What is the greatest Maggie Smith screen role

She and Michael Caine are both brilliant in 'CA. Suite' Their timing, and comic readings, are masterful. "You did everything but suck his artichoke"

What about Aunt August Bertram in "Travels with My Aunt"?

Not her greatest role but here's her wonderful scene from the classic musical OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR!

I love her in everything, but I have a special place in my heart for her brilliant comic timing in "Murder By Death"

Not anyone's greatest film, but I loved her in "Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing " with Timothy Bottoms. Just a sweet movie and she was perfect.

Brodie has to be her best screen role - its still dazzling 40 years later, and California Suite has her best comedy role, complete with the flapping wrists ... while Gosford Park ("bought marmalade, I find that very feeble") perfected her grand dame mode which led to the Dowager Countess in Downton.

Luckily I saw her on the stage lots of times here in London - she was staggering in Ingmar Bermgan's 1970 production of Hedda Gabler, where she was an ice cold Hedda, (the cast were all in black againt red walls, like in his '72 film Cries and Whispers) - she also did a restoration comedy The Beau's Stratagem that season, with husband Robert Stevens and Jeremy Brett - I went to see them both twice (being an arty 24 year old!), she was also great of course in Lettice & Lovage, Private Lives, Night and Day, and more.

On television she did a great "Talking Heads" story, one of a series of Alan Bennett plays, as a vicar's wife who takes to the bottle.

Her early films were interesting, in the all-star VIPS, as Susan Hayward's nurse in The Honeypot, 1966, with Rod Taylor again in Young Cassidy, 1965 - and who can forget that double act with Bette Davis in the Agatha Christie Nile film ...

Good to see her still going, but it seems that Judi Dench has overtaken her now, they are together again in this new one set in India. I think Maggie's health has been frail in recent years but she keeps going ... and of course McGonagill is another key role for her in the Harry Potters.

"Chrystanthamums, such serviceable flowers".

Lettice and Lovage was just an out an out brillant comedic performance!

She was excellent in G.B. Shaw's The Millionariess.

I loved her spinster in Room with a View, with Judi Dench's Miss Lavish, and they are in Tea With Mussolini, and Ladies in Lavender, and this new one The Exotic Marigold Hotel.

She also did Mrs Venables in a BBC Suddenly Last Summer in the 90s I think, with Natasha Richardson in the Liz Taylor role.

So many great roles - she can't sing though, like Judi in Cabaret or A Little Night Music or Nine !

I don't know The Honeypot, but the teaming of Susan and Maggie sounds wonderful, like her and Bette Davis.

Hayward only has a couple of scenes in The Honeypot (her husband in Georgia died while she was in Italy and Mankiewicz released her early so she could return home), but Maggie goes on and is great with Rex Harrison, its a very wordy comedy.

Interesting that she and Judi both got iconic franchise roles late in their careers: Maggie in Harry Potter and Judi as M in the Bonds !

They are both amazing and keep going in their 70s.

What is this new film with Maggie and Judi??

She has a great line in the new one set in India where her spinster does not eat the local cousine: "I never eat anything I can't pronounce"

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - it comes out this month, about retired people going to live in India as its warmer and cheaper - with Maggie and Judi, the divine Celia Imrie, her rival from Downton Penelope Wilton and Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy as the men. Sounds perfect entertainment for adults.

I saw her as Millamant in 'The Way of the World' in the theatre in the 80s. It was the only time in a straight play I've experienced a round of applause after a speech ('Dwindle into a wife', of course).

I watched [italic]the Honeypot[/italic] for Capucine, but I enjoyed Smith's performance the most. I've really never seen her put a foot wrong.

For a while she played too many lonelyhearted spinster roles, but THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE was, I think, the best of them. You can stream it on Netflix.

Love her in LOVE AND PAIN... and wish it was a better movie.

I saw LETTICE AND LOVAGE in both London and NYC, and she really dialed up the "Maggie Mannerisms" for Broadway. The London performance was much better.

I watched JEAN BRODIE recently and found myself getting annoyed at her mannerisms as the film progressed, and wound up preferring the performances of Pamela Franklin (what happened to her???) and Celia Johnson. I'd love to see someone else's take on Brodie.

Her performance in TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT is ghastly.

Speaking of JUDITH HEARNE, Smith had a small but very intertesting role in the same director's THE PUMPKIN EATER with Anne Bancroft and Peter Finch. Smith played one of Finch's extramarital affairs.

Yes she is Philpot in The Pumpkin Eater - so thats some great actresses she was worked with earlier: Anne Bancroft, Susan Hayward, Bette Davis.

I should try Judith Ahearne again, it seemed too drab at the time, not another frustrated spinster role ... the great Wendy Hiller is in it too.

Vanessa Redgrave originated Brodie on the stage, but I dont imagine any other actress will take it on now, its too associated with Maggie (as Funny Girl is with Streisand).

"The mannerisms" ! _ no matter what the role is I always watch out for the flapping wrist!

[quote]On television she did a great "Talking Heads" story, one of a series of Alan Bennett plays, as a vicar's wife who takes to the bottle.

