- We were lucky enough to be part of this huge
worldwide succe - success? Success.
[laughs]
Good times.
- I'm Laura Carmichael.
- I'm Allen Leech.
- And I'm Michelle Dockery.
- And today,
we are reviewing some of Maggie Smith's very best lines.
[upbeat music]
- Your quarrel is with my daughter, Rosamind,
not me.
So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
- That's a classic,
Maggie line.
- It's like things that you read on the page
that you wouldn't think would be that funny
but when she does it, it's hilarious.
- They're all checked to make sure the lines are also
relevant to the time period.
- It's a zinger.
- Every time.
[upbeat music]
- Edith dear, you're a woman with a brain
and reasonable ability.
[laughing]
Stop whining and find something to do.
- It's the way that she pauses as well
when she goes, "Brain,
"and reasonable abilities." [cast laughs]
Like shes's trying to find a compliment in there somewhere.
- How did you not, like crack up every time?
- I mean, I did I think.
There's one where we're trying out the telephone
where you can see me laughing.
But they thought that Edith might find it funny
so it was okay.
But, yeah, it was really me corpsing.
Because they are quite serious a lot of the time
it takes the smallest facial movement to know
that we've lost it, you know?
So, if there's a moment where
I can see Michelle in Mary's face, you know?
- Or, I find it's the intakes of breathe.
Especially the scene where you're like,
because you're just trying to stop,
and then the minute someone else hears that
they're gone. - Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Does Maggie ever break?
- Yes.
- She does actually. - She does.
- But she's normally the one who makes us break.
- [Michelle] Yeah, always.
[upbeat music]
- I could ask Edith, she might be free.
- Oh, I hope so, I'm a feeble substitute
for the entire Crawley family.
- Yes, but you're better than nothing.
- How warming you make that sound.
- Oh, they're brilliant.
I mean, obviously they're peers,
have worked together, I think,
a couple of times haven't they?
- Both Dames.
- I mean, it's a joy to watch those two battle as well.
It started like that, and then suddenly,
Isobel Crawley started, almost,
coming in to challenge her on purpose.
- But, you can see how they are found of each other as well.
They've become strange besties
in the world of Downton.
- I think she gives as good as she gets.
- [Allen] Yeah, she does. - [Laura] Totally.
[upbeat music]
- That's very kind ladies.
But you see, I don't approve of these costumes.
I see them as the uniform of oppression,
and I should be uncomfortable wearing them.
- You quite finished?
- I have.
- Good.
[cast laughs]
- I mean, that was one of my first scenes with her,
where I had dialogue with her.
And I was genuinely terrified going into that room.
- She did this really cheeky thing to me
on one of our first days, so really early on in filming.
And the scene was about to start
but the director said, "Could you just do a bit
"of ad libbing at the top so
"it looks like we're joining you mid conversation?"
And they went, "Action," and she said, "Pardon?"
[Allen laughs]
- So, I had to be there with the line and,
I mean, it was so naughty.
It really made us laugh.
- You remember what you came up with?
- No, I think I just froze.
And then, thankfully, a footman entered with a tray.
You know.
[upbeat music]
- Certainly not.
Would you think I might have a drink?
Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a waiter.
[cast laughs]
- Brilliant.
I love that one.
- It's so good. - So good.
- The whole thing in that scene was that,
he didn't have his tails on, wasn't it?
- [Michelle] Yes. - He was just in a tux jacket.
- Yes. - So funny.
Because she does it to her son.
- They weren't wearing tails
and she thought it was very wild.
- Uncouth. - Uncouth, yeah.
[upbeat music]
- I won't sleep a wink.
- Tonight or tomorrow?
- Civil vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
- Well, you started it.
- Oh, Sybil. - It's so weird seeing that.
- Little Sybil. - That's a great line.
- It's amazing how young we all look.
- Yeah, that's right.
And the hair. Which goes through many--
- Many different phases.
- Another great Maggie line?
- Yeah, they're great.
- I think there's been some moments
where we give it back a little, isn't there?
- Yeah.
