The Countess Alice (1993)

A reporter is assigned a then-and-now piece on a 50-year old photospread of three society beauties. One of them, Lady Alice Munroe, now the widowed Grafin von Holzendorf, has agreed to be ... See full summary »

Director:

Moira Armstrong

Writer:

Allan Cubitt

Stars:

Wendy Hiller, Zoë Wanamaker, Duncan Bell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wendy Hiller	...	Countess Alice von Holzendorf
Zoë Wanamaker	...	Connie
Duncan Bell	...	Nick Black
Patricia Quinn	...	Margot
Lucinda Fisher	...	Jane
Sylvia Barter	...	Tilly
Madge Ryan	...	Beattie
Chris Stanton	...	Vicar
Martin Wimbush	...	Jeremy
Hannah Cresswell	...	Debbie
James Appleby	...	Cab Driver
Terence Donovan	...	Himself
Sarah Crowden	...	Sarah
Jan Van Hool	...	Vivian
Carl Duering	...	German Taxi Driver

Storyline

A reporter is assigned a then-and-now piece on a 50-year old photospread of three society beauties. One of them, Lady Alice Munroe, now the widowed Grafin von Holzendorf, has agreed to be interviewed. A few questions set the Grafin's daughter, Connie, thinking about her past, and she sets off for her fatherland, now that the Berlin wall is down, to find out where she comes from. But what she finds out may destroy her relationship with her mother.

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Plot Keywords:

countess | family relationships | prussian | widow | interview | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

24 January 1993 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Heveningham Hall, Suffolk, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wendy Hiller's final film.

User Reviews

An excellent drama - needs to be re-broadcast so more viewers can be exposed to good acting.

The story revolves around a proud, haughty, aged mother, her world-weary daughter and long buried secrets. Dame Wendy Hiller is perfect as the widowed countess who, as a young woman, defied her family and married against their wishes. Now living in shabby gentility in London, she has an uneasy relationship with her middle-aged daughter, played by Zoe Wanamaker. A magazine editor does an article on the lives of the countess and some of her elderly contemporaries, thereby opening a Pandora's Box of surprises.