filth

[stuart.uk]

i maybe getting ahead of myself, but next week sees the first showing of tv movie Filth; The Mary Whitehouse Story, starring Julie Walters as real life campaigner Mary Whitehouse.

Mary Whitehouse was a campaigner against bad language and immoral behaviour on UK tv. her moral attituted has split the Nation in their views about her. some think she did a lot of good trying to clean up our tv screens, others think she did a lot of damage trying to censor tv programing. one of her pet hates was Till Death Do Us Part (it inspired All In The Family in America), where she complained about the bad language, counting up all the swear words. mind you star Warren Mitchell, who played Alf Garnett (your Archie Bunker) said they welcomed her complaints as they upped the viewing figures. others will say Till Death Do Us Part showed Alf up to be an idiotic racist bigot and went along way to re-educating the British people. on the other hand it backfired a little, because some saw racist Alf as a hero, something Mitchell and the writer didn't like.

Julie looks convincing in her make-up of the prim and proper housewife, her grey permed hair and brimmed spectacles, unlike the sexy middle-aged woman she is in reality. i wonder what the late Mary would make of the casting, after all Julie played a Madam in a black leather pant suit, carrying a whip in Personal Services when she was younger.

Alun Armstrong, who played a noble-man in Braveheart and a Detective Sargeant in Patriot Games, is cast as Mary's husband.

it seems a shame that Filth like other Walters British tv movies will probably not see the light of day in America, because the signs are that it will make an impressive addition to her already brilliant cv

to be fair to Mary Whitehouse, i think she was a nice, if perhaps misguided, lady with a sense of humour. when tv presenter Noel Edmonds, of Noel's House Party (currently Deal Or No Deal) asked the British public who they wanted to see Gunched on air, many names where mentioned. however, all refused to appear except the now elderly Mary Whitehouse, who took it all in good spirit when all that rubbish was poured all over her.

[stuart.uk]

i just found a link with a picture of Julie playing Mary Whitehouse. there is a video clip at the top of page

Wall to Wall - Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
Wall to Wall - Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story ... Starring Julie Walters as Mary Whitehouse; Alun Armstrong as her husband Ernest; and Hugh ...

http://www.walltowall.co.uk/catalogue_d ... rogram=167 · Cached page