House of Cards (1990– )

Francis Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative party. When Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader, he remains neutral and after a general election where the conservatives are returned ... See full summary »

Stars:

Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, Miles Anderson

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Ian Richardson	...	Francis Urquhart (4 episodes, 1990)
Susannah Harker	...	Mattie Storin (4 episodes, 1990)
Miles Anderson	...	Roger O'Neill (4 episodes, 1990)
Alphonsia Emmanuel	...	Penny Guy (4 episodes, 1990)
Malcolm Tierney	...	Patrick Woolton (4 episodes, 1990)
Diane Fletcher	...	Elizabeth Urquhart (4 episodes, 1990)
Colin Jeavons	...	Tim Stamper (4 episodes, 1990)
Damien Thomas	...	Michael Samuels (4 episodes, 1990)
William Chubb	...	John Krajewski (4 episodes, 1990)
Kenneth Gilbert	...	Harold Earle (4 episodes, 1990)
Christopher Owen	...	McKenzie (4 episodes, 1990)
David Lyon	...	Prime Minister Henry Collingridge (3 episodes, 1990)
Kenny Ireland	...	Ben Landless (3 episodes, 1990)
James Villiers	...	Charles Collingridge (3 episodes, 1990)
Isabelle Amyes	...	Anne Collingridge (3 episodes, 1990)
John Hartley	...	Greville Preston (3 episodes, 1990)
Nicholas Selby	...	Lord Billsborough (2 episodes, 1990)
Tommy Boyle	...	Stephen Kendrick (2 episodes, 1990)
John Arnatt	...	Sir Jasper Grainger (2 episodes, 1990)
Richard Braine	...	Kevin Spence (2 episodes, 1990)
Hugh Dickson	...	Dr. Andrew Christian (2 episodes, 1990)
Angela Rippon	...	Newsreader (2 episodes, 1990)

Storyline

Francis Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative party. When Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader, he remains neutral and after a general election where the conservatives are returned with a reduced majority, he fully expects the new Prime Minister, Henry Collingridge, to give him his just reward: a senior Cabinet post. When he's informed that he is to stay in his current position, he devises a plot to unseat Collingridge and ensure his own election as party leader which would make his Prime Minister.

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Plot Keywords:

prime minister | chief whip | conservative party | party leader | plot | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Castillo de naipes

Filming Locations:

Admiralty Arch, The Mall, St. James's, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (4 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

By complete chance, the first BBC showing of the series exactly coincided with the real life Tory leadership contest and the removal from office of Margaret Thatcher.

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Quotes

Francis Urquhart: She trusts me absolutely. I trust she does. And I, I trust her absolutely - to be absolutely human.

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Connections

Followed by The Final Cut (1995)

User Reviews

You might well think that, I couldn't possibly comment.

That is one of the many great quotes from this film. Ian Richardson plays the character of Francis Urquhart for all it's worth, and the rest of the supporting cast is quite stellar. Paul Seed does a competent job of the direction, and has a good talent for photographing faces.

The way the Francis frequently comments (breaking the 3rd wall so to speak) encourages viewer participation, and I found myself agreeing with him, or even yelling at him during the course of the film.

If it ever comes on television, do yourself a favor and watch this one. It is long (clocks in at about 4 hours, 1 hour per episode), but it's certainly worth your while. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next part in the series, "To Play the King", which I've heard is just as good.