Rebecca's Daughters (1992)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Karl Francis

Writers:

Guy Jenkin (writer)
Dylan Thomas (story)

Release Date:

5 March 1992 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The film is set in Wales and concerns itself with the arisocracy who are taxing to common people to ruin...

Plot Keywords:

Aristocracy | Man Disguised As Woman | Man Dressed As Woman | Tax | Independent Film

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Lord Sarn
Paul Rhys	...	Anthony Raine
Joely Richardson	...	Rhiannon
Dafydd Hywel	...	Rhodri Hughes
Sue Roderick	...	Sarah Hughes
Simon Dormandy	...	Capt. Marsden
Clive Merrison	...	Sir Henry
Keith Allen	...	Davy
Donna Edwards	...	Bessy
Robert Blythe	...	Sgt. Bridges
Desmond Barrit	...	Jack Wet
Eiry Palfrey	...	Mrs. Wet
Huw Ceredig	...	Mordecai Thomas
Brinley Jenkins	...	Sir Neil Watkyn
Jack Walters	...	William Hughes

Also Known As:

Rebecca's Töchter (Germany)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Germany:12

Company:

Rebecca's Daughters Ltd.

Trivia:

According to the Guinness Book of Film Facts and Feats, this film holds the record for the longest interval between the writing of the screenplay (in 1948, by 'Dylan Thomas') and the film's release (in 1992) - 44 years.

Quotes:

Mordecai Thomas: I take as my text the book of Genesis, chapter twenty-six. "And they blessed Rebecca, and said unto her, thou art our sister. Be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them". It is not revealed to us whether Abraham, Isaac and Jacob paid tolls to their enemies at the gate, but it is very sure that the gate was to them an oppression and an abomination.

Cross-dressing against oppression

The original screenplay for this film was written by Dylan Thomas, and this version by Karl Francis (a welshman himself) is appropriately absurd. The element of cross-dressing (not transvestism) involved earned the film a '15' certificate in the UK, perhaps not warranted by any other aspect of it.

Although based on true historical events, the real poverty and desperation of the period in which the film is set have been removed, and replaced with the standard characterisation of the Welsh as being unquestioningly religious, and given to mordant humour.

As can be imagined, a plot which involves men dressing up as women gives plenty of opportunities for ribaldry. Peter O'Toole is gloriously over-the-top as a drunken Lord, Simon Dormandy is a buffoonish cavalry officer, and the characters played by Dafydd Hywel, Sue Roderick, Huw Ceredig and even Joely Richardson have some nice earthy witticisms to deliver.

The welsh countryside in which the scenes were shot gives a nice light feel to the film, although it doesn't rain as much as ought to be expected; some local stately homes and buildings (such as Atlantic College) are impressive in the indoor sequences.

A nice evening's fun to watch.