Truth Interesting and easy read - Fox has done his research well. My late husband's parents were Kenya settlers and his father had NO respect for the Happy Valley crowd AT ALL. Fox has certainly filled in many of the gaps left in the story my husband, Len Gill told me and has introduced me to a new side of some of the characters Len knew. I only wish I had read this book before my husband died of cancer. So many questions - so little time for answers.
Diana, vamp of Kenya, meets her 'Earl' Besides the book and VHS, WHITE MISCHIEF, I have another book, written by: either the daughter of Diana's fourth husband, Lord THOMAS Delamere, or written by a friend of the daughter of Lord Thomas. She speaks of 'father' introducing Diana - but, her name does not reflect a direct kinship.
Leda Farrant, author of, "Diana, Lady Edlamere, and the LORD ERROLL MURDER," tells a story much different from the movie. Her conclusions are not footnoted and she clearly admits that in Kenya, animated conversation and a diversity of opinions will follow any mention of the murder of Joss Erroll. I brought up this topic whilst staying at Giraffe Manor outside Nairobi. We were fortunate to have the owner of the Manor present at dinner that night, and she was quite forward and positive about her response: "Diana did it."
In her book, Farrant quotes many of the residents of Kenya of that time, but she does not provide a source for any of her quotes. Nonetheless, it often appears that her research was actually more detailed than that of James Fox, author of WHITE MISCHIEF. Farrant first met Diana in 1954. She and her friends and siblings found Diana to be great fun for children. James Fox actually merely 'finished' the writing of Cyril Connolly, a distinguished man of letters in Great Britain. Connolly started his project in the 1960's, and engaged the help of staff writer, Fox, for a brief account of the event for the Sunday Times Magazine in 1969. Connolly died in 1974, leaving many scraps of information for Fox, but no outline, no conclusion - no manuscript. There is no indication that Fox did much work beyond the findings of Cyril Connolly.
Farrant's account was the first time I had read of any other possible conclusion other than Lord Broughton as portrayed in the movie. I soon learned that British Society - especially in Kenya, never, for a moment, believed anyone did it other than Diana.
Mrs. Farrant notes that Diana was never without her wonderful jewels, of which she possessed many, nor attired in clothing that was not both stylish and expensive. She was to have said on many occasion, when the topic was introduced, "Well, of course, darling! Everyone knows I shot the bugger!" This is far from the story or the ending penned by Fox.
Regardless of truth - or outcome - WHITE MISCHIEF - is a fabulous dive into sheer decedance. The clothes, the languid lifestyle, the drugs and booze - all connect to allow the viewer to be more of an on-site voyeur to the happenings in Happy Valley. The music is absolutely perfect: the sound of an old 'Victrola' playing well-worn tunes of the era. The thought to add this background is pure genius. You even begin to feel the heat of the warm African days and the chill of the savanna nights.
If you are not familiar with this film, book or the story, it will take only one exposure to get you hooked. I think I have all the accounts available, but I am always on the hunt for more!
A brilliant movie set in Africa This nice film set in the 'white highlands' of Kenya in the 1940s paints a picture of a small community of British expat settlers living in Africa in the period when the second world war has brocken out. For them it is a small close knit society of class and high life, of philandering and gentlemen. The movie accuratly ignores the Africans because this was the nature of this colonial lifestyle, however its detail is immense. The servant of one of the main characters, is a dark skinned Muslim, not a local African, an import who the British brought in, along with the Indian community.
The story sourounds the murder of Lord Errol and the mystery over who did it. Was it the husband of the woman he was having an affair with. This beautiful movie paints a picture of luxory and exuberant debauchery among settlers, while a world fights a war and a native people struggle for independence. Brilliant scenery and detail punctuate the film as well as Greta Scachi's ever-present nudity.
Seth J. Frantzman
Social Rot, African Style Seldom has social rot been more beautifully photographed than here. It's 1940. Bombs are raining down on London, soldiers are dying across Europe, Hitler is on the rise, yet not a drop of alcohol is being spilled by the rich and idle colonialists of British east Africa. Time is spent drinking and gossiping, drinking and swapping mates, drinking and dancing, and drinking and cross-dressing. It's all really rather empty and boring, sort of a sub-Saharan "La Dolce Vita", summed up in the death-mask visage of the sumptuous Greta Scacchi. Once jealousy takes hold, it's fun to watch the emotions build and shake loose behind these perfectly mannered mannikins. Based on an actual murder case, the movie is salvaged from cliche by the elegantly understated style of the film-makers, who know how to both seduce and make a subtle point. Two scenes stay with me. A black man-servant sets up targets for practicing colonialists and narrowly escapes being shot in the process. The episode passes quickly, but it's evident the elitist whites take no notice of what almost happened -- a whole little world captured in one fleeting event. The other is the deathless and x-rated line -- "Oh my God! Not another f...king beautiful day." -- uttered by the super-jaded Sarah Miles as she surveys yet one more splendorous sunrise from the veranda of one of the film's many lush mansions. For contrast, there is John Hurt's scruffy and enigmatic "Gilbert", reputedly the richest man in Kenya, and a fascinating study in laconic reserve. What exactly is going on behind that wide-eyed stare and silent tongue -- envy? disgust? It's probably best that we never know. Anyway, this is an all-around first rate production that qualifies for permanent cult status and promises to remain with you long after the final scene has faded from view.
Actually, White Decadence This is on my list of somewhat inaccessible films (Inside Moves is another) which reward those who make the necessary effort to see it. (I do not recall either's appearance on television.) Based on James Fox's novel of the same name and ably directed by Michael Radford, White Mischief examines a colony of British expatriates near Nairobi in the 1940s. Blessed with an abundance of wealth and leisure, the hedonistic residents of "Happy Valley" seem determined to break as many of the Ten Commandments as possible and as frequently as possible. The primary focus of the narrative is on a triangular relationship which involves adulterous Diana Caldwell Broughton (Greta Scacchi), her betrayed husband Sir John Delves Broughton (Joss Ackland), and amoral Josslyn Hay, the 22nd Earl of Erroll (Charles Dance). Of special interest to me is the revelation of the nature and extent of decadence within their culture. Inevitably, Hay is found shot to death. Sir John is the obvious suspect and brought to trial but several other husbands share the same motive. The quality of the acting throughout the supporting cast is outstanding (notably John Hurt, Sarah Miles, Trevor Howard, and Geraldine Chaplin), as is Roger Deakins' cinematography. When co-authoring the screenplay based on Fox's novel, Jonathan Gems and Frederick Raphael seem to have been influenced by the Marquis de Sade, Evelyn Waugh, Billy Wilder, and Nathanael West.
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