Constance Cummings: Stage and film actress ca. early 1940s. Constance Cummings on stage: From Sacha Guitry to Clifford Odets (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Flawless 'Blithe Spirit,' Supporter of Political Refugees.”) In the post-World War II years, Constance Cummings' stage reputation continued to grow on the English stage, in plays as diverse as: Stephen Powys (pseudonym for P.G. Wodehouse) and Guy Bolton's English-language adaptation of Sacha Guitry's Don't Listen, Ladies! (1948), with Cummings as one of shop clerk Denholm Elliott's mistresses (the other one was Betty Marsden). “Miss Cummings and Miss Marsden act as fetchingly as they look,” commented The Spectator. Rodney Ackland's Before the Party (1949), delivering “a superb performance of controlled hysteria” according to theater director and Michael Redgrave biographer Alan Strachan, writing for The Independent at the time of Cummings' death. Clifford Odets' Winter Journey / The Country Girl (1952), as...
- 11/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Writer Julian Mitchell and actor Kenneth Branagh remember the struggle to mount a risky anti-establishment play, and how Rupert Everett did his best to spice it up
Julian Mitchell, writer
In 1979, when Mrs Thatcher stood up in the Commons and announced that the third man in the Burgess and Maclean spy case was Anthony Blunt, lots of people wrote articles and books saying how easy it must have been for these men to go over to Russia. But their reasoning didn't explain it to me. There's a great difference between betraying your country and wanting to change the world.
What wasn't really mentioned was that almost all the men involved were gay – though I'm not sure we said "gay" back then – and had all been to the same kind of public school. I'd been at Winchester myself. Though I hadn't been rebellious, I knew the oppressive way boarding school can work on people,...
Julian Mitchell, writer
In 1979, when Mrs Thatcher stood up in the Commons and announced that the third man in the Burgess and Maclean spy case was Anthony Blunt, lots of people wrote articles and books saying how easy it must have been for these men to go over to Russia. But their reasoning didn't explain it to me. There's a great difference between betraying your country and wanting to change the world.
What wasn't really mentioned was that almost all the men involved were gay – though I'm not sure we said "gay" back then – and had all been to the same kind of public school. I'd been at Winchester myself. Though I hadn't been rebellious, I knew the oppressive way boarding school can work on people,...
- 3/25/2014
- by Nancy Groves
- The Guardian - Film News
As millions know all too well, it takes a miracle to win the lottery. But the luck of the Irish is famous in such matters and the delightful "Waking Ned Devine" -- about a whole village involved in a £6 million ruse -- is an underdog to be reckoned with.
While it's doubtful that distributor Fox Searchlight has another worldwide hit to rival last year's "The Full Monty", first-time writer-director Kirk Jones' gentle fable has broad appeal and should pick up many satisfied fans.
A warm tale of a lifelong friendship, as well as a comic fable of fortunes won and lost, "Waking Ned Devine" has no stars to speak of, but the performances couldn't be finer. Anchoring the film are Ian Bannen ("Braveheart") and David Kelly ("Run of the Country") as two veteran lotto players who one day discover the body of their late friend Ned Devine. Clutching his winning ticket, Devine died from shock while watching the numbers selected on television.
In fact, the film gets off to a less macabre start, with Jackie (Bannen) and Michael (Kelly) searching among the living for the unknown winner among the drab, slow-moving but altogether decent locals. Alas, it's only after treating the likes of Pig Finn (James Nesbitt) to many pints of beer at the pub and splurging on an elaborate dinner party for the village's known lottery players that the pair realize Devine is missing and go snooping around his house.
With more than a few impish winks and sneaky ideas, Jackie talks the reluctant Michael into assuming Devine's identity and turning in the ticket. But both men are respectful of the deceased and plan to share the winnings, that is before they learn the sum is somewhere north of their wildest dreams.
Knowing the risky scheme will crumble if only one of the 50-plus villagers is not cooperative, the leads vow to split up the fortune evenly among the whole group. The one opposer to the plan is very unlucky after giving them all a fright, while the real Ned Devine is buried with a full house, and Jackie unabashedly honors Michael in a tender, if premature, eulogy.
