Honeymoon (1959)

Australian famer Kit Kelly and his new bride Anna are driving through Europe when they help a stranded motorist. They discover he is Antonio, a famous dancer. Upon learning that Anna was a ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Powell

Writers:

Michael Powell (screenplay), Luis Escobar (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Steel, Ludmilla Tchérina, Antonio

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anthony Steel	...	Kit Kelly
Ludmilla Tchérina	...	Anna
Antonio	...	Antonio / Carmelo
Léonide Massine	...	The Spectre in 'El Amor Brujo' (as Leonide Massine)
Rosita Segovia	...	Rosita / Candelas
Carmen Rojas	...	Amalia / Lucía
José Nieto	...	Juan Carmona (as Pepe Nieto)
Pastora Ruiz	...	A Sorceress (ballet: El Amor Brujo)
Juan Carmona	...	Pepe Nieto
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
María Clara Alcalá	...	Candelas [voice] (singing voice)

Storyline

Australian famer Kit Kelly and his new bride Anna are driving through Europe when they help a stranded motorist. They discover he is Antonio, a famous dancer. Upon learning that Anna was a ballerina before she married, Antonio attempts to persuade her to join his company.

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Country:

UK Spain

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 February 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Honeymoon

Filming Locations:

Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cesáreo González Producciones Cinematográficas, Everdene, Suevia Films - Cesáreo González

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 105 min (Charles Doble restoration)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mikis Theodorakis's theme song was covered by The Beatles in 1963 as part of their "Pop Go The Beatles" series for BBC Radio, with Paul McCartney on vocals.

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Crazy Credits

[end title cards] Adios España! Mucho Gusto!

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Alternate Versions

105 minute restoration by Charles Doble. Fully restored all dance sequences.

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Connections

Version of Les amants de Teruel (1962)

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Soundtracks

El Amor Brujo
Ballet by Gregorio Martínez Sierra (as G. Martínez Sierra)
Music by Manuel de Falla

User Reviews

Worth Seeing

Difficult to know how to rate this film: crap or classic !!

It is a bit of both, of course, and should definitely not be out of circulation. On the negative side, the plot is pretty "cheesy" and Anthony Steel is not "steel" but "wooden." As is everybody else. But the film is really a vehicle for some unique music-making and the "sub-plot" is an interesting travelogue of Spain before the tourists wrecked it !

Antonio, certainly at the time, was regarded as the greatest Flamenco dancer of all time, especially in England (what did they know ?)Whether he was or not, who knows but he is pretty spectacular ! His rendering of Pablo Sarasate's "Zapateado" is magical. Much of the music is conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, no less; one of the great conductors of history, albeit slightly eccentric in his choice of music. But Falla was right up his street.

A performance of Léonide Massine's production of Falla's "El Amor Brujo." with Antonio playing the lead and Sir Thomas Beecham conducting can only be described as a "classic." There really is nothing else like it anywhere. As a side issue, it is fascinating to see Spain before the British wrecked it. The photography is good. The film originally was in CinemaScope, although, sadly, I have not seen that. Finally, Manuel and the Music of the Mountains had a smash hit with the "Honeymoon Theme."

So lots of positives ! If you can put up with Anthony Steel "hamming" his way through and admittedly lousy part (and he was a British "Matinée Idol" alongside Dirk Bogarde, after all, even if it is no great surprise that his new wife fell for the passionate and sexy "Latin Lover" Antonio!) this film does have some unique elements. I reckon it is worth bringing back for the exceptional "El Amor Brujo" alone - even if my own favourite bit of magic is Antonio dancing down the road to Sarasate's "Zapateado." There aren't many films like this and, because the plot is pretty rotten and the acting rather poor and very dated, people like Amazon probably don't realise that it is a classic !