A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)
| A Tale of Two Cities | |
|---|---|
_cinema_poster.jpg) Original UK cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Produced by | Betty E. Box |
| Screenplay by | T.E.B. Clarke |
| Based on |
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens |
| Starring |
Dirk Bogarde Dorothy Tutin Paul Guers |
| Music by | Richard Addinsell |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | Alfred Roome |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £320,000[1] |
A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British period drama based on parts of Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin.
Plot
Sydney Carton, a drunken English lawyer, discovers that Charles Darnay, a man he once defended, is a French aristocrat trying to escape the French Revolution. While he envies the man over the love of a woman, Lucie Manette, his conscience is pricked and he resolves to help him escape the guillotine.
Cast
- Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton
- Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette
- Paul Guers as Charles Darnay (Voice dubbed by Tim Turner - uncredited)
- Marie Versini as Marie Gabelle
- Ian Bannen as Gabelle
- Cecil Parker as Jarvis Lorry
- Stephen Murray as Dr. Manette
- Athene Seyler as Miss Pross
- Alfie Bass as Jerry Cruncher
- Ernest Clark as Stryver
- Rosalie Crutchley as Madame Defarge
- Freda Jackson as The Vengeance
- Duncan Lamont as Ernest Defarge
- Christopher Lee as Marquis St. Evremonde
- Leo McKern as Attorney General-Old Bailey
- Donald Pleasence as John Barsad
Production
Ralph Thomas insisted on the film being shot in black and white as he felt the book "was written in black and white, and it's got to be made in black and white."[1] He was influenced by a French film Casque d'Or set in a similar period which was in black and white.[2]
Thomas later said this was a mistake and the commercial after life of the film would have been stronger if it had been in colour. He said the film "was very self indulgent because I wouldn't listen to advice. It's dangerous to have fashion and power and I was fashionable then."[1]
The film was the most expensive British production of its year.[3]
The film was shot in the Loire Valley in France, because it was the only place without telegraph poles. Several thousand American soldiers posted nearby in Orléans were used as extras. Shooting took six weeks. "The only way we were able to finish a film this ambitious on such a modest budget was by using a regular crew, so there were no fights, we just tackled it and went on until the finish," said Tomas.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-century Cinema by Wheeler W. Dixon, SIU Press, 2001 p110
- ↑ Brian McFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema 1997 p 559
- ↑ British Betty Box Knows Box Office: Visiting Producer, Director Credited for 'Doctor' Series Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 07 July 1958: C11.
External links
- A Tale of Two Cities at the Internet Movie Database
- A Tale of Two Cities at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- A Tale of Two Cities at AllMovie
- A Tale of Two Cities at the TCM Movie Database
- A Tale of Two Cities at Britmovie