"Bed Among the Lentils." Brilliant. Wow. The quality & breadth of the roles is astounding.

And, she was a great asset to the Potter series as Professor McGonagall. She, Rickman, Oldman, Hurt and some of the other really fantastic British actors gave the series a heft it needed (and apparently served as excellent role models for Daniel Radcliffe).

There was a wretched revival Jean Brodie off-Broadway with a very miscast Cynthia Nixon just a few years ago.

Bed Among the Lentils is available (segmented) on YouTube. It is an astonishing performance.

Lettuce and Lovage (sp?) was great, but it is not a screen role.

"Bed Among the Lentils is available (segmented) on YouTube. It is an astonishing performance."

Astonishing and absolutely riveting. It's quite a feat to pull off. Just an actor, talking to the camera for nearly an hour.

And yet, with Maggie Smith as the actor, it's just as captivating as it was over 20 years and dozens of viewings ago.

I think it's the finest thing she's ever done.

TCM showed "The VIPs" this morning. Maggie played a secretary obviously in love with her boss Rod Taylor. Margaret Rutherford was delightful as The Duchess.

What about her portrayal of Isadora Duncan in "Isadora"?

R28 is right. That was the finest impersonation of Vanessa Redgrave ever on film.

[quote]... she also did a restoration comedy The Beau's Stratagem that season, with husband Robert Stevens and Jeremy Brett - I went to see them both twice (being an arty 24 year old!)

Lucky you, R6.

I've never seen her do anything that didn't capture all my attention from beginning to end. I really can only compare her roles among themselves & say some were better than others -- but when I compare them to other people's work, hers is always better. Or at least I enjoy it more.

Her early career in comedy revues with Kenneth Williams must have been a scream to watch and listen to them together - no wonder she developed that camp persona and great timing.

But whether its stage, tv or movies she is never less than watchable, whereas her pal Dame Judi can be, how shall I put it?, a little bit samey.

ASSASSIN!

One of her funniest turns was in Hot Millions, where she played a woman who's hilariously bad in every job she does. She's klutzy beyond belief and her self pity is so funny yet touching. And she even makes her falling in love with Peter Ustinov perfectly acceptable. She really has this unique gift to even breath comically.

Why isn't Sister Act and Sister Act II on the list?

Pamela Franklin was excellent opposite her in Brodie. She should have had a better career.

The scene of the statue's head coming down in the temple in Clash of the Titans still gives me goosebumps.

Harry Potter

Maggie made the Private Lives she did in London and then Broadway an event! She didn't even have much of a leading man to play against in NY....John Standing, I think was his name....can't even remember who played Victor and Sybil.

But it was all about Maggie and that was just fine.

[quote]Lettice and Lovage was just an out an out brillant comedic performance!

Decades ago, several years before I was born, I was in London with friends. We had a free afternoon when everyone could go and do as they liked without the rest.

I scored a 10th row seat to that show. Knew nothing about it except that she was in it. It was one of my favorite theater experiences. Not because it was the best play (although it was fun), but because I knew I was lucky enough to see Smith live. She took lines that would have gone nowhere in lesser hands and made them both real and greatly amusing.

She is very funny in the first Sister Act, her withering asides when coping with Goldie are hilarious - which she must have done for the money - I couldnt be bothered to see the second one though.

[quote] "I've really never seen her put a foot wrong."

[bold] MARY! [/bold]

Another vote for "The Millionairess." Gorgeous, funny, sexy and intelligent. Plus Tom Baker at his Tom Bakeriest.

[quote]Decades ago, several years before I was born, I was in London with friends.

I didn't realize that Shirley Maclaine posted here!

For me, it is Tea with Mussolini - Her Lady Hester was f'ing fantastic. Love that movie.

A taste of Tea with Mussolini... love love love this film.

Comedically, either "California Suite" or "Death on the Nile"

Dramatically, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" or "Young Cassidy"

She was so brilliant in Lettuce and Lovage. That should have been made into a movie.

[quote] She is very funny in the first Sister Act, her withering asides when coping with Goldie are hilarious - which she must have done for the money - I couldnt be bothered to see the second one though.

Is R40 talking about Goldie Whoopberg?

It should be acknowledged that Lettuce and Lovage was basically dreck, but the Smith performance elevated it into a class with Macbeth. Or at least the Marx Brothers. Still, it wasn't a screen role.

loved her as bubba's teacher in the parent teacher sketch on the carol burnett show a million years ago.

[There is nothing more tedious than a race baiting troll. Except the people that talk to it.]

almost forgot about that she did that in downtown abbey when Sybil died she was trying to walk into the church and every couple steps she kept sobbing and trying to gain composure it was the most emotional thing I have seen in a while

[quote]She has a great line in the new one set in India where her spinster does not eat the local cousine

Does this mean she refused her lesbian advances?

Saw her onstage in Tom Stoppard's NIGHT AND DAY. Positively brilliant, with a wonderful script.

Let's face it - has she ever not been amazing? Even when miscast (her Desdemona with Olivier's Othello - there's something not quite right with her in that role - she's not a true ingenue), she's always the most fascinating thing to watch onstage or onscreen and can steal a play or film with just a look.

