A Hazard of Hearts

Last updated

A Hazard of Hearts
A Hazard of Hearts print ad 1987.jpg
Print advertisement
Based onA Hazard of Hearts
by Barbara Cartland
Written byBarbara Cartland (novel)
Terence Feely
Directed by John Hough
Starring Diana Rigg
Edward Fox
Helena Bonham Carter
Fiona Fullerton
Stewart Granger
Theme music composer Laurie Johnson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersAlbert Fennell
John Hough
CinematographyFrank Watts
EditorRobert C. Dearberg
Running time90 minutes
Original release
Network CBS
Release
  • 27 December 1987 (1987-12-27)

A Hazard of Hearts is a 1987 made-for-television romantic drama film starring Helena Bonham Carter in one of her first major roles. It is based on a 1949 novel by Barbara Cartland.

Contents

Plot

Sir Giles Staverley, a compulsive gambler, is tricked into gambling away his home by his old adversary Lord Harry Wrotham. As Staverley is distraught and desperate, Wrotham gives him one last chance - he will gamble everything Staverley has lost against Staverley's daughter's hand in marriage and her trust fund of 80,000 guineas. Staverley agrees, despite Nicholas, who is his nephew and Serena's cousin, desperately attempting to persuade him against it. He loses once again.

Unable to face his daughter, Serena, Staverley kills himself. Lord Justin Vulcan, a notoriously cool, clear-headed gambler, challenges Wrotham for the house and the girl. Much to Wrotham's disgust, Vulcan wins. Justin now finds himself in possession of the house and Serena, but has no idea of what to do with them. Nicholas races to Serena and informs her of the turn of events, begging her to marry him, in order to shield her from the infamous Lord Vulcan. However, Serena stoically refuses, stating Nicholas' love for Isabel Gillingham, and declaring that the Staverley's have always paid their debts.

After meeting Serena and realising that she is much younger and more attractive than he had imagined, he installs her as a guest at Mandrake, his family home. This decision is made despite the opposition of Justin's mother, Lady Harriet Vulcan.

As Lady Vulcan attempts to marry Serena off to anyone except her son, Serena and Justin become friends and he teaches her about Mandrake, the home he loves. A crisis forces Serena and Justin to confront their feelings for each other. Can the course of true love run smoothly for them?

Cast

Production

The novel was published in 1949. [1] "This was my first costume book," Cartland said, "so I put in everything - highwaymen, jewels, the kitchen stove." [2]

It was intended to be the first in a series of Cartland adaptations by producer Albert Fennell for CBS. He had optioned the novels ten years earlier and tried unsuccessfully to get finance. His option lapsed and producer Ed Friendly made The Flame is Love for NBC, which Cartland did not enjoy ("it was frightfully badly cast"). She was involved in A Hazard of Hearts from the beginning. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Bonham Carter</span> English actress (born 1966)

Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award and an International Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Cartland</span> English writer and media personality (1901–2000)

Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily during the Victorian or Edwardian period. Cartland is one of the best-selling authors worldwide of the 20th century.

<i>Wives and Daughters</i> 1864–1866 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell

Wives and Daughters, An Every-Day Story is a novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. It was partly written whilst Gaskell was staying with the salon hostess Mary Elizabeth Mohl at her home on the Rue de Bac in Paris. When Mrs Gaskell died suddenly in 1865, it was not quite complete, and the last section was written by Frederick Greenwood.

<i>The Portrait of a Lady</i> Novel by Henry James

The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by critics as one of his finest.

<i>The Portrait of a Lady</i> (film) 1996 British film

The Portrait of a Lady is a 1996 British-American film directed by Jane Campion and adapted by Laura Jones from Henry James' 1881 novel of the same name.

<i>Fridays Child</i> (novel) 1944 novel by Georgette Heyer

Friday's Child is a novel written by Georgette Heyer in 1944. It is generally considered one of Miss Heyer's best Regency romances, and was reportedly the favourite of the author herself. Heyer retained only a single fan letter, which was from a Romanian political prisoner who kept herself and her fellow prisoners sane for twelve years by telling and retelling the plot of Friday's Child.

<i>The Wings of the Dove</i> (1997 film) 1997 film based on the novel by Henry James, directed by Iain Softley

The Wings of the Dove is a 1997 British-American romantic drama film directed by Iain Softley and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, and Alison Elliott. The screenplay by Hossein Amini is based on the 1902 novel of the same name by Henry James. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and five BAFTAs, recognizing Bonham Carter's performance, the screenplay, the costume design, and the cinematography.

