Watch Period Dramas

I've had questions about where I find Period Dramas online. The answer is everywhere! Here are some of the main places I watch.

YouTube
There are hundreds of period dramas available for viewing on YouTube. Searching for the title of the film you're looking for usually works. And if you can't find the film today search tomorrow or next week - with so many users there are thousands of new things popping up each day.
To make finding videos simpler I have compiled a Period Drama Playlist featuring the first part of several period dramas (this is by no means a complete list of available films. I try to keep the list a fairly clean one but be aware there could be some sexual content and language in some films).
Don't know what kind of movie you're looking for? Check out my Period Drama Trailers Playlist ready to whet your appetite.

Masterpiece Theatre
The Masterpiece Theatre website have various films available for viewing while their season is running. (Currently Return to Cranford and Emma are available for viewing.)

Dimsy's Top Period Dramas
On her blog Miss Dimsy lists movie adaptations by author and links to where to find those films on YouTube.

Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
Fellow blogger Charleybrown has a lovely list of period dramas and links direct you on where to watch them.

Hulu
My brother just told me about this site where TV shows and Movies are available for free viewing (with limited commercial interruption). There are actually a few Period Dramas, several old films and many Sherlock Holmes films available. Below is a list of interesting films:

Period Films
The 39 Steps (1935)
The Bishop's Wife (1947, Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young)
Charade (1963, starring Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn - one of my favorite films)
Cold Comfort Farm (starring Kate Beckinsdale, some sexual themes)
The Great Train Robbery (1979, starring Sean Connery)
Heidi (1968)
His Girl Friday (1940, starring Cary Grant)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Little Princess (1939, starring Shirley Temple)
Moby Dick (1956, starring Orson Welles)
Nicholas Nickleby (2002, starring Charlie Hunnham, Anne Hathaway)
The Pirates of Penzance (1983, starring Kevin Kline & Angela Lansbury)
Scrooge (1935)
Washington Square (1997)
Wonder Man (1945, Danny Kaye)

Sherlock Holmes Films
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1955 TV show)
A Study In Scarlet (1933)
Dressed To Kill (1946, starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce)
Incident At Victoria Falls (1992)
Murder At The Baskervilles (1941)
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970, starring Robert Stephens, some mild sexual references)
Sherlock Holmes and The Fatal Hour (1931)
Sherlock Holmes and The Leading Lady (1991)
Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon (1943, starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce)
Terror By Night (1946, starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce)
The Sign of Four (1932, starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce)
The Speckled Band (1964)
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935)
The Woman In Green (1945, starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce)

I also wanted to quickly mention that I've added a new feature to the very bottom of the blog page so you can send an Old-Fashioned Charm e-card to friends and family. It's a very simple e-card sender, images are from period drams and many of them I've used in my posts before. Just a bit of fun, do enjoy!

Hope all is well in your corner of the world. God bless! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 (KJV)

How appropriate that Valentine's Day should fall on a Sunday when most Christians are headed to church. How wonderful it is to know the love of God and to dwell in the blessings of that great love that led Christ to sacrifice on our behalf.

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 (KJV)

Today may you know the love of family and friends and be blessed by the reminder of God's great love for us. Below is one of my favorite hymns that paint a beautiful picture of God's love for us.




The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

-Words and music by Fred­er­ick M. Leh­man, 1917

God bless! :)

Valentine's Day Cards

What have I been up to lately? Why, making Valentine's Day cards, of course!



It's been quite a few years since I've made my own Valentine's cards and this year because I enjoy the Victorian style cards I decided to make my own. My sister and I made our cards using various colors of card stock, paper doilies (hearts and circle shapes), stickers, lace and ribbon (I found mine at the dollar store), lots of glue and beautiful Victorian images.


Sweet envelope style Valentine

I found the above and other exquisite Victorian images at various websites. Here's a few I recommend:

-Three Little Kittens has a lovely assortment of Victorian cards for every occasion that can actually be sent as e-cards. I found a lot of my images here.
-Susannah's Loft also has lovely Victorian e-cards to which you can add music (such as 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart').
-Indiana University Library has a great display of Victorian Valentines and include a little history about the giving of cards. I found the pages on how Valentines were made and some Not-so-sweet Valentines very interesting. More information is available by clicking on each individual Valentine card that appears on the site.
-Victorian Source page has some beautiful Victorian Graphics, not all are Valentine's Day related but several could be used for cards. (See Victorian girls page 2, Victorian ladies page 2 & page 3)


My favorite Lilac Valentine - lilacs are my favorite flower

My sister and I had so much fun making these cards and sending them to our friends and family (unfortunately I didn't get photos of the cards made for our grandparents before sending them). Below is a selection of cards we made and some of the Bible verses I included when writing in them.


