And The Big Winner Is...

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Regardless of the Super Bowl, today's big winner is Mrs. Johnson.  I spotted four pictures of her on the forum today!  2 from Depp Shadows (Featured Capture and Background), 1 from 1991 (Capture), and 1 from HoDS (Background).  Can you tell I love this lady?   

Thanks, MB!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

You're very welcome - and I love Mrs. Johnson, too. Regardless of the version of DS, she always manages to make an impression - even when, as in Depp/DS, she doesn't even say a word. And today's quote/capture from Depp/DS is a perfect example of that. I was thrilled that Midnite had picked today's quote because it meant the Depp/DS slideshow could feature the shot of Mrs. J. polishing the silver in her very own inimitable way! 

[Gothick]

You're a very nice girl.  Here's a dime for your trouble.  Now don't go spending it all in one place.

G.

[michael c]

dear lord are you quoting mrs.j's epic mayonnaise meltdown?!? 

[Cousin_Barnabas]

[michael c]

like diana millay as laura collins clarice blackburn as mrs. johnson was one of those actresses/charcaters that had me spellbound the minute she first walked into the series.


didn't mrs. johnson come storming into the police station mumbling about murder or some such dramatic entrance? i was instantly hooked.

[MagnusTrask]

And to think that all these years later, she has now won the Super Bowl.  Or maybe I wasn't paying enough attention...

[Gothick]

The big winner in the Mrs. Johnson sweepstakes, for me, will always be Clarice Blackburn.  Now and forever.

I actually found how the character was handled/portrayed in the Burton/Depp production quite sad, particularly since there was never any explanation or backstory as to why she was even there.  I thought she looked so cute and hilarious in the stills, but then in the actual movie... she was barely there.

But she still was part of the Stupor Bowl sweepstakes.  Or whatever it was.  Superb Owl sweepstakes?

Now off to make some FRESH mayonnaise to take the taste of that slop that was on that sandwich you just handed me out of my mouth, Missy...

G.

[michael c]

we knew from the getgo mrs. johnson was not going to be a major player in the depp film. if i recall for many months into it's production there was even a question as to whether or not the character was even going to be present. the name "ray shirley" certainly wasn't part of the conversation early on.

i actually thought it was a nice nod to OS continuity she was included at all. she's part of the "fabric" of collinwood.


i'm not sure why we would need explanation or backstory for an elderly housekeeper. she works for the family. a possible backstory would be she was originally employed by liz's parents(or even grandparents)and was kept around long after her usefulness out of some misguided sense of noblesse oblige. i actually have a friend from a very wealthy family where a similar scenario played out. her mother kept on a longtime housekeeper who was really too old to do much work but had become "part of the family" and turning her out would have been cruel.

there were lots of things about the film that perturbed me but mrs. j.'s lack of storyline wasn't one of them.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I agree that Clarice takes the cake.  She is Mrs. Johnson.  Like michael said, I was hooked as soon as she made her debut.  There were very few characters so entrancing. 

I find it interesting how the character of Mrs. Johnson is sort of the key in all of the various incarnations of the show.  However she is written or portrayed is a reflection of the tone of each project. 

Anyone notice how Clarice really fit into the original series?  How her acting style and appearance enhance the stories and the other characters?  Clarice's Mrs. J is a key ingredient that provides a balance between the quirky and the dramatic.

Similarly, the harsh and cold demeanor of Mrs. Johnson in HoDS accurately reflects the tone (and setting) of that tale.  Clarice's Mrs. J would never have worked in the universe of the DS movies.  It was too far removed from the homey, "claustrophobic" atmosphere of the original show. 

In the 1991 series, Juliana McC was a perfect complement to that cast and the specific tone of that series, just as Ray Shirley was to Depp Shadows.  In each project, Mrs. J manages to both encapsulate and reflect everything around her.

[Janet the Wicked]

I actually found how the character was handled/portrayed in the Burton/Depp production quite sad, particularly since there was never any explanation or backstory as to why she was even there.  I thought she looked so cute and hilarious in the stills, but then in the actual movie... she was barely there.

If you blink, you miss her scenes entirely.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Her times on screen may be short, but she has some great moments. For example, I'm still laughing over her zooming through frame on a riding lawn mover during the "Top of the World" restoration of Collinwood montage! 

[Cousin_Barnabas]

That was my favorite scene as well.  I actually saw it in the preview you posted right before the movie's release.  I was laughing my head off.