review for An Ideal Husband on AllMovie

An Ideal Husband is one of Oscar Wilde's finest achievements, but also one that is somewhat difficult to pull off. Wilde was a master at mixing substance and style; in Husband this is an especially delicate mixture, and it requires a cast and director that understand how to balance the two with unerring precision. This production is most successful when in the hands -- or, more properly, the mouths -- of Jeremy Brett, Margaret Leighton and Susan Hampshire. Brett is an absolute marvel, maneuvering the tricky Wilde waters with aplomb, tossing off the author's trademark epigrams with ease yet without a hint of malice. Too often actors in the "Wilde" role come across as insufferable, snobbish or effete, but Brett avoids these traps and emerges as likeable and admirable. Leighton is also a wonder, inducing a modicum of sympathy for Mrs. Cheveley without sacrificing any of her steely reserve or naked ambition; her early confrontation scene with Keith Michell is especially well modulated. Hampshire's role is somewhat less demanding than Brett's or Leighton's, but she is a thorough delight from start to finish. Michell and Dinah Sheridan are also very good, though not quite on the level of their co-stars; Michell just slightly overplays his hand on occasion, and Sheridan comes across as a trifle too sanctimonious. If the production's sound and camerawork belie its television origins, it does benefit from some sumptuous costuming. Despite its minor flaws, this Husband comes perilously close to being ideal.