The Palliser novels are six novels written in series by Anthony Trollope. They were more commonly known as the Parliamentary novels prior to their 1974 television dramatisation by the BBC broadcast as The Pallisers. Marketed as "polite literature" during their initial publication, the novels encompass several literary genres including: family saga, bildungsroman, picaresque, as well as satire and parody of Victorian life, and criticism of the British government's predilection for attracting corrupt and corruptible people to power.

Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton is a British actress and singer, known for her role as Alice in the 1972 film Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and as Bond girl KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill.

<i>North and South</i> (miniseries) Three American television miniseries

North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North and South, remains the seventh-highest rated miniseries in TV history. North and South: Book II (1986) was met with similar success, while 1994's Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III was poorly received by both critics and audiences.

<i>April Lady</i> 1957 novel by Georgette Heyer

April Lady is a Regency romance by Georgette Heyer, published in 1957 by Heinemann in the UK and by Putnam in the US. Previously serialised in the Woman's Journal as “My Lady Cardross”, the new novel was Heyer’s forty-fourth book and her fifteenth Regency novel.

<i>Quadrille</i> (play) Play written by Noël Coward

Quadrille is a play by Noël Coward. It is a romantic comedy set in the mid-Victorian era, and depicts the romantic permutations when an English aristocrat elopes with the wife of an American businessman and the American falls in love with the aristocrat's deserted wife.

<i>Where Angels Fear to Tread</i> (film) 1991 British film

Where Angels Fear to Tread is a 1991 British drama film directed by Charles Sturridge and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, Rupert Graves, Giovanni Guidelli, Barbara Jefford, and Helen Mirren. The screenplay by Sturridge, Tim Sullivan, and Derek Granger is based on the 1905 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster.

<i>Twelfth Night</i> (1996 film) 1996 film by Trevor Nunn

Twelfth Night is a 1996 romantic comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. Set in the late 19th century, it was filmed on location in Cornwall, including scenes shot at Padstow and at Lanhydrock House near Bodmin, with Orsino and his followers wearing uniforms that evoke the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

<i>The Fighting OFlynn</i> 1949 film by Arthur Pierson

The Fighting O'Flynn is a 1949 American adventure film directed by Arthur Pierson. The film's screenplay by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is based on the novel of the same name by Justin Huntly McCarthy. Fairbanks stars, along with Helena Carter.

<i>Duel of Hearts</i> British TV series or programme

Duel of Hearts is a 1991 romantic television film directed by John Hough. Terence Feely penned the screenplay, based on the 1949 Barbara Cartland novel, A Duel of Hearts. The film stars Alison Doody, Michael York, Geraldine Chaplin and Benedict Taylor.

<i>Double Crossbones</i> 1951 film by Charles Barton

Double Crossbones is a 1951 American comedy adventure film distributed by Universal International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Charles Barton, and stars Donald O'Connor and Helena Carter. It was shot in Technicolor and was released on January 22. The story is of shopkeeper apprentice Davey Crandall becoming a pirate after being accused falsely of being involved of selling stolen goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonham Carter family</span> British family

The Bonham-Carter family is a British family that has included several prominent people active in various spheres in the United Kingdom.

<i>The Passionate Friends: A Novel</i> 1913 novel by H. G. Wells

The Passionate Friends is a 1913 coming of age novel by H. G. Wells detailing the life and travels of a young man. It is notable as the first introduction of Wells's notion of an "open conspiracy" of individuals to achieve a world state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellatrix Lestrange</span> Fictional Harry Potter character

Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. She evolved from an unnamed periphery character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into a major antagonist in subsequent novels. In the final installment of the story, Rowling established her as Lord Voldemort's "last, best lieutenant". Bellatrix was the first female Death Eater introduced in the books. Bellatrix had a fanatic obsession with the Dark Lord although she was clearly fearful of his magical abilities and absolute power over his forces. She is almost as sadistic and homicidal as Lord Voldemort, with a psychotic personality.

References

  1. "Recent fiction" (9 April 1949). The Irish Times
  2. 1 2 Mills, Nancy (4 September 1987). "BARBARA CARTLAND NOVEL BECOMES FILM" Los Angeles Times