Connecting Rooms | |
---|---|
Directed by | Franklin Gollings |
Written by | Franklin Gollings |
Produced by | Franklin Gollings Harry Field |
Starring | Bette Davis Michael Redgrave Alexis Kanner Kay Walsh Olga Georges-Picot |
Cinematography | John Wilcox |
Edited by | Jack Slade |
Music by | John Shakespeare |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Connecting Rooms is a 1970 British drama film written and directed by Franklin Gollings. The screenplay is based on the play The Cellist by Marion Hart. [1] [2] The film stars Bette Davis, Michael Redgrave, and Leo Genn. [3]
The plot explores the relationships shared by the residents of a seedy boarding house owned by dour Mrs. Brent. Among them are busker Wanda Fleming, who is flattered by the attention paid her by rebellious pop songwriter wannabe Mickey Hollister, and former schoolmaster James Wallraven, who has been accused of pedophilia and reduced to working as a janitor in an art gallery.[ citation needed ]
The Paramount Pictures release was filmed on location in Bayswater in 1969. It was given a limited release in the United States in 1970, then had some regional UK showings in 1971 but only appeared in London in 1972.
Scenes in which Wanda Fleming played the cello featured close-ups of the hands of British classical cellist Amaryllis Fleming. [4]
In a scene set in the West End theatre district, a theatre marquee lists Margo Channing as one of the cast of the play it is housing. Margo Channing was the name of the character Bette Davis portrayed in All About Eve .
In his review in Film Threat, Phil Hall describes the film as "a compelling and often heartbreaking drama" and adds "Redgrave, who was never the most subtle screen actor...manages to reign in his hammy tendencies and find the angst and isolation in the disgraced teacher's existence." Regarding Davis, Hall writes: "When her secret is revealed, Davis' character says absolutely nothing. Instead, her body freezes slightly while her eyes (yes, those Bette Davis eyes) give a look which is initially shameful, but then suddenly appear to present endless relief. In her silence and her ocular expression, Davis achieves a state of grace which is astonishing to behold."[ citation needed ]
Time Out London wrote "Riddled with act and scene pauses...it's a fairly classic condensation of several fetishistic concerns endemic to British cinema." [5]
TV Guide calls it a "dull, sappy melodrama." [6]
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit.
Mrs. Miniver is a fictional British housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns for The Times. The Mrs. Miniver story was later adapted into a film of the same name and starred Greer Garson in the titular role for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The musical is based on the 1950 film All About Eve and the short story on which the movie is based, Mary Orr's "The Wisdom of Eve". The story centers on aging star Margo Channing, who innocently takes a fledgling actress under her wing, unaware that the ruthless Eve is plotting to steal her career and her man.
Contraband is a 1940 wartime spy film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, which reunited stars Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson after their earlier appearance in The Spy in Black the previous year. On this occasion, Veidt plays a hero, something he did not do very often, and there is also an early (uncredited) performance by Leo Genn.
Leopold John Genn was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocratic or gentlemanly, sophisticate roles.
A Stolen Life is a 1946 American drama film starring Bette Davis, who also produced it. The film, based on the 1935 novel A Stolen Life by Karel Josef Benes, was directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Among the supporting cast are Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Peggy Knudsen, Charlie Ruggles, and Bruce Bennett. It is a remake of the 1939 British film Stolen Life starring Elisabeth Bergner and Michael Redgrave.
Another Man's Poison is a 1951 British drama film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill and Emlyn Williams. The screenplay by Val Guest is based on the play Deadlock by Leslie Sands.
The Watcher in the Woods is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Hough and Vincent McEveety and starring Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, and David McCallum. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, the film tells the story of a teenage girl and her little sister who become encompassed in a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their new home in the English countryside.
Evelyn Beatrice Sainte Croix Fleming, née Rose, known as Eve Fleming, was an English socialite known for her flamboyant beauty and being the mother of writer Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.
In This Our Life is a 1942 American drama film, the second to be directed by John Huston. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1941 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Ellen Glasgow. The cast included the established stars Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland as sisters and rivals in romance and life. Raoul Walsh also worked as director, taking over when Huston was called away for a war assignment after the United States entered World War II, but he was uncredited. This film was the third of six films that de Havilland and Davis starred in together.
Smashing Time is a 1967 British satirical comedy film directed by Desmond Davis starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London. It was written by George Melly.
Deception is a 1946 American film noir drama released by Warner Brothers and directed by Irving Rapper. The film is based on the 1927 play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. The screenplay was written by John Collier and Joseph Than. It stars Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, who had also appeared together in the highly successful Now, Voyager (1942), which was also directed by Rapper.
Too Hot to Handle is a 1960 British neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Terence Young and starring Jayne Mansfield, Leo Genn and Carl Boehm. The screenplay was by Herbert Kretzmer from a story by Harry Lee.
Parachute Jumper is a 1933 American pre-Code black-and-white comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green. Based on a story by Rian James titled "Some Call It Love", it stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis and Frank McHugh.
It's Love I'm After is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland. Based on the story "Gentlemen After Midnight" by Maurice Hanline, with a screenplay by Casey Robinson, the film is about a couple who have postponed their marriage eleven times and who continue to plot and scheme their way to marriage. The film marked the third on-screen pairing of Leslie Howard and Bette Davis, following Of Human Bondage and The Petrified Forest.
Mourning Becomes Electra is a 1947 American drama film by Dudley Nichols adapted from the 1931 Eugene O'Neill play Mourning Becomes Electra, based in turn on the Oresteia. The film stars Rosalind Russell, Michael Redgrave, Raymond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn and Kirk Douglas.
Jump for Glory is a 1937 British crime romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Valerie Hobson and Alan Hale. It was based on a novel by Gordon McDonnell. The film was shot at Isleworth Studios by the independent company Criterion Film for distribution by United Artists. The film's sets were designed by the art director Edward Carrick.
Amaryllis Marie-Louise Fleming was a British cello performer and teacher.
Channing is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: