Joseph Andrews (film)

Last updated

Joseph Andrews
Joseph Andrews FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster, artwork by Ted CoConis
Directed by Tony Richardson
Written by Allan Scott
Screenplay by Chris Bryant
Based on Joseph Andrews
by Henry Fielding
Starring Ann-Margret
Peter Firth
Michael Hordern
Beryl Reid
Jim Dale
Cinematography David Watkin
Edited by Thom Noble
Music by John Addison
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • April 1977 (1977-04)
Running time
104 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million [1]

Joseph Andrews is a 1977 British period comedy film directed by Tony Richardson. It is based on the 1742 novel Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding.

Contents

With its rollicking comic plot, period costume and setting, ribald adventures and a dashing young hero, the film was an obvious attempt to follow in the line of such films as Tom Jones (1963), which was also directed by Tony Richardson.

Ann-Margret was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1978 for her performance in the film. [2]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times explains the pretext of Henry Fielding's novel Joseph Andrews: The book "originated as Fielding's answer to what he saw as the hypocritical pieties of [British novelist] Samuel Richardson's Pamela. In Pamela, which was published in 1740, Richardson told the inspiring tale of Pamela Andrews, a serving girl who tenaciously held onto her virginity until her employer, the rich Mr. Booby, came across with a marriage license. Several years later, Mr. Fielding turned this story wildly upside down in a novel about Pamela's brother, Joseph, a serving boy who is as innocent as his sister but not nearly as calculating, who must fight off all sorts of lewd advances and whose triumph is one of true virtue rather than greed." [3]

Plot

Lady Booby alias "Belle", the lively wife of the fat landed squire Sir Thomas Booby, has a lusty eye on the attractive, intelligent villager Joseph Andrews, a Latin pupil and protégé of parson Adams, and makes him their footman. Joseph's heart belongs to a country girl, foundling Fanny Goodwill, but his masters take him on a trip to fashionable Bath, where spoiled society comes mainly to see and be seen. Sir Thomas really seeks relief for his sick foot, but drowns in the famous Roman baths. The all-but-grieving lady attempts to seduce Joseph, but on finding that his Christian virtue and true love are as immune to her passes as to those of the many ladies who fancy her footman, she fires him. On his way back home on foot, Joseph falls prey to highwaymen who rob him of everything, even the clothes on his back. He is found and nursed by an innkeeper's maid; lusts are stirred at the inn, once more challenging his honour, until he is found by the good parson. Meanwhile, the lady consents to her cousin marrying below his station, on learning that his fiancée is Joseph's sister, Pamela. The parson prevents an attempted rape by a squire, and barely escapes a wicked gentleman's totally unjust justice after being accused of it – he comes to learn of a significant child theft by gypsies. Meanwhile, the parson, Joseph and Fanny again fall prey to the squire's utter debauchery... [4]

Cast

Production

Paramount announced the film in May 1976. [5]

Filming locations

The movie was filmed on location at Broughton Castle, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, at the Roman Baths in Bath, Somerset, England, and at the Royal Crescent in Bath, Somerset, England, the George Inn, Norton St Philip and in other locations in England.

Music

The ballads were sung by Jim Dale who plays the gypsy in the movie.

Release

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times was impressed with the film: "Joseph Andrews contains more great (and more greatly funny) character performances than any film I've seen in years. It's one of the few movies around now that truly lifts the spirits, not only because it is so good-humored but also because the humor is laced with so much wit and wisdom. ...(Ann-Margret) looks great and she is enchantingly funny, but so is almost everyone else in a cast so big I really don't know where to begin, since I'm sure to leave out someone important. It's one of those films in which even the smaller roles are as beautifully and as memorably done as the larger ones. ...The film is ... an almost perfect blending of beauty, romance and adventure, of landscapes too lovely to believe alternating with the kind of gritty period detail that prompts one character (Squire Thomas) to say of a street jam in the resort city of Bath, 'The only things that move here are the bowels of the horses.'" [3]

Filmink said Ann-Margret "stole the show". [6]

John Addison's score was well received. The period costumes by Michael Annals are extraordinarily flamboyant. David Watkin's cinematography was praised as clever and particularly reflective of the period depicted, demonstrating a "painterly quality" and an artistic use of lighting.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>Tom Jones</i> (1963 film) 1963 film by Tony Richardson

Tom Jones is a 1963 British period comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. It is directed by Tony Richardson from a screenplay written by John Osborne, and stars Albert Finney as the titular character. The cast also features Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento, and David Warner in his film debut.

<i>Joseph Andrews</i> Early novel in English

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first full-length novel by the English author Henry Fielding to be published and among the early novels in the English language. Appearing in 1742 and defined by Fielding as a "comic epic poem in prose", it tells of a good-natured footman's adventures on the road home from London with his friend and mentor, the absent-minded parson Abraham Adams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann-Margret</span> Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1941)

Ann-Margret Olsson, credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer. She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards, winning in 2010 for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

<i>Carnal Knowledge</i> (film) 1971 film by Mike Nichols

Carnal Knowledge is a 1971 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jules Feiffer. It stars Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen, and Rita Moreno.

<i>Funny Lady</i> 1975 musical film directed by Herbert Ross

Funny Lady is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen.

<i>Pocketful of Miracles</i> 1961 film by Frank Capra

Pocketful of Miracles is a 1961 American comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, produced and directed by Frank Capra, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend was based on Robert Riskin's screenplay for the 1933 film Lady for a Day, which was adapted from the 1929 Damon Runyon short story "Madame La Gimp". That original 1933 film was also directed by Capra—one of two films that he originally directed and later remade, the other being Broadway Bill (1934) and its remake Riding High (1950).