She was also heaven onstage in Albee's DELICATE BALANCE and THREE TALL WOMEN.

And congrats to her on being elevated past Dame-hood to Legion of Honor. Here she is, stealing focus from THE QUEEN HERSELF! (Take that, Judi Dench!)

I'm with R36!!!! CLASH OF THE TITANS came out when I was a kid and the statue speaking, headless or otherwise, terrified me.

I loved seeing Dame Maggie manhandle Bette Davis in DEATH ON THE NILE.

Some of that manhandling in the second half of this clip,r54. Fun.

I'd forgotten about the kids on the riverbank mooning the boat.

First Wives Club!

I also said Miss Brodie, but she has had a fabulous, consistent career.

An obscure one--Alan Bennett's monologue "Bed Among the Lentils" which Dame M. did for BBC and was shown on PBS. Brilliance.

I voted for her performance in California Suite, but I also think she was memorable/hilarious in First Wives Club as Gunilla Garson Goldberg.

Ok, we need two queens to do to M & J (Maggie and Judi) what somebody has been doing to M & G.

[quote]I loved seeing Dame Maggie manhandle Bette Davis in DEATH ON THE NILE.

Smith is so good, but Davis' timing is way off. Even her speech is stilted. Did she realize that she wasn't able to compete with Smith? Why do actors lose their talents?

Like angela Lansbury in that movie as the kooky novelists that likes to tango.

I have a very soft spot for Daphne Castle.

"Arlena and I were in the chorus of a show together, not that I could ever compete. Even in those days, she could always throw her legs up in the air higher than any of us... and wider......"

R60, I actually liked Davis' stilted way of speaking. It made her character more eccentric. I also liked how she called Smith "Bowers" instead of "Miss Bowers".

she talked like that in all about eve and accentuated her e's

Cannot start a thread but did not want this to pass without notice:

Happy Birthday Dame Maggie Smith! Born 28.12.1934

I cannot believe how many truly watchable or excellent roles and films she has acted in. Most actors would kill for half such a resume...or less!

As a child, I first saw her in Hook, and she's been one of my favorites ever since.

Love, love, love her. She was very much the Dame-diva on Gosford, I can't imagine she's become less so now and good for her.

I live in hope that we will have a Moldavian wedding scene in the next Downton but I want the Dowager Countess to survive it.

Just when one thought had seen the entire range of Dame Maggie, up comes something new!

Caught Maggie Smith in California Suite on television last week. What a treasure!

If you get the original cast album of New Faces of 1956, you can hear Maggie's attempt at singing in her number "One Magic Moment." It's not much of a voice.

"You gayrles are my life!"”

[quote]And congrats to her on being elevated past Dame-hood to Legion of Honor. Here she is, stealing focus from THE QUEEN HERSELF! (Take that, Judi Dench!)

Do you mean Companion of Honour? Judi Dench was appointed CH in 2005, and Ian McKellan in 2007. Isn't that funny? You'd think Maggie would've made it before either of them.

I liked "Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing," with Timothy Bottoms (1973.) Sweetest story ever.

Lettice and Lovage scene with Maggs at the link.

She owes an immense debt to Kenneth Williams. He taught her everything. All her comic timing and intonation comes from him. You can see it when they're together....watch the clip

Very good doco on her

Her portrayal of Flo's cousin Wanda Jenkins in the tv show 'Alice' is rated among her most brilliant. The scene where she reveals she is dying of 'lady cancer' won her an Emmy. It is heartbreakingly hilarious.

I don't think so....

The greatest actress of all time.

Period.

Nobody even comes close.

Brilliant--but very humble. I met her in NYC. An incredibly kind, soft spoken woman who downplays her genius.

I would love to see her as Miss Mackie and Cate Balnchette as Miss Brodie. With Judi Dench as one of the teachers and Frances de le Tour as another. Daniel Craig as the art instructor. Benedict Cumberbatch as Mr. Lloyd. Who could play Sandy, Mary, and Miss Gaunt?

Just for giggles:

Two great redheads of the entertainment world having fun.

Well that was desperately unfunny. God, I didn't know the writing was so piss poor on the Burnett show.

It goes without saying that she was brilliant as Jean Brodie but that performance is ruined a little more each time I revisit it by that atrocious 1960s bouffant straw-colored wig.

It's a testament to her talents that she overcame it.

Her performance in 'The lonely Passion of Judith Hearne' is heartbreakingly good. It is probably one of the best performances by an actress ever put to film. Why she didn't win the oscar that year I cannot fathom.

Seconded for r55: She was hysterically funny and biting as the bitter lesbian from a formerly wealthy family reduced to serving Bette Davis's every whim.

Death on the Nile is quite a fun film.

Side-eyes expertly and gloriously delivered throughout.

Another vote for "Travels with My Aunt." Love it.

You gayles are my life!

Her comic timing in Evil Under the Sun, especially with Diana Rigg and Peter Ustinov, was spectacular.

Gwendlespire Bougrough!

Did anyone here see her do WAY OF THE WORLD?

Travels with My Aunt.