As Jackie's co-conspirator wife, Fionnula Flanagan is a pleasure, and Susan Lynch ("The Secret of Roan Inish") injects earthy sex appeal as a wild lass paired off with the smelly Finn. For all its superior entertainment value and positive outlook on the human condition, "Waking" is lighter than a feather but well-paced and visually first-rate.
WAKING NED DEVINE
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Tomboy Films production
Writer-director: Kirk Jones
Producers: Glynis Murray, Richard Holmes
Executive producer: Alexandre Heylen
Director of photography: Henry Braham
Production designer: John Ebden
Editor: Alan Strachan
Costume designer: Rosie Hackett
Music: Shaun Davey
Casting: Ros Hubbard, John Hubbard
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jackie O'Shea: Ian Bannen
Michael O'Sullivan: David Kelly
Annie O'Shea: Fionnula Flanagan
Maggie: Susan Lynch
Pig Finn: James Nesbitt
Mrs. Kennedy: Maura O'Malley
Maurice: Robert Hickey
Brendy: Paddy Ward
Running time -- 91 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
While it's doubtful that distributor Fox Searchlight has another worldwide hit to rival last year's "The Full Monty", first-time writer-director Kirk Jones' gentle fable has broad appeal and should pick up many satisfied fans.
A warm tale of a lifelong friendship, as well as a comic fable of fortunes won and lost, "Waking Ned Devine" has no stars to speak of, but the performances couldn't be finer. Anchoring the film are Ian Bannen ("Braveheart") and David Kelly ("Run of the Country") as two veteran lotto players who one day discover the body of their late friend Ned Devine. Clutching his winning ticket, Devine died from shock while watching the numbers selected on television.
In fact, the film gets off to a less macabre start, with Jackie (Bannen) and Michael (Kelly) searching among the living for the unknown winner among the drab, slow-moving but altogether decent locals. Alas, it's only after treating the likes of Pig Finn (James Nesbitt) to many pints of beer at the pub and splurging on an elaborate dinner party for the village's known lottery players that the pair realize Devine is missing and go snooping around his house.
With more than a few impish winks and sneaky ideas, Jackie talks the reluctant Michael into assuming Devine's identity and turning in the ticket. But both men are respectful of the deceased and plan to share the winnings, that is before they learn the sum is somewhere north of their wildest dreams.
Knowing the risky scheme will crumble if only one of the 50-plus villagers is not cooperative, the leads vow to split up the fortune evenly among the whole group. The one opposer to the plan is very unlucky after giving them all a fright, while the real Ned Devine is buried with a full house, and Jackie unabashedly honors Michael in a tender, if premature, eulogy.
As Jackie's co-conspirator wife, Fionnula Flanagan is a pleasure, and Susan Lynch ("The Secret of Roan Inish") injects earthy sex appeal as a wild lass paired off with the smelly Finn. For all its superior entertainment value and positive outlook on the human condition, "Waking" is lighter than a feather but well-paced and visually first-rate.
WAKING NED DEVINE
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Tomboy Films production
Writer-director: Kirk Jones
Producers: Glynis Murray, Richard Holmes
Executive producer: Alexandre Heylen
Director of photography: Henry Braham
Production designer: John Ebden
Editor: Alan Strachan
Costume designer: Rosie Hackett
Music: Shaun Davey
Casting: Ros Hubbard, John Hubbard
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jackie O'Shea: Ian Bannen
Michael O'Sullivan: David Kelly
Annie O'Shea: Fionnula Flanagan
Maggie: Susan Lynch
Pig Finn: James Nesbitt
Mrs. Kennedy: Maura O'Malley
Maurice: Robert Hickey
Brendy: Paddy Ward
Running time -- 91 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 11/4/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Con artists have always proved irresistible fodder for moviemakers, especially when they're young, good-looking and steal from the rich.
Stefan Schwartz's "Shooting Fish" is the latest addition to the genre, a freewheeling comedy about three happy-go-lucky hucksters and their scams. Unfortunately, the film and the lead characters tend toward the overly cute and precious, and the movie is neither as funny nor charming as it seems to think it is. Recently showcased at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, it opens commercially Friday from Fox Searchlight.
Jez (Stuart Townsend), a Brit, and Dylan (Dan Futterman), an American, are partners in crime, perpetrating a series of cons small and large. Jez is the gadgets whiz who comes up with a variety of ingenious props to further their deceptions, and Dylan is the good-looking fast-talker.
