When Judi Dench sang "Send In

the Clowns" in A Little Night

Music last year at London's National

Theatre, former prime minister John

Major could be observed holding his

breath.

The dramatic gifts of Dame Dench

finally get the screen workout they

deserve in Mrs. Brown. As Queen

Victoria, paralyzed by mourning for

her adored husband, Albert, Dench

is a riveting spectable of unyielding

sorrow and parched womanhood.

The surname in the insinuating