David Lean Movies
Director, writer, and producer David Lean grew up in a strict religious background in which movies were forbidden to become one of the world's most celebrated filmmakers. Beginning as a tea boy in the mid-'20s, he was lucky enough to move into editing just as sound films -- with their special requirements -- were coming on the scene. By the mid-'30s, he was regarded as one of the top in his field.Lean turned down several chances to make low-budget films, and got his first directing opportunity (unofficially) on Major Barbara (1941), one of the most celebrated movies of the early '40s. Noel Coward hired Lean as his directorial collaborator on his war classic In Which We Serve (1943), and, after that, Lean's career was made. For the next 15 years, he became known throughout the world for his close, intimate, serious film dramas. Some (This Happy Breed [1944], Blithe Spirit [1945], and Brief Encounter [1945]) were based upon Coward's plays, which the author had given Lean virtual carte blanche to film. Others ranged from Charles Dickens adaptations (Great Expectations, [1946], Oliver Twist [1948]) to stories about aviation (The Sound Barrier [1952]). In 1957, in association with producer Sam Spiegel, Lean moved out of England and into international production with his epic adaptation of Pierre Boulle's Japanese prisoner-of-war story The Bridge on the River Kwai, a superb drama starring Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and William Holden that expanded the dimensions of serious filmmaking.
Lean's next film, Lawrence of Arabia (1962), based on the life and military career of World War I British hero T.E. Lawrence, became the definitive dramatic film epic of its generation. Doctor Zhivago (1965), a complex romance about life in Russia before and during the revolution, opened to mixed reviews but went on to become one of the top-grossing movies of the '60s, despite a three-hour running time. With an armload of Oscars behind him from his three most recent pictures -- with combined box-office earnings of as much as 300 million dollars -- Lean was established as one of the top "money" directors of the decade. But his next movie, the multimillion-dollar, 200-minute Ryan's Daughter (1970), fared far less well, especially before the critics, who almost universally condemned the slowness and seeming self-indulgence of its drama and scale. Disheartened by its reception, Lean took more than ten years to release his next film, the critical and box-office success A Passage to India (1984). He was working on Nostromo, based upon Joseph Conrad's book, at the time of his death in 1991. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission). Zhivago is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie), who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, art directors John Box and Terry Marsh, set decorator Dario Simoni, and costumer Phyllis Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, (more)
Katharine Hepburn stars as Jane Hudson, an Ohio secretary on the verge of spinsterhood. Carefully saving her money, Jane takes an extended trip to Venice, half hoping to find the romance that has always eluded her. Luck of luck, she meets handsome Renato Di Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), who sweeps her off her feet. Jane's flight on Cloud Nine comes to a flaming crash when she learns that Renato is married and the father of a large family. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, Jane is determined to keep her romance alive, and hang the consequences. She ultimately does what's best for everyone, and heads back to Ohio, wistfully clutching to the memory of the happiest summer of life. Gorgeously color-photographed on location by Jack Hildyard, Summertime was an adaptation of (and vast improvement upon) Arthur Laurents' play The Time of the Cuckoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
A "Hobson's Choice," as any slang expert will tell you, is no choice at all. In this 1953 filmization of Harold Brighouse's 1915 play Hobson's Choice, hero John Mills finds after several reels of evidence to the contrary that he does have a choice over how he'll conduct his life after all. Mills is the assistant to domineering boot-shop owner Charles Laughton, who lords it over his employees and three daughters by day, then tumbles through the streets on many a drunken evening. Laughton's "old-maid" daughter Brenda DeBanzie breaks free of her father's tyranny, marries Mills, and together with her new husband sets up a rival boot shop when Laughton refuses her a dowry. Father rants and raves, but finally agrees to a merger with his daughter that will assure Mills a large measure of freedom over managing things. The winner of the British Film Institute "Best Film" award of 1954, Hobson's Choice chalked up another international success for director David Lean. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, John Mills, (more)
- 1952
