The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again

[brianr]

[southendmd]

Thanks for the historical perspective, Brian.  And for the photo.

One of the reviews I read mentioned that Queen Mary was about as warm as a submarine filled with ice cream!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Thank you, Brian. That's exactly the photo I remembered.

In addition to the antique-length dress, Queen Mary also appears to be wearing an old-fashioned "widow's peak" mourning bonnet.

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Yes, I thought that was the one Jeff mentioned.

[brianr]

Style has changed, Here is the Queen at her mother's funeral in 2002

[brianr]

The Sydney Morning Herald
Stutterly marvellous: why we clamour for the stammer story
"Who would have thought a film about a stuttering monarch almost a century ago would capture the hearts of Sydneysiders to such an extent that they clap when the credits roll.

Yet The King's Speech is proving more popular than Slumdog Millionaire, cinema operators say.

Audiences have left theatres gushing about how "truly empowering" the British period drama was, calling it one of the best films they've ever seen, they say.

Some have also returned to watch it numerous times.

Greater Union, one of the country's two major operators, said it was expanding its release due to strong demand, after an initial limited release restricted by the number of available copies of the film.

"This film ... is doing extraordinarily well due to a combination of outstanding critical reviews, great word of mouth and the Australian connection with Geoffrey Rush," said Kristie Atkins of Greater Union.

"We're thrilled with the response. ... There's certainly a lot of buzz around it."
...........
Logue wrote to Queen Elizabeth after his death, expressing his condolences, and she replied with the letter: "I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but through that his whole life and outlook on life.

""I shall always be deeply grateful to you for all you did for him."

[Jeff Wrangler]

Style has changed, Here is the Queen at her mother's funeral in 2002

No more mourning veils.

[serious crayons]

Pardon my misplaced modifier. 

Speaking grammatically, I don't think the modifier was misplaced. I was just be deliberately obtuse. 

LOL, you guys are funny. I was sitting here thinking, Wait, I'm pretty sure he meant Claire Bloom. (I was being accidentally obtuse.)

Queen Mary also appears to be wearing an old-fashioned "widow's peak" mourning bonnet.

So that's where that term comes from. I always assumed it referred to the shape of a cliff off of which a grief-stricken widow could fling herself.

[southendmd]

LOL, you guys are funny. I was sitting here thinking, Wait, I'm pretty sure he meant Claire Bloom. (I was being accidentally obtuse.)

If you were being obtuse, I was being abstruse.

[Jeff Wrangler]

So that's where that term comes from. I always assumed it referred to the shape of a cliff off of which a grief-stricken widow could fling herself.

I copied the following from Wikipedia's article on the widow's peak hairline.

Etymology
The term widow's peak is from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead – suggestive of the peak of a widow's hood – is an omen of early widowhood.[4] Peak is the same word as pike and beak, all of which refer to something that has a projecting point.[5] The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833.[6] The expression widow's peak dates from 1849.[6] The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front – a biquoquet[5] – which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530.[6] Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century.[7] A mourning cap or Mary Stuart Cap is a cap which features a very distinctive triangular fold of cloth in the middle of the forehead, creating an artificial widow's peak.[7] The use of peak referring to a point in the cloth covering the forehead dates to at least 1509 when it appears in Alexander Barclay’s The Shyp of Folys.