Scandal (1989)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writer:

Michael Thomas (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

The Story That Seduced The World Is Now The Most Controversial Film Of The Year.

Plot:

An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him...

Plot Keywords:

Scandal | Osteopath | Profumo Scandal | Historical | Suicide

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

John Hurt	...	Stephen Ward
Joanne Whalley	...	Christine Keeler (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Bridget Fonda	...	Mandy Rice-Davies
Ian McKellen	...	John Profumo
Leslie Phillips	...	Lord Astor (Bill)
Britt Ekland	...	Mariella Novotny
Daniel Massey	...	Mervyn Griffith-Jones
Roland Gift	...	Johnnie Edgecombe
Jean Alexander	...	Mrs. Keeler
Alex Norton	...	Detective Inspector
Ronald Fraser	...	Justice Marshall
Paul Brooke	...	John, Detective Sgt.
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Eugene Ivanov (as Jeroen Krabbe)
Keith Allen	...	Kevin, Reporter Sunday Pictorial
Ralph Brown	...	Paul Mann

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

115 min | USA:106 min | Canada:111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Screen Productions

Trivia:

Jean Alexander filmed her cameo in a day.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Mandy Rice Davies and Christine Keeler are walking in the early morning alongside the river Thames, there is a modern 1980s coach crossing the bridge in the background.

Quotes:

John Profumo: I have nothing to hide.
Stephen Ward: Come off it John, we all have something to hide, what a boring life it would be if we didn't.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Empire of the Censors (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Nothing Has Been Proved

Turgid but clever

This is one of the better contemporary fictionalizations of historical events, though it suffers from lack of exposition. Here's the history that you need to follow events: John Profumo, England's Minister of Defence (equivalent to the US Defense Secretary) was introduced to party girls (like Christine Keeler) by popular osteopath Stephen Ward. But unlike some upper-crust friends of Ward, Profumo had more to lose. When it got out that Keeler had dated a Soviet Navy attache at about the same time as she dated the married Profumo, British tabloids had a field day noting that there were national security concerns atop the infidelity problem. One reason folks in the US have difficulty with this issue is that the story was overshadowed in the States by the almost simultaneous Cuban Missle Crisis.

The great soundtrack's now been out on CD for a few years; the theme was produced by the Pet Shop Boys and sung by authentic 60's icon Dusty Springfield. All other songs chosen charted during the early 60's, giving the film the ring of authenticity. And due possibly to legal problems, the original performance of Chubby Checker's THE TWIST couldn't be used, so Checker re-recorded it for this film. This newer, punchy 1989 version is the one used today behind Pantene shampoo commercials.