Both orphans, they look at themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods, although the only poor people they intend to help are themselves. Living in an abandoned water tower that they describe as a "post-apocalyptic pad," their ultimate goal is to buy a palatial home to make up for their misbegotten childhoods.
During one scam, involving a fake talking computer, they form a relationship with the temp worker they've hired, a sassy young medical student named Georgie (Kate Beckinsale). Soon, she's a valued member of the squad with both men vying for her favors.
The team hits upon a big score, but before they can spend the money they're nabbed for one of their less felicitous capers. A complicated series of plot machinations ensues, involving a series of deceptions and double-crosses that reveal Georgie to be more than a match for the boys when it comes to putting a plan in motion.
Arch and silly, "Shooting Fish" is ultimately not stylish enough to satisfy, and although the leading performers are charming, they aren't quite up to carrying such an insubstantial film. The filmmakers try hard for an air of light-hearted hipness -- especially with a soundtrack filled with British pop and a series of Burt Bacharach numbers -- but the screenplay is less witty than merely wacky.
Late in the story, an attempt is made to tug at the heartstrings with a subplot involving Georgie's efforts to save a home for people with Down syndrome, but it feels stiff and artificial.
SHOOTING FISH
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Director: Stefan Schwartz
Screenplay: Stefan Schwartz, Richard Holmes
Executive producer: Gary Smith
Producers: Richard Holmes, Glynis Murray
Co-producer: Neil Peplow
Co-executive producers: Graham Hampson-Silk,
Chris Craib
Director of photography: Henry Braham
Editor: Alan Strachan
Original music score: Stanislas Syrewicz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dylan: Dan Futterman
Jez: Stuart Townsend
Georgie: Kate Beckinsale
Mr. Stratton-Luce: Nickolas Grace
Floss: Claire Cox
Mr. Ray: Ralph Ineson
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Stefan Schwartz's "Shooting Fish" is the latest addition to the genre, a freewheeling comedy about three happy-go-lucky hucksters and their scams. Unfortunately, the film and the lead characters tend toward the overly cute and precious, and the movie is neither as funny nor charming as it seems to think it is. Recently showcased at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, it opens commercially Friday from Fox Searchlight.
Jez (Stuart Townsend), a Brit, and Dylan (Dan Futterman), an American, are partners in crime, perpetrating a series of cons small and large. Jez is the gadgets whiz who comes up with a variety of ingenious props to further their deceptions, and Dylan is the good-looking fast-talker.
Both orphans, they look at themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods, although the only poor people they intend to help are themselves. Living in an abandoned water tower that they describe as a "post-apocalyptic pad," their ultimate goal is to buy a palatial home to make up for their misbegotten childhoods.
During one scam, involving a fake talking computer, they form a relationship with the temp worker they've hired, a sassy young medical student named Georgie (Kate Beckinsale). Soon, she's a valued member of the squad with both men vying for her favors.
The team hits upon a big score, but before they can spend the money they're nabbed for one of their less felicitous capers. A complicated series of plot machinations ensues, involving a series of deceptions and double-crosses that reveal Georgie to be more than a match for the boys when it comes to putting a plan in motion.
Arch and silly, "Shooting Fish" is ultimately not stylish enough to satisfy, and although the leading performers are charming, they aren't quite up to carrying such an insubstantial film. The filmmakers try hard for an air of light-hearted hipness -- especially with a soundtrack filled with British pop and a series of Burt Bacharach numbers -- but the screenplay is less witty than merely wacky.
Late in the story, an attempt is made to tug at the heartstrings with a subplot involving Georgie's efforts to save a home for people with Down syndrome, but it feels stiff and artificial.
SHOOTING FISH
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Director: Stefan Schwartz
Screenplay: Stefan Schwartz, Richard Holmes
Executive producer: Gary Smith
Producers: Richard Holmes, Glynis Murray
Co-producer: Neil Peplow
Co-executive producers: Graham Hampson-Silk,
Chris Craib
Director of photography: Henry Braham
Editor: Alan Strachan
Original music score: Stanislas Syrewicz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dylan: Dan Futterman
Jez: Stuart Townsend
Georgie: Kate Beckinsale
Mr. Stratton-Luce: Nickolas Grace
Floss: Claire Cox
Mr. Ray: Ralph Ineson
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 4/30/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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