Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002)

After her husband's death, woman starts looking for independence.

Director:

Ian Sharp

Writers:

Vernon Coleman (book), Malcolm Stone (adaptation)

Stars:

Pauline Collins, Peter Capaldi, Anna Wilson-Jones

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pauline Collins	...	Thelma Caldicot
Peter Capaldi	...	Derek
Anna Wilson-Jones	...	Veronica
Gwenllian Davies	...	Audrey
Sheila Reid	...	Joyce
Frank Mills	...	Leslie
Frank Middlemass	...	Bernard
John Alderton	...	Hawksmoor
Isla Blair	...	Matron
Paul Freeman	...	Jenkins
Martin Jarvis	...	JB
Tony Robinson	...	Nick Reid
Terence Rigby	...	Henry Caldicot
Wanda Ventham	...	Victoria
Angela Bruce	...	Gina

Storyline

Not so aged widow Thelma Caldicot is coerced into a resthome by her manipulative son and daughter-in-law after the death of her bullying husband. Apathy turns to anger and then action as the medication is discarded and Thelma discovers her mettle. She and her aged cohorts stage a rebellion but the result is something nobody envisaged.

---

Plot Keywords:

walk out | widow | retirement home | mother son relationship | protest | 

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Guerra do Repolho

Filming Locations:

Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evolution Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the scene where everyone is watching the TV interview from the hotel room, there is a reflection in the silver serving trays of the studio lighting rig. Something moves back and forward, possibly a boom mic.

---

Quotes

[Hawksmoor bursts in on the residents and some of the nurses dancing while Bernard plays the organ, in memory of Edith who died earlier on]
Bernard: Uh-oh. Bandit at nine o'clock.
Hawksmoor: [picks up a bottle of wine] Clear this drink away. Where's Matron? Lost your tongues, have you? Whose idea was this?
Thelma Caldicot: It's Edith's wake. We felt she needed a good send off.
Hawksmoor: Who says so?
Thelma Caldicot: I do.
Bernard: So do I.
[others join in, supporting Thelma]
Thelma Caldicot: It's all right, folks. I take full responsibility. I felt it was something you would have ...
[...]

---

Soundtracks

WE'LL GATHER LILACS
Written by Ivor Novello
© Chappell Music Limited
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Limited

User Reviews

Life you wouldn't want of a care home.

This film shows just how people are regarded over the age of 60, and unfortunately because generations are getting older, it will only get worse. Everyone in this film shows just what can be achieved if you don't have to sit & eat cabbage and be doped up to the eye balls.

Pauline Collins, plays her part so well, to be put into a home, just because her son (Peter Capaldi) and his wife want her home after his father dies, and now his mother has become "past it." The film shows just how in a position to either be putting someone in to a care home, or being made to go into a care home should be aware of, because this certainly is an eye opener. People are not "past it" just because they don't work, or have lost their partners.