Envelope Valentine image on a plain note card

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. -Song of Solomon 2:4 (KJV)

Three Valentines: Rose & fan card, Heart Balloon card, and Gold & lace card

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -I Corinthians 13:4, 13 (NIV)

Lilac & lace card and Token of Love card

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. - I John 4: 7-8, 10-11 (KJV)

Rose & Painter's pallet card

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
We love him, because he first loved us. - I John 4:16 & 19 (KJV)

Fan & Afternoon walk card

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. -Lamentations 3:21-26 (ESV)

So what special things are you doing for Valentine's Day?

BBC Emma 1972

Doran Godwin as Emma Woodhouse

My dear blogging friend Elise asked about this adaptation of Emma the other day so because I've also been planning to review it I decided it was the perfect time to do just that!
This version of Emma was first aired on the BBC in 1972 consisting of six 45 minute episodes. The script was written by screenplay writer Denis Constanduros who at the time had already written three major miniseries for the BBC (The Railway Children, Little Women and Sense & Sensibility 1971) and would go on to collaborate on one more (Sense & Sensiblity 1981). It is a very full and complete script which follows Jane Austen's novel not omitting the slightest detail. That said this adaptation is really just like reading the book and can sometimes be a bit dry. But I find the more I watch it the more I appreciate the time and care put into the characters and dialog.


Emma with Debbie Bowen as a very silly Harriet Smith

This adaptation often can be looked at more like you're watching the story unfold as a play with actors on a stage. Few props, little music, simple costumes and hair styles, and slow and deliberate acting give this effect. This may seem strange to some viewers who are used to the more modern adaptations where they seek to show the characters in their everyday lives and try to keep with the history and styles of the period.


Perfectly cast Donald Eccles as Mr. Woodhouse

That said there are some lovely actors in this adaptation which I feel really embody the characters Jane Austen paints in her novel. One of my favorites is Donald Eccles as Mr. Woodhouse who being thin and a bit frail and truly old but still gallant and concerned for others. Other characters I enjoyed are Mr. Elton (handsome clergyman who you can tell is really trying to please the ladies) and Mrs. Elton (her tongue is really very sharp).



Ania Marson as Jane Fairfax and Constance Chapman as Miss Bates

Another favorite is Constance Chapman as Miss Bates who does an excellent job of "rattling on". I enjoy listening to her voice because she would reprise the same character in a BBC Radio Drama a few years later (this Radio Drama was my first experience with Emma).
But there are other characters in this adaptation (such as super silly Harriet Smith) who can get a bit tedious or boring at times. Actors are also often seem to cast older than they should. For example Doran Godwin who play Emma Woodhouse looks like she's nearing 35 but she was at the time only 22 years old. While John Carson who played Mr. Knightley was at the time nearing 45 years old (10 years older than Mr. Knightley's real 35-36 years).


Doran Godwinn and John Carson as Emma and Mr. Knightley

One of the things I really appreciate about the romance of Emma and Mr. Knightley is that their romantic love develops far after their deep and abiding friendship. They truly have time to learn each others characters (the good and the bad) and really love each other because this friendship. They also understand each other so well they don't need physical touch to express their love, sometimes they don't even need words! Their love story is very gently played out in this adaptation - I'm not sure if the actors even ever hold hands (and their is certainly no kissing). There is one very sweet scene towards the end that is included from the book. The scene shows Emma trying to use Mr. Knightley's first name but finding that "George" just doesn't fit her idea of him.


I would definitely recommend this adaptation to all period drama fans, but unless you are a die hard Austen fan (like me, I own all the films) then I wouldn't recommend purchasing it just yet. Instead you can pre-view Emma 1972 on YouTube. I've also created the above video with music from the Opening and End Credits and photos from the adaptation. Enjoy!