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Secret Ceremony ()

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A penniless woman meets a strange girl who insists she is her long-lost mother, and becomes enmeshed in a web of deception, and perhaps madness.
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Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.
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Photos and Videos

41 photos

Cast verified as complete

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Leonora
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Cenci
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Albert
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Hannah
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Hilda
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Sir Alex Gordon (uncredited)
George Howell ...
First Cleaner (uncredited)
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Hotel Assistant (uncredited)
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Cleaner (uncredited)
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Vicar (uncredited)
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Dr. Walter Stevens (uncredited)

Directed by

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Joseph Losey

Written by

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Marco Denevi ... (short story "Ceremonia secreta")
 
George Tabori ... (screenplay)

Produced by

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John Heyman ... producer
Norman Priggen ... producer

Music by

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Richard Rodney Bennett

Cinematography by

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Gerry Fisher ... (lighting cameraman) (as Gerald Fisher)

Editing by

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Reginald Beck

Production Design by

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Richard Macdonald

Art Direction by

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John Clark

Set Decoration by

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Jill Oxley

Costume Design by

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Sue Yelland ... (as Susan Yelland)

Makeup Department

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Alexandre ... hair stylist designer and creator: Miss Elizabeth Taylor (as Alexandre of Paris)
Alex Garfath ... makeup artist
Bill Griffiths ... hair stylist

Production Management

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Geoffrey Haine ... production supervisor
Wim Lindner ... production manager: Netherlands (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Richard F. Dalton ... assistant director (as Richard Dalton)
David Wimbury ... second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Michael Finlay ... painter (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Les Hammond ... sound recordist (as Leslie Hammond)
Alan Pattillo ... dubbing editor
Hugh Strain ... sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department

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Jimmy Turrell ... camera operator
Wally Byatt ... focus puller (uncredited)
Wick Finch ... electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Marc Bohan ... wardrobe: Miss Elizabeth Taylor
Klara Kerpin ... wardrobe supervisor (as Klara Kerpen)

Music Department

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Marcus Dods ... conductor

Script and Continuity Department

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Pamela Davies ... continuity

Additional Crew

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Paul M. Heller ... production developer
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Leonora Grabowski (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) mourns the death by drowning years earlier of her daughter. She encounters a strange waif-like girl, Cenci Engelhard (Mia Farrow), who bears a strong resemblance to her lost child. Cenci is struck by the great resemblance of Leonora to her own mother, whose death the mentally unstable Cenci has been unable to accept or even acknowledge. The two women quickly develop a symbiotic relationship, moving in and out of the illusion that each is the lost loved one of the other. The complicating factor is the arrival of Albert (Robert Mitchum), Cenci's stepfather, whose incestuous attachment to her may well be the cause of her mind's unbalance. With Albert's arrival, no one in the strange trio is safe. Written by Jim Beaver

Plot Keywords
Taglines No one admitted the last 12 minutes. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Cérémonie secrète (France)
  • Ceremonia secreta (Spain)
  • Cerimonia segreta (Italy)
  • 秘密の儀式 (Japan, Japanese title)
  • Titokzatos szertartás (Hungary)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 109 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $3,200,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia When this movie aired on NBC several years later, it was not only heavily edited to sanitize some of the seamier sexual suggestions, but also included newly shot footage (none involving any of the actors or actresses who appeared in the actual movie: Michael Tolan, Paul Rogers), including a prologue and epilogue in which a psychiatrist character discussed the characters' failings and attempted to explain away the truncated movie's many plot holes. Amongst other major changes was the profession of Leonora Grabowski (Dame Elizabeth Taylor), who somehow morphed from a prostitute in the theatrical release to a wig model in the television version. Of the TV version, director Losey said: "not one person connected artistically with the film was consulted or involved in those changes. They're absurd...completely destroyed the rhythm, intention and content of the film...absolutely reversing the meaning of the film." See more »
Goofs Moving shadow of the camera on the door-frame as it moves from Lenora's room to Cenci's room at the hotel in the Netherlands. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). See more »
Quotes Leonora: They're just little boys that need to have their bottoms wiped.
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