- But Sybil was the rebel, you know?
So, I think that was very much her character,
that she would, you know, always give it back.
- We all laugh quite openly with and at granny.
You know, even in the film when we say,
"You just need to take off your hat to stay for dinner."
And she says, "You talk as if that were easy."
And, you know, we all have a good laugh.
- We all know what she's like
as you do your own grandparents.
You're like, "Oh, here she goes."
So, I think, they're all a bit like that with Violet.
[upbeat music]
- Izzy doesn't drive.
So, I told her I can do it.
- What?
- I said I could drive the tractor.
- Edith, you are a lady, not Toad of Toad Hall.
[cast laughs]
- Well, I'm doing it.
- In "Wind in the Willows," the character Toad,
was this sort of over the top
frog, toad. - Toad.
And, he's Toad of Toad Hall,
he's a sort of posh toad who, at one point in the books,
takes up driving. - And drives very erratically.
- He's very erratic and goes, poop, poop,
and crashes the car a lot.
- That's the reference.
- That's what she was accusing Edith of being.
- Its just that look as well,
that Maggie gives as the Dowager Countess.
It's so withering.
[upbeat music]
- You are quite wonderful
the way you see room for improvement wherever you look.
I never knew such reforming zeal.
- I take that as a compliment.
- I must have said it wrong.
[cast laughs]
- I mean, Mary doesn't really laugh and smile all that much,
especially in those days.
- Although, that day was hilarious.
Do you remember that day? - It was very funny.
The flower show.
- There was all of these things being judged.
Sort of flowers and what was the biggest vegetable
and things.
And there was some-- - Jam.
Eclairs.
- Oh.
- Oh, yes.
That got all sweaty.
And I said, "Isn't it funny how they get all shiny?"
And, Penelope said,
"Yes darling, it's cause they're nervous,
"they know they're being judged."
[cast laughs]
- Lots of silly things that day.
- We were very mean to each other
and I said something to you like--
- About my hat.
- Something about, "Those shoes and that hat?"
Or something. "That dress and that hat?"
I mean, we were vicious to each other
in that first series.
Vicious.
[upbeat music]
- There's no logic in it.
- Oh, no, if I were to search for logic,
I should not look for it among the English upper class.
- Back then I think we did a lot more of the
crossing the room and having conversations
with more people.
And, I hadn't really been upstairs,
I was still kind of getting my bearings.
In any of these scenes I was still obviously,
just delighted to be still in the show with these guys.
- I like it when she does those lines though
where she finds it funny. - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- And she makes herself laugh.
[upbeat music]
- And another thing. I mean,
Edith isn't getting any younger,
I mean, perhaps she isn't cut out for domestic life.
[Laura laughs]
- Oh, that's funny.
- Your hair looked great in that one.
- I think that's a-- - A wave expert.
- Julio, a hairdresser from Argentina
who spoke hardly any English,
but he'd do fantastic,
Marcel wave. - Marcel wave.
- And they used to always say, you know, "Julio, it's time."
And he'd be like, "Yes, I know."
- Yes, I know. - Yes, I know.
- But, then he would just continue,
he wouldn't care. He's be like, "Yes. I know."
- That was very funny.
I loved doing that because
the relationship with Edith and Violet,
she sort of pulled her through a lot of that time
when she was a bit depressed.
But, even when she was being encouraging
it still came out as an insult.
- That niggle that the Dowager does
is often to try and push someone on to try something.
It's almost encouragement, but in a very backhanded way.
[upbeat music]
- Granny, what do you think?
- Oh, it is you.
I though it was a man wearing your clothes.
- It's funny because, the year before
I cut my own hair into a bob
hoping that Julian would just let me have my own hair,
and you know, Mary have a bob, and he said,
"Oh, no, no, it's too soon."
So then, I had to have a wig to make it look longer.
And then, eventually, I grew my hair, and then he said,
"Now we're ready for the bob."
And I love it that in the film it kind of follows suit,
so everybody's getting bobs, you know?
- Thanks for watching.
- Hope you enjoyed it.