Gabriel Conroy and wife Greta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.
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Title: The Dead (1987)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
Helena Carroll | ... | Aunt Kate |
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Cathleen Delany | ... | Aunt Julia |
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Rachael Dowling | ... | Lily |
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Kate O'Toole | ... | Miss Furlong (as Katherine O'Toole) |
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Bairbre Dowling | ... | Miss Higgins |
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Maria Hayden | ... | Miss O'Callaghan |
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Cormac O'Herlihy | ... | Mr. Kerrigan |
| Colm Meaney | ... | Mr. Bergin | |
| Ingrid Craigie | ... | Mary Jane | |
| Dan O'Herlihy | ... | Mr. Brown | |
| Anjelica Huston | ... | Gretta | |
| Donal McCann | ... | Gabriel | |
| Sean McClory | ... | Mr. Grace (as Seán McClory) | |
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Frank Patterson | ... | Bartell D'Arcy |
| Marie Kean | ... | Mrs. Malins | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
On the lightly snowy evening of January 6, 1904 in Dublin, elderly spinster sisters Kate and Julia and their niece, Mary Jane - all music teachers or performers, past or present - are hosting their annual Epiphany party and dinner, and, with the exception of Mary Jane's new crop of students and the young gentlemen tasked with keeping them company, most of the guests have attended in previous years. Kate and Julia's nephew Gabriel and his wife Gretta hold integral roles for the evening, Gabriel, who, in addition to being Freddy Malins caregiver if he gets too drunk as is often the case, is to carve the dinner goose and provide the evening's main toast, while Gretta is to present the pudding. With the added unexpected excitement provided by Irish nationalist Molly Ivors for Gabriel, the party basically goes according to script. As most of the guests have departed and just before Gabriel and Gretta are to do the same - this year they staying in a downtown hotel instead of making the long... Written by Huggo
Plot Keywords:
ireland | haunted by the past | dublin ireland | dinner party | 1900s |Taglines:
A vast, merry, and uncommon tale of love.Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 December 1987 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
John Huston's The Dead See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$69,074, 20 December 1987Gross USA:
$4,370,078Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$4,370,078Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (DVD)Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Gabriel Conroy: [voice over] One by one, we're all becoming shades. Better to pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age. How long you locked away in your heart the image of your lover's eyes when he told you that he did not wish to live. I've never felt that way myself towards any woman, but I know that such a feeling must be love. Think of all those who ever were, back to the start of time. And me, transient as they, flickering out ...
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Traditional American and British song
Sung by Donal McCan and guests to his aunts and cousin at Christmas table
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
This major motion picture's opening title card reads: "Dublin 1904". See more »Quotes
[last lines]Gabriel Conroy: [voice over] One by one, we're all becoming shades. Better to pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age. How long you locked away in your heart the image of your lover's eyes when he told you that he did not wish to live. I've never felt that way myself towards any woman, but I know that such a feeling must be love. Think of all those who ever were, back to the start of time. And me, transient as they, flickering out ...
See more »
Alternate Versions
Ten minutes of the film have been omitted from the 2009 DVD release. See more »Connections
Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Michael Jackson's This Is It/The House of the Devil/Gentlemen Broncos (2009) See more »Soundtracks
"For He's a Jolly God Fellow' (uncredited)Traditional American and British song
Sung by Donal McCan and guests to his aunts and cousin at Christmas table
See more »
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An exquisite film. They just don't make them like this any more! We eavesdrop on an upper middle class family in Dublin in the early part of the 20th century. They are hosting an after Christmas dinner for their friends and relatives. Their table talk is just idle chatter but it is so well written that one is engrossed. Away from the dinner table some fine piano playing helps to create an intimate atmosphere as if one were there as one of the guests. Perhaps a bit too perfect for an amateur player, the odd mistake here and there would have added to the magic of this film. No real story but real entertainment and an object lesson for up and coming film makers.