Scandal (1989 film)
Scandal | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Caton-Jones |
Written by | Michael Thomas |
Produced by | Stephen Woolley |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Mike Molloy |
Edited by | Angus Newton |
Music by | Palace Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 min (UK) 106 min (US) 111 min (Canada) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $7 million[1] |
Box office | £3,705,065 (UK)[2] $8,800,000 (US)[3] |
Scandal is a 1989 British historical drama film, directed by Michael Caton-Jones. It is a fictionalised account of the Profumo affair that rocked the government of British prime minister Harold Macmillan. It stars Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler and John Hurt as Stephen Ward, personalities at the heart of the affair.
Scandal was screened in competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. Its theme song "Nothing Has Been Proved" was written and produced by Pet Shop Boys and sung by Dusty Springfield.
Plot
An English
Cast
- John Hurt as Stephen Ward
- Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler
- Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies
- Ian McKellen as John Profumo
- Leslie Phillips as Lord Astor
- Britt Ekland as Mariella Novotny
- Daniel Massey as Mervyn Griffith-Jones
- Roland Gift as Johnny Edgecombe
- Jeroen Krabbé as Eugene Ivanov
- Jean Alexander as Mrs. Keeler
- Deborah Grant as Valerie Hobson
- Alex Norton as Detective Inspector
- Ronald Fraser as Justice Marshall
- Paul Brooke as John, Detective Sgt.
- Keith Allen as Kevin, Reporter (Sunday Pictorial)
- Ralph Brown as Paul Mann
- Iain Cuthbertson as Lord Hailsham
- Johnny Shannon as Peter Rachman
- Lucky Gordon
Production
Development
Australian screenwriter Michael Thomas and prospective producer
Boyd and Thomas joined forces with Palace Pictures who invested nearly £200,000 by 1985; a further £184,319 of development funding was raised from
The original screenplay was written as a historically detailed mini-series running four to five hours. When it was pared down to film length, it became more of a docudrama, with a chronology that is sometimes unclear.[6] Producer Woolley arranged discreet meetings between Mandy Rice-Davies and Bridget Fonda to help the American actress with her portrayal.[7]
Filming
Filming began in June 1988.[5] Part of Scandal was filmed at Bathurst Mews in Bayswater, London, although Ward's house was actually at Wimpole Mews in Marylebone.[8] The exterior of 29 Francis Street, Victoria, SW1 was used as the Police Station.
Poster
US classification
The Weinsteins had been impressed by the amount of free publicity generated for
Soundtrack
The soundtrack, and soundtrack album, included a specially written song by the Pet Shop Boys "Nothing Has Been Proved" for Dusty Springfield.[12]
Reception
The film received positive reviews. At the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Scandal received an overall approval rating of 88% based on 34 reviews.[13] Roger Ebert awarded it four stars out of four and said the film was "surprisingly wise about the complexities of the human heart". He praised the performance of John Hurt.[14] Following Hurt's death, The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw said the performance was Hurt's masterpiece.[15]
The film made a comfortable profit.[3] In the UK it made £3,705,065.[16]
Commenting on the pain felt by his parents when the film was released, David Profumo said, "I never felt sorrier for them in my life".[17]
References
Notes
- ^ A body double was used when, according to Whalley-Kilmer, her husband (Val Kilmer) objected to the nude scenes.[5]
Citations
- ^ "SCANDAL (1989)". American Film Institute. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "UK Top Grossing films of 1989". 25thframe.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ a b Olins, Rufus. "Mr Fixit of the British Screen." Sunday Times (London, England) 24 Sept. 1995: 9[S]. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 29 March 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85771-081-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-684-86259-0.
- ^ "Reviews/Film; British Sex Scandal of the 60's Is Dramatized". The New York Times. 28 April 1989. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Mandy Rice-Davies had secret meetings with Bridget Fonda over film portrayal". The Guardian. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "ANOTHER SMART MOVE FOR LUROT BRAND" (PDF). Lurotbrand.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ "In the hot seat". The Observer. 10 February 2002. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "The Keeler Affair (1963)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8135-4146-4.
- ^ The Trouser Press guide to '90s rock, Ira A. Robbins, David Sprague, 1997, page 555. "The following year, the Pet Shop Boys wrote and recorded the magnificent 'Nothing Has Been Proved' for Springfield to sing on the Scandal soundtrack."
- ^ "Scandal". Rottentomatoes.com. 28 May 1989. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Scandal". 5 May 1989. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ "Peter Bradshaw on John Hurt: 'A virtual folk memory of wisdom and style'". The Guardian. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 28.
- ^ "A love that survived scandal". The Telegraph. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
External links
- Scandal at IMDb
- Scandal at Box Office Mojo