Salome's Last Dance (1988)

Late on Guy Fawkes Day, 1892, Oscar Wilde arrives at a high-class brothel where a surprise awaits: a staging of his play "Salome," with parts played by prostitutes, Wilde's host, his lover ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Oscar Wilde (play), Vivian Russell (translation)

Stars:

Glenda Jackson, Stratford Johns, Nickolas Grace

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenda Jackson	...	Herodias / Lady Alice
Stratford Johns	...	Herod / Alfred Taylor
Nickolas Grace	...	Oscar Wilde
Douglas Hodge	...	John the Baptist / Lord Alfred 'Bosey' Douglas
Imogen Millais-Scott	...	Salome / Rose
Denis Lill	...	Tigellenus / Chilvers
Russell Lee Nash	...	Pageboy
Ken Russell	...	Cappadocian / Kenneth (as Alfred Russell)
David Doyle	...	A. Nubin
Warren Saire	...	Young Syrian
Kenny Ireland	...	1st Soldier
Michael Van Wijk	...	2nd Soldier
Paul Clayton	...	1st Nazarean
Imogen Claire	...	2nd Nazarean
Tim Potter	...	Pharisee

Storyline

Late on Guy Fawkes Day, 1892, Oscar Wilde arrives at a high-class brothel where a surprise awaits: a staging of his play "Salome," with parts played by prostitutes, Wilde's host, his lover Bosey, and Lady Alice. The movie moves between the play and Wilde's night. In the play, Herod begs his pubescent step-daughter Salome to dance for him, promising her anything she desires. Her mother, Herodias, objects. Salome is stung by John the Baptist's rejection of her affections. The prophet's scolding celibacy puts him between the expressed desire of age and youth. Wilde dallies with a young man as he watches the show, provoking Bosey's jealousy. Two surprises await him.

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Plot Keywords:

play | desire | prostitute | prophet | oscar wilde | 

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Taglines:

NOTORIOUS, SCANDALOUS, WILDE!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Última Dança de Salomé

Filming Locations:

Cannon Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$331,469

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jolly Russell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Glenda Jackson had fun with an "in joke" referring to her role as Lady Bracknell in the stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest by reciting the immortal lines "a HANDbag?!" in the latter part of the film.

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Quotes

Oscar Wilde: As you know, I can resist anything but temptation.

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Connections

Featured in A British Picture (1989)

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Soundtracks

Le Parfum de la Nuit
Music by Claude Debussy

User Reviews

A True-to-Wilde Adaptation

This film WAS created in 1988 by a small group of professionals on a shoe-string budget. However, it is as beautiful and uproarious as the Oscar Wilde original. In fact, nearly all of the dialog is Oscar Wilde's 'Salome', and is executed as deftly as possible. While none of the actors are A-list Hollywood types, they add the spice of life to the dark, sardonic wit of Wilde with skill and saleability. For those of us who have loved this movie for ten years+, the great news is that this film is now available in DVD format. If you are not shy about subtle humor, social anarchy, and a touch of good-natured sodomy, give this film a view.