Joanne Whalley Movies
At an early age, this stage and screen actress began her career by making several television appearances. She appeared twice in the series Coronation Street (1974, 1976); enacted the character of Angela Reed in the Emmerdale Farm series in 1977; and played Maureen Maskell in the episode "Shot Gun" in the Juliet Bravo series (1980). She played Dany in The Gentle Touch (1982), the character Ingrid Rotherwell in A Kind of Loving (1982), and Christine Bolton in the "Always Leave Them Laughing" episode of Bergerac (1983).At age 18, this eye-catching brunette, later to be chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People (1991), appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in England, and in her first film role, as one of the groupies chasing after rock star Bob Geldof in the musical Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982).
After two more television appearances, as Ulla in Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983) and in A Christmas Carol (1984), Whalley had roles in Peter Smith's comedy No Surrender (1985) as Cheryl; Mike Newell's crime story Dance With a Stranger (1985) as Christine; as Mary Hall in Newell's drama The Good Father (1987); and in Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (1987).
Whalley was outstanding as the beautiful Nurse Mills in the TV miniseries The Singing Detective (1986), and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for her role as Emma Craven in the Edge of Darkness TV miniseries (1986).
While enacting the part of Sorsha in the 1988 fantasy film Willow, a romance developed with her co-star Val Kilmer and they were married in March of that year. Their family grew to include a son and daughter. Whalley immediately began to be credited by her new hyphenated last name in the thrillers To Kill A Priest (1988) and Kill Me Again (1989). She gave a star-caliber performance as the infamous Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo affair, in Scandal (1989).
After her elegant appearance as Beatrice in the television piece A TV Dante: The Inferno Cantos I-VIII (1989), there followed two roles in the best-forgotten movies Navy SEALS (1990) and The Big Man (1990). However, Whalley was brilliant as Jenny Scott in the mystery thriller Shattered (1991).
Many roles soon followed in Storyville (1992), The Secret Rapture (1993), Mother's Boys (1993), A Good Man in Africa (1994), Trial by Jury (1994), and she took over Vivien Leigh's classic role of Scarlett O'Hara in the TV sequel to Gone With the Wind entitled Scarlett (1995).
In February 1996, Kilmer and Whalley were divorced and, except for Run the Wild Fields (2000), she went back to using her maiden name. She appeared as Lorelei in the comedy The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997), A Texas Funeral (1999), The Guilty (2000), and convincingly re-created the persona of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis in the TV miniseries (2000). ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
Though Willow was one of director Ron Howard's few box-office disappointments, it definitely deserves a second look. At once an epic celebration and a gentle spoof of the sword-and-sorcery genre, the film concerns the efforts by little person Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) to protect a sacred infant from the machinations of a wicked queen (Jean Marsh). One source book has assessed the picture as a combination of The Ten Commandments and Snow White. This is true enough, except that neither one of those properties offered such offbeat casting choices as Billy Barty and Jean Marsh. Executive producer George Lucas has (through the conduit of screenwriter Bob Dolman) added elements of his own Star Wars saga to the stew. The results are generally satisfactory, though the film is sometimes weighed down by too much plot, and the action sequences may not be suitable for very young children. Incidentally, this is the film where co-star Val Kilmer met his future wife Joanne Whalley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, (more)
- 1987
Made for British television, Will You Love Me Tomorrow? was inspired by a true story. The protagonist is a 10-year-old girl who is jailed for murder. After spending eleven years behind bars, the girl escapes, seeking answers to her plight. Joanne Whalley (before she began billing herself as Whalley-Kilmer) plays the leading character as an adult; also in the cast are Tillie Vosburgh and Will Daniels. Will You Love Me Tomorrow debuted on American television over the A&E cable network on January 8, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
With the notable exception of Pennies From Heaven, The Singing Detective was the best-known TV miniseries project of the iconoclastic, darkly humored Dennis Potter. A reworking of Potter's first novel Hide and Seek, the six-part series starred Michael Gambon as crime novelist Philip E. Marlow. Suffering from a hellish skin-and-nerve disease called psoriatic arthroparthy (a painful infliction which ultimately killed the real-life Potter), Marlow was confined to a hospital bed, where under the influence of numerous prescription drugs he began to imagine himself as the hard-boiled hero of his latest detective novel. While trying to solve a difficult case, Marlow continually drifted backward in time to his childhood in the Forest of Dean, occasionally bursting into song to express his emotions. As fantasy and reality merged into one, Marlow was forced into a tortuous session of self-analysis and personal discovery. Virtually everyone in the cast was seen in double and triple roles, including nominal leading ladies Alison Steadman and Joanne Whalley (aka Joanne Whalley-Kilmer). The series earned two BAFTA awards (the British equivalent of the Emmys), one for Best Actor to Michael Gambon. After its initial BBC1 run from November 16, to December 21, 1986, The Singing Detective was shown in the United States via public and cable television, where it picked up another award, the prestigious Peabody, in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, (more)