Breaking the Sound Barrier juxtaposes the history of jet aviation with an intensely personal fictional story. Ralph Richardson plays a wealthy aircraft manufacturer, stubbornly determined to develop a jet that will travel faster than the speed of sound. Richardson's seemingly cavalier attitude toward the pilots who have died on behalf of his dream--including his own son (Denholm Elliott)--has turned his daughter (Ann Todd) against him. When the daughter's fighter-pilot husband (Nigel Patrick) agrees to test Richardson's jet, he too loses his life. The daughter walks out of her father's life and sets up residence with the wife (Dinah Sheridan) of another pilot (John Junkin). Richardson approaches this pilot as well with his challenge--and this time the "sound barrier" is successfully broken without anyone being killed. Reconciled to the fact that her father's apparent coldbloodedness was in the interest of scientific progress, the daughter and her newborn child are reconciled with Richardson. The first independent project of director David Lean, Breaking the Sound Barrier was a huge success, persuasively scripted by Terence Rattigan and beautifully photographed by aerial specialist Jack Hildyard. The film's original British title was simply The Sound Barrier, but the American distributor apparently didn't want filmgoers to think the movie was about the record industry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Ann Todd, (more)
David Lean's Madeleine was inspired by a true story that rocked the English legal system to its foundations in the mid-19th century. Told in flashback, the film explains why aristocratic young Scotswoman Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd, then the wife of director Lean) is on trial for murder. The audience is apprised of Madeleine's illicit romance with deceptively charming Frenchman Emile L'Angelier (Ivan Desny), her futile attempts to break off the relationship, her "proper" betrothal to Englishman William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), and the murder by poison of the now-inconvenient L'Angelier. The jury's verdict was as controversial in 1950 as it had been a century earlier. David Lean and scenarists Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps refuse to take sides, permitting the viewers to draw their own conclusions about the notorious Madeleine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Todd, Norman Wooland, (more)
David Lean directed this romantic drama, scripted by Eric Ambler from a novel by H.G. Wells. Mary Justin (Ann Todd) is married to wealthy financier Howard Justin (Claude Rains), and while their marriage allows her to lead a comfortable lifestyle, there's little excitement in their relationship. While visiting Switzerland, Mary happens to run into Steve Stratton (Trevor Howard), with whom she was romantically involved years before she wed Howard. Mary finds herself falling for Steve once again, and she has to decide if she should leave her husband in hope of finding real passion or stay with a man who treats her well but whom she does not love. Leading lady Ann Todd married David Lean the same year this was released; it was the first of three films they would make together prior to their divorce in 1957. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Todd, Claude Rains, (more)
The second of director David Lean's adaptations of a Charles Dickens novel (Great Expectations (1946) was the first), Oliver Twist expertly boils down an enormous novel to a little less than two hours' screen time. The film begins with baby Oliver left on the doorstep of an orphanage/workhouse by his unwed mother. Proving a difficult charge to the wicked orphanage official, Oliver (John Howard Davies) is sold into a job as an undertaker's apprentice. He runs away and joins a gang of larcenous street urchins, led by master pickpocket Fagin (Alec Guinness). Oliver is rescued from this life by the kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson); but, with the complicity of evil Bill Sikes (Robert Newton), Fagin abducts Oliver. Sikes' girl friend Nancy (Kay Walsh) restores Oliver to Brownlow, leading to tragic consequences before an ultimately happy ending. Oliver Twist was filmed in England in 1948, but its American release was held up for three years due to the allegedly anti-Semitic portrayal of the duplicitous Fagin. Even in its currently censored form, Oliver Twist is one the best-ever film versions of a Dickens novel. It served as a blueprint for Oliver! (1968), the Oscar-winning musical version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Newton, Alec Guinness, (more)
Based on Noël Coward's play "Still Life," Brief Encounter is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet by chance in a London railway station and carry on an intense love affair. Sentimental yet down-to-earth and set in pre-World War II England, the film follows British housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), who is on her way home, but catches a cinder in her eye. By chance, she meets Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), who removes it for her. The two talk for a few minutes and strike immediate sparks, but they end up catching different trains. However, both return to the station once a week to meet and, as the film progresses, they grow closer, sharing stories, hopes, and fears about their lives, marriages, and children. One day, when Alec's train is late, both become frantic that they will miss each other. When they finally find each other, they realize that they are in love. But what should be a joyous realization is fraught with tragedy, since both care greatly for their families. Howard and Johnson give flawless performances as two practical, married people who find themselves in a situation in which they know they can never be happy. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, (more)
