The Turn of the Screw | |
---|---|
Based on | The Turn of the Screw by Henry James |
Written by | Nick Dear |
Directed by | Ben Bolt |
Starring | |
Composer | Adrian Johnston |
Production | |
Producer | Martin Pope |
Running time | 101 minutes |
Production companies | United Film and Television Meridian Broadcasting Martin Pope Productions |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 26 December 1999 |
Network | WGBH Boston |
Release | 27 February 2000 |
The Turn of the Screw is a 1999 television film based on the 1898 novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The production starred Colin Firth as the Master, Jodhi May as the governess 'Miss' and Pam Ferris as Mrs Grose. [1] The 138 minute film was made for the American series Masterpiece Theatre , a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston, and was directed by Ben Bolt. [2] The score was composed by Adrian Johnston while the screenplay was written by Nick Dear. [3]
An impressionable young governess (Jodhi May), the youngest daughter of a poor Hampshire parson, is employed by the Master (Colin Firth) to take charge of his orphaned nephew and niece. But he makes one stipulation - he must never be contacted about the children at all. The young woman, known as 'Miss' to her charges, finds a friend and ally in the housekeeper, Mrs Grose (Pam Ferris), but soon comes to believe that the orphans are communicating with the ghosts of the previous governess and her lover.
The film was made in London and at the country house Thame Park at Thame in Oxfordshire.
A review in Variety said:
Filmed countless times for both the bigscreen and the tube, Henry James' timeless ghost story still carries a provocative charge. This straightforward, solid adaptation for Masterpiece Theatre brings nothing especially new to the rich material, but fine performances and a seamless production deliver the requisite chills. There may be no burning reason for yet another screen version of the masterful short novel, other than the profound pull of the story, but perhaps that’s reason enough. [4]
Walter Goodman, the critic of The New York Times , wrote:
Despite the periodic scenes of the unstable governess running around the stately mansion bearing a candle that does little to lighten the gloomy staircase and corridors, the apparitions or ghosts are not particularly spooky... [5]
Actress Jodhi May, who played the unnamed governess in the drama, said that she believed that Nick Dear's adaptation focused on the darkness of the novel:
He has captured in his version her constantly having a sense of doubt whether the children are innocent or incredibly sophisticated. The sense of her not being able to define reality or reason with the situation in any kind of rational way is really what makes the piece so disturbing. [6]
Director Ben Bolt said he believed that the children weren't possessed by the ghosts, but were, instead, psychologically disturbed by the loss of their parents:
...their parents died in India when they were very young and they had been stuck in this big old country house. This made them very close to each other, which a certain suspicious kind of adult [like Miss] would find worrying, that they would whisper and be private with each other... But they [the ghosts] only appear because of her mixed-up psychological state ... These ghosts were lying in their pit or wherever ghosts hang out and were awakened by her hysteria. [6]
Jane Eyre is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman that follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall.
A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, the primary role of a governess is teaching, rather than meeting the physical needs of children; hence a governess is usually in charge of school-aged children, rather than babies.
The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly. In October 1898, it was collected in The Two Magics, published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote country house, becomes convinced that they are haunted. The Turn of the Screw is considered a work of both Gothic and horror fiction.
Pamela Ferris is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is she was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards.
The Innocents is a 1961 gothic psychological horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton, and starring Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave, and Megs Jenkins. Based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by the American novelist Henry James, the screenplay was adapted by William Archibald and Truman Capote, who used Archibald's own 1950 stage play—also titled The Innocents—as a primary source text. Its plot follows a governess who watches over two children and comes to fear that their large estate is haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
The Turn of the Screw is a 20th-century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Emma is a television film based on the 1815 novel of the same name by Jane Austen, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence and dramatised by Andrew Davies, the same year as Miramax's film adaptation of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow was released. This production stars Kate Beckinsale as the title character, and also features Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley.
Jane Eyre is a 2006 television adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name. The story, which has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations, is based on the life of the orphaned title character. This four-part BBC television drama serial adaptation was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One.
Keeper of the Bees is a 1947 American drama film directed by John Sturges. It was based on the novel by the same name, written by Gene Stratton Porter. The film was shot over three weeks. Keeper of the Bees (1947) is the third film adaption of the novel The Keeper of the Bees. There have been two previous film adaptations of the novel in 1925 and 1935. The novel was written by Gene Stratton Porter towards the end of her life, and the novel was published posthumously after a car accident. The film Keeper of the Bees was released in theaters on July 10, 1947, but the film seems to have been lost since then. The plot of the third film adaptation was changed greatly compared to the first two film adaptations. When the film was originally released by Columbia Pictures, audiences seemed to enjoy the film.
Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.
In a Dark Place is a 2006 horror film version of Henry James' 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. Unlike the majority of previous adaptations, it is set in the present day instead of the late 19th century.
Presence of Mind is a 1999 Spanish-American drama film directed by Antoni Aloy and starring Sadie Frost, Lauren Bacall, Harvey Keitel, and Jude Law. The film is based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Isobel Elsom was an English film, theatre, and television actress. She was often cast as aristocrats or upper-class women.
The Nightcomers is a 1971 British horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews and Anna Palk. It is a prequel to Henry James' 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw, which had already been adapted intoThe Innocents (1961).
The Turn of the Screw is a British television film based on Henry James's 1898 ghost story of the same name. Commissioned and produced by the BBC, it was first broadcast on 30 December 2009, on BBC One. The novella was adapted for the screen by Sandy Welch, and the film was directed by Tim Fywell. Although generally true to the tone and story of James's work, the film is set in the 1920s—in contrast to the original 1840s setting—and accentuates sexual elements that some theorists have identified in the novella. The film's story is told in flashbacks during consultations between the institutionalised Ann and Dr Fisher. Ann tells how she was hired by an aristocrat to care for the orphans Miles and Flora. She is met at the children's home, Bly, by Mrs Grose, the housekeeper. Ann soon begins to see unknown figures around the manor, and seeks an explanation.
The Innocents is a play written by William Archibald that premiered on Broadway in 1950 and was revived in 1976. The play is based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
The Turn of the Screw is a 1974 American made-for-television horror film directed by Dan Curtis based on the 1898 novella of the same name by Henry James. The film aired on ABC on April 15, 1974.
The Turning is a 2020 American gothic supernatural horror film directed by Floria Sigismondi and written by Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes. It is a modern adaptation of the 1898 ghost story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It stars Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Joely Richardson, and follows a young governess in 1994 who is hired to watch over two children after their parents are killed.
The Secret Garden is a 2020 British fantasy drama film based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the fourth film adaptation of the novel. Directed by Marc Munden and produced by David Heyman, it stars Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth and Julie Walters. Set in 1947 England, the plot follows a young orphan who is sent to live with her uncle, only to discover a magical garden at his estate.
"The Turn of the Screw" was an American television movie broadcast by NBC on October 20, 1959, as the third episode of the television series, Ford Startime. It was written by James Costigan as an adaptation of Henry James' novella of the same name. John Frankenheimer was the director and producer.