The Singer and the Dancer

Last updated

The Singer and the Dancer
The singer and the dancer -- movie poster.jpg
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Written byJohn Pleffer
Based onshort story 'Old Mrs Bilson' by Alan Marshall
Produced byGillian Armstrong
Starring Ruth Cracknell
Cinematography Russell Boyd
Edited byNicholas Beauman
Music byRobert Murphy
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • June 1976 (1976-06)(premiere)
  • April 1977 (1977-04)
Running time
52 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetAU$27,000 [1]

The Singer and the Dancer is a 1977 film directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Ruth Cracknell and Elizabeth Crosby. [2]

Contents

Plot

Mrs Bilson is treated as a simple minded invalid by her family and periodically escapes to sit by the river and listen to the races. She befriends Charlie, a young woman from the city who has come with her husband to seek a new life. Both realises they have much in common, including abusive and unfaithful husbands.

Cast

Production

The film was the first long narrative movie from Gillian Armstrong, although she had made several shorts and a documentary. She had successfully adapted Alan Marshall stories at film school, and he sent her a copy of the story "Old Mrs Bilson" which she liked. Armstrong liked the central part of the story and the character of the woman, but she wanted to do something contemporary because her early short films, Gretel and One Hundred a Day had been set in the past. She asked Marshall if she could adapt it into a story where the woman character meets a young woman. Marshall agreed provided Armstrong write what the young woman would say:

And that's what we did. I came up with the characters who went to the country, Charley and a boyfriend, and we mingled that with the story that had always been there about Mrs Bilson. You find out about her past through the story. [3]

Neva Carr Glynn was originally cast as the old lady but she died prior to production and Ruth Cracknell was given the role instead. [3]

The film was shot over two weeks at Picton in October 1975, largely funded by the Film, Radio and Television Board of the Australia Council, who put in $20,000. [1] [4]

Release

The Singer and the Dancer screened at the Sydney Film Festival in June 1976 and won the Greater Union Award for Best Narrative Film. Columbia agreed to distribute the film theatrically, with the Australian Film Commission paying for the movie to be blown up to 35mm. [1] It also showed at some co-op screenings. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>High Society</i> (1956 film) 1956 American musical comedy film directed by Charles Walters

High Society is a 1956 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. The film was produced by Sol C. Siegel for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and shot in VistaVision and Technicolor, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter.

Cloris Leachman American actress (1926-2021)

Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedienne whose career spanned more than seven decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. She won an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.

<i>Mona Lisa Smile</i> 2003 American film

Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 American drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The title is a reference to the Mona Lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and to the song of the same name, originally performed by Nat King Cole, which was covered by Seal for the movie. Julia Roberts received a record $25 million for her performance, the highest ever earned by an actress at that time.

Mrs. Claus Wife of Santa Claus

Mrs. Claus is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition. She is known for making cookies with the elves, caring for the reindeer, and preparing toys with her husband.

Gillian Armstrong Australian film director

Gillian May Armstrong is an Australian feature film and documentary director, who specializes in period drama. Her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists. Many of her movies are historical dramas.

Sophie Ward British actress

Sophie Anna Ward is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), and in other feature film roles including in Cary Joji Fukunaga's period drama Jane Eyre (2011), and Jane Sanger's horror feature, Swiperight (2020). In 1982 she had a role in the Academy Award-winning best short film, A Shocking Accident. On television she played Dr Helen Trent in British police drama series Heartbeat from 2004 to 2006, the character Sophia Byrne in the series Holby City from 2008 to 2010, the role of Lady Ellen Hoxley in the series Land Girls from 2009 to 2011, and that of Lady Verinder in the mini-series The Moonstone (2016). She has had a variety of other roles on stage and in short and feature films.

Ruth Cracknell Australian actress (1925–2002)

Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM was an Australian character and comic actress, comedienne and author, her career encompassing all genres including radio, theatre, television and film. She appeared in many dramatic as well as comedy roles throughout a career spanning some 56 years. In theatre she was well known for her Shakespeare roles.

Millie Perkins American film and television actress (born 1938)

Millie Perkins is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 1966 Westerns, The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind, both directed by Monte Hellman.

<i>Bleak House</i> (2005 TV serial)

Bleak House is a fifteen-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1852–53 as itself a print serialisation over 20 months. Produced with an all-star cast, the serial was shown on BBC One from 27 October to 16 December 2005, and drew much critical and popular praise. It has been reported that the total cost of the production was in the region of £8 million.

Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women and Lucy Lynskey in the comedy/horror film The Frighteners. She also has had notable stage performances and singing roles in musicals.

Judith Kuring known as Jude Kuring is an Australian actress who appeared in film and television during the late 1970s and early 80s. She remains best known for her role as petty criminal Noeline Bourke in the soap opera Prisoner.

June Marie Salter AM was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television, best known for her character roles.

Lurene Tuttle American actress and acting coach (1907–1986)

Lurene Tuttle was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile actresses. Often appearing in 15 shows per week, comedies, dramas, thrillers, soap operas, and crime dramas, she became known as the "First Lady of Radio".

Laura Jones is an Australian screenwriter.

<i>They Shoot Horses, Dont They?</i> (novel)

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a novel written by Horace McCoy and first published in 1935. The story mainly concerns a dance marathon during the Great Depression. It was adapted into Sydney Pollack's 1969 film of the same name.

<i>Pennies from Heaven</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by Norman Z. McLeod, Jo Swerling

Pennies From Heaven is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, and Edith Fellows.

<i>High Tide</i> (1987 film) 1987 Australian film

High Tide is a 1987 Australian drama film starring Judy Davis, from a script by Laura Jones, about the mother-daughter bond, directed by Gillian Armstrong. Armstrong reported that when she began work on High Tide she pinned a note above her desk: "Blood ties. Water. Running Away." Jan Adele plays Lilli's mother-in-law Bet, in her film debut.

<i>The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith</i> (film) 1978 film

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1978 Australian drama film directed, written and produced by Fred Schepisi, and starring Tom E. Lewis, Freddy Reynolds and Ray Barrett. The film also featured early appearances by Bryan Brown, Arthur Dignam, and John Jarratt. It is an adaptation of the 1972 novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally.

Ruth Sacks Caplin was an American screenwriter, arts advocate, therapist and philanthropist known for her adapted screenplay for the film, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, starring Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend.

<i>Im Thinking of Ending Things</i> 2020 film by Charlie Kaufman

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a 2020 American surrealist psychological thriller film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. It is an adaptation of the 2016 novel of the same name by Iain Reid. The plot follows a young woman who goes on a trip with her boyfriend to meet his parents. Throughout the film, the main narrative is intercut with footage of a janitor going to work, with both stories intersecting by the third act.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 311
  2. "The Singer and the Dancer (1977) - Gillian Armstrong | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  3. 1 2 "Interview with Gillian Armstrong", Signet, 4 September 1998 Archived 12 January 2013 at archive.today Retrieved 17 November 2012
  4. 1 2 David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p215-216