Immediately grabbing the audience's attention with a heart-stopping opening scene in a dark graveyard, acclaimed British director David Lean realizes the cinematic potential of Charles Dickens' classic 1861 novel, and the result is considered by many to be one of the finest literary adaptations ever made as well as one of the greatest British films of all time. Crystallized into a tight 118-minute running time by Lean, Ronald Neame, and a corps of uncredited contributors, this is the story of young Pip, a lad of humble means whose training as a gentleman is bankrolled by a mysterious benefactor. Along the way, Pip falls in love with the fickle Estella, befriends the cheerfully insouciant Herbert Pocket, has memorable encounters with the escaped convict Magwitch and the lunatic dowager Miss Havisham, and almost (but not quite) forgets his modest origins as the foster son of kindhearted blacksmith Joe Gargery. The role of Pip is evenly divided between Anthony Wager as a child and John Mills as an adult; Alec Guinness makes his starring film debut as the jaunty Pocket; Jean Simmons and Valerie Hobson are costarred as the younger and older Estella; and Martita Hunt is unforgettable as the mad Miss Havisham ("It's a fine cake! A wedding cake! MINE!") Remade several times, Great Expectations resurfaced in 1989 as a TV miniseries, with Jean Simmons, originally the young Estella, tearing a passion to tatters as Miss Havisham; and in 1998 it was remade again, in a contemporary version, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert DeNiro, and Anne Bancroft in the Miss Havisham role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Valerie Hobson, (more)
The Noel Coward/David Lean combination which turned out such dramas as Brief Encounter and This Happy Breed sets its sights on the viewer's funny bone with Blithe Spirit. Rex Harrison plays a novelist, newly married to straight-laced Constance Cummings. Via a seance, Harrison accidentally summons the spirit of his first wife, Kay Hammond. Believing that Hammond wants to ruin his marriage, Harrison enlists the services of local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to exorcise Hammond's spirit. She fails, and in time, Harrison's second wife is killed; now he has two playful spirits on his hands! Technicolor is used throughout Blithe Spirit, with the ghosts' shimmering paleness providing contrast to the plain, everyday colors of Harrison's conservative country home. Blithe Spirit was later transformed into the Broadway musical High Spirits, with the original script bent out of shape to turn the character of Madame Arcati (played by Beatrice Lillie) into the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, (more)
With This Happy Breed, playwright Noel Coward hoped to glorify the British working class in the same manner that he'd celebrated the "higher orders" in Cavalcade. The film begins just after World War I. Middle-class Londoner Robert Newton hopes to improve his family's lot by moving them into a comparatively posh house in the suburbs. The house is large enough for each family member to claim a corner or room as his or her own, allowing Coward to spotlight the characters' highly individual strengths, shortcomings and emotions. Twenty years go by, filled with the sorts of triumphs and tragedies with which British audiences of the 1940s could readily identify. Finally, left alone after their children and relatives have moved on, Newton and his wife (Celia Johnson) leave the house behind for a smaller, more practical apartment. This was the second of four collaborations between author Noel Coward and director David Lean. While Coward can't completely disguise his patronizing attitude towards "regular folks," Lean is successful in conveying the essential warmth, humanity and value of the film's characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, (more)
Few morale-boosting wartime films have retained their power and entertainment value as emphatically as Noël Coward's In Which We Serve. To witness Coward's sober, no-nonsense direction (in collaboration with his co-director/editor, David Lean) and to watch his straightforward portrayal of navy captain Kinross, one would never suspect that he'd built his theatrical reputation upon sophisticated drawing-room comedies and brittle, witty song lyrics. The real star of In Which We Serve is the British destroyer Torrin. Torpedoed in battle, the Torrin miraculously survives, and is brought back to English shores to be repaired. The paint is barely dry and the nuts and bolts barely in place before the Torrin is pressed into duty during the Dunkirk evacuation. The noble vessel is finally sunk after being dive-bombed in Crete, but many of the crew members survive. As they cling to the wreckage awaiting rescue, Coward and his men flash back to their homes and loved ones, and, in so doing, recall anew just why they're fighting and for whom they're fighting. Next to Coward, the single most important of the film's characters is Shorty Blake, played by John Mills. (Trivia note: Mills' infant daughter Juliet Mills appears as Shorty's baby.) Even so, the emphasis in the film is on teamwork; here as elsewhere, there can be no stars in wartime. For many years, the only prints available to television were from the bowdlerized American version, which crudely cut out all "hells" and "damns." Fortunately, this eviscerated American release has since been shelved in favor of the full, glorious 115-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Noël Coward, John Mills, (more)