Anthony Hopkins stars in The Good Father as a publishing executive whose wife Julie Walters has left him, taking their son with her. Walking around like a zombie after this blow, Hopkins is brought back to life by involving himself in the profound problems of his friend Jim Broadbent. Feeling that his misguided pro-feminist stance has caused him all his trouble, Hopkins encourages Broadbent, whose own wife is leaving him with their son in tow, to fight for custody of the child in court. Hopkins even agrees to finance Broadbent's legal fees. As Broadbent's custody battle intensifies into a bitter, all-out war, Hopkins becomes more relaxed concerning his own domestic difficulties. Allowing Broadbent to be his emotional surrogate, a becalmed Hopkins feels secure enough to try to reconcile with his ex-wife Walters. But she is aware, even if he isn't, that his problems stem not from his relationship with women, but from his resentment of his son, whose birth was the beginning of the end of his marriage. Contrary to the title and his own self-deceptions, Hopkins is not "the good father." The film was scripted by Christopher Hampton from a novel by Peter Prince. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, (more)
- 1986
- R
A moribund nightclub on the fringes of Liverpool's sprawl is the primary setting for this frenetic, dark, and confusing comedy done in a heavy regional "dialect" by director Peter Smith. Set on New Year's Eve, the film chronicles the rivalry between elderly Irish Catholic and Protestant attendees at a party held in a gritty pub in Liverpool. Mixed in with the warring oldsters are some shady types such as Billy the Beast, the killer of an Ulster terrorist. The club's new manager has a talent for dealing with mayhem and violence, but his first challenge lies in handling the punk rock band perversely scheduled to entertain the oldsters by the disgruntled former manager. After that challenge, he is faced with a magician on the verge of a nervous breakdown and other kinds of chaos that tear through the place. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Angelis, Avis Bunnage, (more)
The British government's nuclear policy is in for a royal drubbing in the tense BBC TV miniseries Edge of Darkness. Bob Peck stars as London police detective Ron Craven, whose political-activist daughter is murdered right before his eyes. Meticulously following the trail of clues, Craven uncovers a dark conspiracy involving the government and the powerful American CEO of a nuclear power plant. Joe Don Baker and a young Joanne Whalley co-star. The six-part series became a cult favorite in England, where it originally aired in November and December of 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This darkly haunting slightly fictionalized film is a retelling of the life and death of Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson), the last woman to be executed in England. Ellis, a divorcee and ex-prostitute works as a "hostess" in a tacky nightclub. There she meets and begins an obsessive love affair with upper-class David Blakely (Rupert Everett), who eventually discards her. Still obsessed and jealous because of David's upcoming marriage to a woman of his own class, Ellis murders him. Miranda Richardson, in a stark, knock-out performance is outstanding as the cold, calculating Ellis, unscrupulous in her use of everyone to get what she wants. Ian Holm, in an often-overlooked performance, is superb as the man who loves Ellis, supporting her and her teenage son, without ever gaining her love. He is her mainstay and the surrogate father to her teenage son, who Ellis has little time for. In his own, quiet way he is as obsessed as Ellis. The screenplay, adapted by Shelagh Delaney remains faithful to the true story, taking only minor dramatic license. Dance With a Stranger is an uncompromising look at obsessive love and its consequences on others. The story is made even more poignant because of the sad life and eventual suicide of Ellis' real son. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Richardson, Rupert Everett, (more)
Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale of one man learning the true meaning of Christmas is brought to the screen once again in this made-for-TV movie. Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott) is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money, and who regards compassion as a luxury he can't afford. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley (Frank Finlay), his former business partner, who arranges for Scrooge to be visited by three spirits in an attempt to show him the error of his ways -- the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Angela Pleasence), Christmas Present (Edward Woodward), and Christmas Yet to Come (Michael Carter). The spirits force Scrooge to examine the failings of his own life, as well as the bravery and optimism of his loyal but ill-treated employee Bob Crachit (David Warner). A Christmas Carol also features Susannah York as Mrs. Crachit, Anthony Walters as Tiny Tim, and Joanne Whalley as Fan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott
Inspired by Pink Floyd's album of the same name, Pink Floyd: The Wall is a dark, expressionistic musical, told from the point of view of Pink, a depressed rock musician. The film is structured around Pink's reflections on his life, all of which center on the building of "the wall." This wall is a metaphor for psychological isolation, a barrier Pink creates to distance himself from his pain. The foundations for this wall are lain in childhood, with the death of Pink's father leaving him to be raised by an overprotective mother and a repressive school system. He seeks freedom from this world through writing and music. However, even after he achieves success as a rock star, the wall continues to grow, with Pink feeling trapped by fame and wounded by his failed personal relationships. Lost in despair and self-loathing, he attempts to isolate himself from the world entirely. Director Alan Parker approaches this material in a highly stylized manner, mingling animation and dream-like sequences to suggest Pink's perception of the world. These techniques complement the almost constant music, which the film often uses in place of dialogue. Songs include "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Comfortably Numb". ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, (more)
