Pauline Quirke Movies
A privileged middle-class girl raised in rural southern England gets a rude awakening to the world when a family move forces her to contend with the unseemly inhabitants of a northern mill town in director Brian Percival's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's timeless love story. Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) is the daughter of a middle-class parson and a girl accustomed to decidedly refined company. When her family is uprooted and forced to move to the northern mill town of Milton, the prim and proper country girl is notably contemptuous of her new working class neighbors - and especially of charismatic mill owner John Thornton (Richard Armitage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A distinguished cast highlights this made-for-TV adaptation of one of Charles Dickens' best-loved novels. Young David Copperfield (Daniel Radcliffe) is loved by his mother Clara (Emilia Fox), but does not get along with his foul-tempered stepfather, Murdstone (Trevor Eve). After biting Murdstone during a fight, David is forced to attend a boarding school operated by the vicious and humorless Mr. Creakle (Ian McKellen). After Clara suddenly dies, David is sent to work; while his labors are tiring and poorly compensated, he finds a benefactor in the good-hearted Mr. Micawber (Bob Hoskins) and his wife (Imelda Staunton). However, Micawber does not manage money well, and winds up in a debtors prison. Left to his devices, David sets out to find one of his few surviving relatives, his eccentric Aunt Betsy (Maggie Smith). The years pass, and the grown-up David (Ciaran McMenamin) has struggled to build a better life for himself, with the help of Betsy's attorney, Mr. Wickfield. David also becomes friendly with Wickfield's daughter Agnes (Amanda Ryan), but he finds a nemesis in the lawyer's clerk Uriah Heep (Nicholas Lyndhurst). David also marries a simple woman named Dora (Joanna Page), but their union brings him little happiness. David Copperfield was a co-production of the BBC and WGBH Boston. It received its American premier on the acclaimed anthology series Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, (more)
- 1997
In this, the sixth screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic story, Simon de Canterville (Ian Richardson) is trapped in his family's estate after he runs away rather than face another man in a duel. Canterville soon dies, and his ghost haunts the mansion. The fates have decreed that his soul will know no peace until his descendents restore the honor of the Canterville name. Centuries later, a family moves into the former Canterville estate, and they discover that they don't have the place entirely to themselves. The supporting cast includes Pauline Quirke and Rik Mayall. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson
- 1997
Recalling The Sweet Hereafter, this drama explores how a working-class couple manages to carry on after the accidental death of their only son. On the same night police find stolen goods in the east London house of construction worker Woody (Ray Winstone) and Sonia (Pauline Quirke), the two are concerned when their eight-year-old son Lee doesn't come home from school. At the police station, Woody learns Lee died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Woody and Sonia are at a loss to deal with this emotionally draining event that alters their lives. Shown at the 1997 Dinard Festival of British Cinema (France) and the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Pauline Quirke, (more)
- 1996
Based on a novel by Minette Walters, The Sculptress was the story of Olive Martin (Pauline Quirke), an unhappy, overweight young woman serving a life sentence in prison for brutally murdering her mother and sister. Enter author Rosalind Leigh (Caroline Goodall), newly commissioned to write Olive's biography. Persuaded that Olive was actually innocent of murder, Rosalind began to suspect that the poor woman was a victim of a wide-ranging conspiracy. Enlisting the aid of ex-cop Hal Hawkesley (Christopher Fulford), Rosalind was determined to uncover the truth -- and in the process, she ended up getting a lot more than she bargained for (and in some instances, a lot less). Provocatively raising more questions than answers, The Sculptress was telecast by BBC1 in four 50-minute installments, beginning on February 24, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
Based on Elizabeth Jane Howard's novel, Getting It Right this charming comedy follows the story of Gavin Lamb (Jesse Birdsall), a 31 year-old virgin who is terrified with women and still lives with his parents. Nevertheless, he becomes the subject of desire for a variety of women, including a single mother (Jane Horrocks), a wealthy pregnant girl (Helen Bonham Carter) and a middle-aged socialite (Lynn Redgrave). Gavin eventually finds love with one of the three women in this engaging, low-key romantic comedy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Birdsall, Helena Bonham Carter, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
Set in 1940s England, Distant Voices/Still Lives is a compassionate look at a radically dysfunctional family. The son and his mother must endure the casual and overt cruelties of the bull-necked father. The ongoing abuse takes its toll in the form of failed marriages and misguided attempts at seeking security outside the family unit. As was the case with his earlier short subject trilogy (The Children, Madonna and Child, Death and Transfiguration), director Terence Davies based much of the material on his own life, combining rheumy-eyed cynicism with soft-edged nostalgia (the musical track, drawn from popular wartime songs, is particularly evocative). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, (more)
- 1988
Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, (more)
The returning soldier is amnesia victim Alan Bates, who remembers nothing of his life before suffering shell-shock--not even his long-term marriage to snooty Julie Christie. Spinsterish Ann-Margret, who has long harbored a fondness for Bates, hopes to take advantage of his memory loss. But both Christie and Ann-Margret are challenged by a third woman, Bates' childhood sweetheart Glenda Jackson. Poor Bates deals with all of this by not dealing with it. A fairly faithful rendition of the Rebecca West novel on which it is based, Return of the Soldier ambles along at its own languid pace to a inconclusive conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Alan Bates, (more)
John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, (more)
- 1969
Telecast in the UK from 1969-1974, Junior Showtime was a combination variety and talent show with emphasis on kiddie performers. The series was staged in an old-fashioned "music hall" format, complete with proscenium arch, placards, and a pit band. Though there were dozens of performers trotting the boards, a handful showed up on a regular basis, among them the Poole Family and Bonnie Langford. The endearingly hokey Junior Showtime managed to hold on to its time slot for several seasons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Bennett, Pauline Quirke, (more)
