Sir Robert Chiltern is a successful Government minister, well-off and with a loving wife. All this is threatened when Mrs Cheveley appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed....
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In mid-1800s England, Oscar is a young Anglican priest, a misfit and an outcast, but with the soul of an angel. As a boy, even though from a strict Pentecostal family, he felt God told him ... See full summary »
Director:
Gillian Armstrong
Stars:
Ralph Fiennes,
Cate Blanchett,
Ciarán Hinds
A prominent politician is preparing to expose a financial scandal. But then a woman who has invested heavily in the shady venture threatens to uncover a damaging secret in the politician's ... See full summary »
Director:
Alexander Korda
Stars:
Paulette Goddard,
Michael Wilding,
Diana Wynyard
Rising politician Robert Chiltern once sold secret information and is now being blackmailed by Laura Evely. She has proof and it will damage his career and marriage severely. Chiltern calls in the help of his friend Arthur Goring.
Sir Robert Chiltern is a successful Government minister, well-off and with a loving wife. All this is threatened when Mrs Cheveley appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring, an apparently idle philanderer and the despair of his father. Goring knows the lady of old, and, for him, takes the whole thing pretty seriously. Written by
Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
When Mrs. Chevely discover's Gertrude's letter, it is laying atop a yellow book with an Aubrey Beardsley illustration on the cover. This is apparently a copy of The Yellow Book, which was a Victorian magazine of sorts. When Oscar Wilde was arrested on charges of sodomy in 1895, he was carrying what appeared to be The Yellow Book, and because of this association, the publication was ruined. See more »
Goofs
When Arthur's father arrives just as he is leaving for the art exhibition, the camera hits a large vase of orange flowers as it moves to the right, causing them to flutter and move. See more »
Quotes
Mabel:
Are you coming to the music room?
Lord Arthur Goring:
No. Not if there's any music going on, Miss Mabel.
Mabel:
Well, the music is in German, so you would not understand it.
Lord Arthur Goring:
Quite so. Quite so.
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Crazy Credits
The credits list Oliver Parker, the director, as playing "Bunbury", one of the gentlemen that is seen playing cards with Lord Goring in the Men's Club when Lord Chiltern arrives. Bunbury is also a never-seen character in "The Importance of Being Earnest", the play which is performed in the background of several scenes of this film. See more »
As we prepare to enter the 21st Century, An Ideal Husband allows us to see the world, England in particular, as we enter the 20th Century, and who better to guide us than Oscar Wilde. The story is not unfamiliar --- politics, blackmail, love, and friendship. What is different however is how these are viewed thru the prism of the Victorian Era, the centerpiece of the film. The cast was superb from Jeremy Northam, Sir Robert Chiltern the title character, to Cate Blanchett, Lady Gertrud Chiltern his wife, to Minnie Driver, Mabel Chiltern his sister, to Rupert Everett, Lord Arthur Goring his friend, and Julianne Moore, Mrs. Cheveley. The minor characters of Lord Goring's father and butler were good as well. Although all were very good, Rupert Everett stole the show. His character is the one who connects all the others and does so with grace, charm, and wit. Which brings me to my final point, the film is filmed filled with witty dialogue and double-entendre a la Oscar Wilde. I went to see this movie twice. It was that good and appreciated it more the second time. I can not see how this movie could have been better. Four stars!!!
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As we prepare to enter the 21st Century, An Ideal Husband allows us to see the world, England in particular, as we enter the 20th Century, and who better to guide us than Oscar Wilde. The story is not unfamiliar --- politics, blackmail, love, and friendship. What is different however is how these are viewed thru the prism of the Victorian Era, the centerpiece of the film. The cast was superb from Jeremy Northam, Sir Robert Chiltern the title character, to Cate Blanchett, Lady Gertrud Chiltern his wife, to Minnie Driver, Mabel Chiltern his sister, to Rupert Everett, Lord Arthur Goring his friend, and Julianne Moore, Mrs. Cheveley. The minor characters of Lord Goring's father and butler were good as well. Although all were very good, Rupert Everett stole the show. His character is the one who connects all the others and does so with grace, charm, and wit. Which brings me to my final point, the film is filmed filled with witty dialogue and double-entendre a la Oscar Wilde. I went to see this movie twice. It was that good and appreciated it more the second time. I can not see how this movie could have been better. Four stars!!!