The Clandestine Marriage (1999)

A period movie, set around an English country house whose owners want to arrange a marriage of convenience between their elder daughter and an aristocratic heir of a hard-up noble family. ... See full summary »

Director:

Christopher Miles

Writers:

Trevor Bentham, George Coleman (play)

Stars:

Nigel Hawthorne, Joan Collins, Timothy Spall

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Lord Ogleby
Joan Collins	...	Mrs. Heidelberg
Timothy Spall	...	Sterling
Tom Hollander	...	Sir John Ogelby
Paul Nicholls	...	Richard Lovewell
Natasha Little	...	Fanny
Emma Chambers	...	Betsy
Cyril Shaps	...	Canton
Ray Fearon	...	Brush
Mark Burns	...	Capstick
Timothy Bateson	...	Gaoler
Craster Pringle	...	Ruben
Lara Harvey	...	Lucy
Jenny Galloway	...	Mrs Trusty
Philippa Stanton	...	Chamber

Storyline

A period movie, set around an English country house whose owners want to arrange a marriage of convenience between their elder daughter and an aristocratic heir of a hard-up noble family. The planned marriage suffers a last-minute upset when the would-be husband switches affections to the bride's sister.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | dowry | clerk | 18th century | watch | 

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Taglines:

For better...or for worse

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Emma Chambers.

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Soundtracks

Secret
Written by Trevor Bentham, Julia Taylor-Stanley, Stanislas Syrewicz
Arranged by Julia Taylor-Stanley, Ian Lynn, Stanislas Syrewicz
Performed by Miriam

User Reviews

A mishandled piece of Restoration fluff

Garrick and Coleman's play on which this is based really isn't all that good, but it's a harmless enough bit of period fun and so making this film wasn't a bad idea in itself. Making it like this however, displays very little of anything regarding talent in either its director or writer. The original doesn't have any sparkling lines and the screenwriter also appears too lazy to insert any. The shooting is similarly undistinguished and the soundtrack, over-intrusive and devoid of anything resembling a good idea.

The poor cast struggle manfully to keep the viewer interested, with particularly charismatic performances from Timothy Spall, the late great Sir Nigel Hawthorne and even the often disappointing Tom Hollander and Paul Nicholls clown and smoulder respectively. Joan Collins just struggles. There is little any of them can do, however, with this pretty dire succession of period drama cliches and falling-over gags. This film would be just about watchable if it wasn't such a waste of talent.

The costumes and locations are pretty though.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Clandestine Marriage

Filming Locations:

Stanway House, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), British Screen Productions, Milesian Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)