This subtle, unadorned British war drama was the second collaboration between "The Archers," Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Six British bomber crewmen are obliged to bail out over Holland. To escape detection from the Nazis, the crewmen accept the hospitality of several Hollanders, all dedicated to the freedom-fighting activities of the Underground. The film is constructed along the lines of the earlier Powell-Pressburger film The Invaders, except that the escapees are British rather than German and their Dutch contacts are willing rather than reluctant co-conspirators. The six male stars are Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, and Emrys Jones; among those who aid them in their flight to freedom are Googie Withers, Joyce Redman, and Peter Ustinov. The austere photography by Ronald Neame is complemented by the to-the-point editing of future director David Lean. Adding to the verisimilitude of One of Our Aircraft Is Missing is the utter absence of a musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, (more)
- 1941
George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy about wealth and poverty is brought to the screen with wonderful performances by Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller. Hiller plays Major Barbara Undershaft, a major in the Salvation Army who is also a socialist and stridently attacks capitalists -- in particular her father Andrew (Robert Morley), the head of a munitions plant. In love with Barbara is the young Greek scholar Adolphus Cusins (Rex Harrison), whose attentions go unreturned since Barbara spends all her time on her crusade against wealth. To show up his daughter, Andrew donates 50,000 pounds to the Salvation Army which, to Barbara's horror, the Army's general (Sybil Thorndike) happily accepts. Barbara, in protest, quits her post and it is left to Adolphus to take her on a tour of her father's munitions plant and prove to her the benefits of capitalism. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, (more)
49th Parallel is a British wartime entreaty for Empire solidarity, concentrating on rousing the patriotic fervor of the citizens of Canada. A group of Nazi naval officers and crewmen are stranded on Canadian soil (we have no sympathy for the castaways, inasmuch as we have just seen them refusing food and water to a group of torpedoed British seamen). Led by lieutenant Eric Portman, the Nazis try to stir up sympathy amongst the Canadians, beginning with apolitical Quebeckian trapper Laurence Olivier. Failing to convert Olivier--even by force--the Germans move on to a Hutterite farming community, where again they are unsuccessful in winning adherents (though, conversely, German seaman Niall Mac Ginnis defects to the other side). They then cross the path of professorial author Leslie Howard, who is living amongst the Indians to soak up "local color". Even Howard proves too formidable for the Nazis, and by film's end the surviving invaders are hiding out in a train, where they are discovered and captured by AWOL Canadian soldier Raymond Massey. Most TV viewers know 49th Parallel under its alternate title, The Invaders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, (more)
- 1939
This Anglo-American coproduction was based on the popular West End stage comedy by Terrence Rattigan. It all begins when Diana (Ellen Drew), the sister of a British boy studying in France, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates. Alan (Ray Milland), one of the students, successfully resists Diana's charms-meaning of course that Alan and Diana will be in each other's arms by fadeout time. Much of the wit and zest of the original stage production has been blunted for the screen, moving one critic to describe French Without Tears as "Comedy Without Laughs". In all fairness, however, the film does boast a hilarious drunk scene in a musty old French wine cellar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Drew, Janine Darcey, (more)
Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller star in Anthony Asquith's and Leslie Howard's classic version of George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy. Henry Higgins (Howard) is an upper class phonetics professor who encounters low-class guttersnipe Eliza Doolittle (Hiller) and bets his friend Colonel Pickering (Scott Sunderland) that he can pass her off as a duchess within three months. Pickering accepts Higgins' bet, with Eliza readily agreeing to the proposal, since she will get to live in Higgins' fancy home. Once in Higgins' house, Eliza is subjected to intensely repetitive phonetics lessons in an effort to transform her Cockney accent into the speech of proper English. Things are a bit rocky at first, with Eliza blurting out "Not bloody likely" at a tea party. But when Eliza is presented at the Ambassador's Ball, she is not only accepted as a princess but is the talk of the ball, everyone in attendance commenting on her charm, beauty, and poise. Relishing his success, Higgins abruptly dismisses her. But Eliza has fallen in love with Higgins and is aghast at her cursory treatment by him. She tells him, "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me, I'm not fit to sell anything else." When Eliza leaves, Higgins realizes that he loves her too, but Eliza has announced to Higgins that she plans to marry high society playboy Freddie Eynsford-Hill (David Tree). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hiller, Leslie Howard, (more)
In this espionage drama, a Secret Service agent must discover who has been smuggling British arms into China. The prime suspect is a prosperous Chinese merchant-philanthropist and the agent thinks the merchant is working with the notorious Chinese guerrilla warlord General Ling. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Griffith Jones, Valery Inkijinoff, (more)