<i>Steaming</i> (film) 1985 British film

Steaming is a British drama film directed by Joseph Losey, released in 1985, the year after his death. The last film that Losey directed, it was adapted by Nell Dunn and Patricia Losey from Dunn's play of the same name. The film was screened out of competition at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. The story is about the women who meet regularly in a Turkish bath and decide to fight its closure. The cast was headed by Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles and Diana Dors. It was the last film appearance by Dors, who died in 1984.

<i>The Pleasure Seekers</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Jean Negulesco

The Pleasure Seekers is a 1964 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Edith Sommer, based on the 1952 novel Coins in the Fountain by John H. Secondari. The film stars Ann-Margret, Tony Franciosa, Carol Lynley, Gardner McKay, and Pamela Tiffin, with Gene Tierney and Brian Keith. Ann-Margret sings four songs composed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen.

<i>An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews</i> 1741 novel by Henry Fielding

An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, or simply Shamela, as it is more commonly known, is a satirical burlesque novella by English writer Henry Fielding. It was first published in April 1741 under the name of Mr. Conny Keyber. Fielding never admitted to writing the work, but it is widely considered to be his. It is a direct attack on the then-popular novel Pamela (1740) by Fielding's contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson and is composed, like Pamela, in epistolary form.

<i>Mrs Henderson Presents</i> 2005 film by Stephen Frears

Mrs Henderson Presents is a 2005 biographical musical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Martin Sherman. It stars Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young. It tells the true story of Laura Henderson, an eccentric British socialite who opened the Windmill Theatre in London in 1931.

<i>Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded</i> 1740 novel by Samuel Richardson

Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel first published in 1740 by the English writer Samuel Richardson. Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct literature about marriage.

In literature, a character sketch, or character, is a rough-and-ready rendering and thumbnail portrayal of an individual, capturing, in brief, that person's physical characteristics, psychological attributes, and the like. The brief descriptions often capitalize on the more unusual or humorous aspects of the person's character. Character sketches are usually identified by irony, humor, exaggeration, and satire. The term originated in portraiture, where the character sketch is a common academic exercise. The artist performing a character sketch attempts to capture an expression or gesture that goes beyond coincident actions and gets to the essence of the individual.

<i>Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies</i> 1973 film by John Erman

Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies is a 1973 American adventure comedy film directed by John Erman from a screenplay by Claudia Salter. The film centers on a barnstorming pilot and his son as they fly around the United States in the 1920s, having adventures along the way. One of the driving forces behind the production, Robertson was a real life pilot, although Hollywood stunt pilot Frank Tallman flew most of the aerial scenes. The film was the first feature credit for filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who wrote the story.

<i>For Petes Sake</i> (film) 1974 film by Peter Yates

For Pete's Sake is a 1974 American screwball comedy film starring Barbra Streisand and directed by Peter Yates. The screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin chronicles the misadventures of a Brooklyn housewife. In 1977, it was used as the basis for the Hindi film Aap Ki Khatir.

<i>State Fair</i> (1962 film) 1962 film

State Fair is a 1962 American musical film directed by José Ferrer and starring Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Ann-Margret, Tom Ewell, Pamela Tiffin and Alice Faye. A remake of the 1933 film State Fair and the 1945 film State Fair, it was considered to be a financially and critically unsuccessful film. Richard Rodgers, whose collaborator Oscar Hammerstein had died in 1960, wrote additional songs, both music and lyrics, for this film adaptation of the 1932 novel by Phil Stong.

<i>Made in Paris</i> 1966 film by Boris Sagal

Made in Paris is a 1966 American romantic-comedy film starring Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan, Richard Crenna, Edie Adams, and Chad Everett. The film was written by Stanley Roberts and directed by Boris Sagal.

<i>Bus Rileys Back in Town</i> 1965 film by Harvey Hart

Bus Riley's Back in Town is a 1965 American comedy film written by William Inge, directed by Harvey Hart, and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks.

<i>Mistress Pamela</i> 1974 British film by Jim OConnolly

Mistress Pamela is a 1973 British sex comedy drama film directed by Jim O'Connolly and starring Ann Michelle, Dudley Foster, Anna Quayle and Anthony Sharp. It is loosely based on the 1740 novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson.

<i>The Swinger</i> 1966 film by George Sidney

The Swinger is a 1966 American sex comedy film directed by George Sidney and starring Ann-Margret and Anthony Franciosa.

<i>C.C. and Company</i> 1970 film

C.C. and Company is a 1970 American biker film directed by Seymour Robbie. It starred Joe Namath as biker C.C. Ryder, Ann-Margret as fashion journalist Ann, and William Smith as Moon, the leader of the fictitious outlaw biker club the "Heads Company". The film also features singer Wayne Cochran and his band The C.C. Riders.

References

  1. Richardson Gibes the Gentry Again in 'Joseph Andrews' Champlin, Charles. Los Angeles Times 13 June 1976: p1.
  2. "Joseph Andrews" . Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (14 April 1978). "Witty 'Joseph Andrews': Misadventures Galore".
  4. IMDB Joseph Andrews Plot Summary, KGF Vissers https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076234/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
  5. MOVIE CALL SHEET: Elliott More Than a Sex Symbol Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 3 Mar 1976: f6.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (6 September 2021). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Ann-Margret". Filmink. Retrieved 9 March 2023.