Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

David Rose (idea)
Kathy Rose (idea)

Release Date:

25 November 2005 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Nudity - Variety - High Society

Plot:

Laura Henderson buys an old London theater and opens it up as the Windmill, a performance hall which goes down in history for, among other things, its all-nude revues.

Plot Keywords:

Theater | Live Show | Casualty Of War | Unwanted Pregnancy | Breasts

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

Judi Dench	...	Mrs. Laura Henderson
Bob Hoskins	...	Vivian Van Damm
Will Young	...	Bertie
Christopher Guest	...	Lord Cromer
Kelly Reilly	...	Maureen
Thelma Barlow	...	Lady Conway
Anna Brewster	...	Doris
Rosalind Halstead	...	Frances
Sarah Solemani	...	Vera
Natalia Tena	...	Peggy
Thomas Allen	...	Eric Woodburn (as Sir Thomas Allen)
Richard Syms	...	Ambrose
Ralph Nossek	...	Leslie Pearkes
Camille O'Sullivan	...	Jane
Doraly Rosen	...	Maggie

Also Known As:

Mrs Henderson Presents (USA)
Mrs. Henderson Presents (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for nudity and brief language.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (US prints) | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12A | Ireland:15A | USA:R | Australia:M | Netherlands:MG6 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Singapore:M18 | Canada:14A (Alberta/Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-7 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Sweden:7 | Iceland:L | Malaysia:(Banned) | Spain:T | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

The Lord Chamberlain refers to the groin as the 'Midlands', because Frears discovered that was what John Gielgud called the groin, and decided to add it in.

Quotes:

Bertie: What do you make of her?
Vivian Van Damm: She's beautiful.
Bertie: Yes.
Vivian Van Damm: But the nipples...
Bertie: Too large?
Vivian Van Damm: They're not British. Could be Italian. We must have British nipples.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mrs Henderson Presents: Making Of (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

(You May Not Be an Angel, but) I'll String Along with You

Gently amusing British wartime film with superb music

I cannot believe how badly this lovely film has been savaged on IMDb.

Apart from spectacular vaudeville staging, Judi Dench plays her eccentric, mischievous widow to perfection and the excellent Bob Hoskins is cast surprisingly out of type as a reserved, rather complex, gentlemanly but iron-willed theatre manager. Their argumentative relationship is amusing without being overbearing, as the film is essentially a nicely balanced ensemble piece. Dench's character Laura Henderson turns out to have a very touching motivation for her desire to stage daring musicals for brave young men off to war. Will Young gives an astonishingly strong vocal performance throughout. His mannered vocal style is perfect, and he looks every inch the part on stage. His few brief moments of acting are nothing to blush over either. Kelly Reilly, the star of the naked girlie reviews, is quite simply mesmerising to watch, and ultimately her character is full of pathos.

And if none of that were enough to engage you, you've got an interesting wartime plot, based on true events in the history of the Windmill Theatre, which in current circumstances feels highly topical and relevant for Londoners. 9/10