- 1937
In this British adventure, a shipwrecked fellow is saved by the captain of another ship. While aboard, the survivor falls in love with the captains daughter. The unlucky fellow finds himself shipwrecked a second time. Once again, he is saved by the captain who also manages to save his brother and patch up their differences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This film version of the famed Shakespearean comedy features Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. As the story goes, Rosalind, smitten by Orlando and not able to get his attention, disguises herself as a boy to more easily remain in Orlando's vicinity. Eventually Orlando grows to like his new friend and Rosalind is stuck playing a boy with a boy with whom she'd rather be a girl. Confusing? Maybe only Shakespeare could come up with the idea, but director Paul Czinner does a fine job executing the concept. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer, (more)
- 1935
Margaret Kennedy, whose novel The Constant Nymph dealt with a musician's love for a pretty young gamin, penned a variation of the same concept in Escape Me Never. Elizabeth Bergner stars as an unwed mother, who is befriended by impoverished composer Hugh Sinclair. He marries her out of pity, but his heart belongs to Penelope Dudley Ward, the wife of his brother. Sinclair is shaken out of his infidelity when his own wife's baby dies. This popular British version of Escape Me Never was remade by Warner Bros. in 1946, which though not as well cast (Ida Lupino is not a fair exchange for Elizabeth Bergner) boasts a superb musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold--who'd also scored Warners' filmization of Margaret Kennedy's Constant Nymph. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair, (more)
- 1933
Big Bill Summers (Cyril McLaglen) is the undisputed king of the dirt-track motorcyclists. He also fancies himself quite the ladies' man, and has set his sights on pretty young Jane (Ida Lupino). When rival racer Mitch (John Loder) moves in on Jane, Big Bill seeks revenge on the track, resulting in a serious accident and extensive injuries for Mitch. Barred from racing, Big Bill becomes a stunt rider, and in this capacity redeems himself. Sixteen-year-old Ida Lupino made her second film appearance in this British quota quickie (original title: Money for Speed), which managed to earn an American release in 1936, after Lupino had firmly established herself in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ida Lupino, Cyril McLaglen, (more)
- 1932
Dreaming Lips was lovingly assembled by filmmaker Paul Czinner as an "ideal" vehicle for his popular actress wife Elizabeth Bergner. The star plays Gabrielle, the glamorous, spoiled wife of world-famous orchestra leader Peter (Romney Brent). Left alone by her constantly touring husband, she inaugurates a romance with brilliant but reclusive violinist Miguel de Vaye (Raymond Massey). Booked for an American tour, De Vaye insists that Gabrielle accompany him -- and that she tell her husband about their affair. But when Peter falls seriously ill, Gabrielle dutifully remains by his side, never telling him of her indiscretion. Torn between two lovers, Gabrielle eventually decides to kill herself -- leaving a nonplused Peter to wonder just why his wife was so distraught. Overlength is the only significant flaw of this luxuriously produced three-hanky picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Edthofer, Elisabeth Bergner, (more)
A Passage to India, director David Lean's final film (for which he also received editing credit), breaks no new ground cinematically, but remains an exquisitely assembled harkback to such earlier Lean epics as Doctor Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter. Based on the novel by E. M. Forster, the film is set in colonial India in 1924. Adela Quested (Judy Davis), a sheltered, well-educated British woman, arrives in the town of Chandrapore, where she hopes to experience "the real India". Here she meets and befriends Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee), who, despite longstanding racial and social taboos, moves with relative ease and freedom amongst highborn British circles. Feeling comfortable with Adela, Aziz invites her to accompany him on a visit to the Marabar caves. Adela has previously exhibited bizarre, almost mystical behavior during other ventures into the Indian wilderness: this time, she emerges from the caves showing signs of injury and ill usage. To Aziz' horror, he is accused by Adela of raping her. Typically, the British ruling class rallies to Adela's defense, virtually convicting Aziz before the trial ever begins. Though he is eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence (in fact, director Lean never shows us what really happened), Aziz is ruined in the eyes of both the British and his own people-as is Adela. Woven into these proceedings is a subplot involving Adela's elderly travelling companion Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft), who through a series of plot twists too complex to describe here becomes a heroine of the Indian Independence movement. A Passage to India was nominated for several Academy Awards, scoring wins in the categories of Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and Best Original Score (Maurice Jarre). A theatrical version of A Passage to India, written by Santha Rama Rau, was previously adapted for television by the BBC in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, (more)
