The Hippopotamus (2017)

Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.

Director:

John Jencks

Writers:

Stephen Fry (based on the novel by), Blanche McIntyre

Stars:

Roger Allam, Tim Charles, Rod Glenn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Allam	...	Ted Wallace
Tim Charles	...	Saturninus
Rod Glenn	...	Bassianus
Amanda Holt	...	Beatrice Quiet
Amy Marchant	...	Nancy Chunkle
Adrian Bouchet	...	Marcus Andronicus
Simon Markey	...	Ally Pecher
Claire Lacey	...	Anita Hare
Andrew Alexander	...	Matthew Lake
Russell Tovey	...	Rupert Keynes
Paul Bown	...	Roddy (as Paul Brown)
Emily Berrington	...	Jane Swann
Dean Ridge	...	Simon Logan
Thaila Zucchi	...	Mrs. Vance
Fiona Shaw	...	Anne Logan

Storyline

A country manor mystery that's actually a deliciously wicked comedy of manners, The Hippopotamus is a rollicking adaptation of the best-selling novel by Stephen Fry. It centers on a lapsed poet, failed drama critic, redundant husband and hard-working drunk, Ted Wallace (the mellifluously voiced Roger Allam in a rare starring role). Fired from his newspaper job, Ted leaps at the chance to drown his sorrows at his old friend's country estate, Swafford Hall. A series of spiritual healings have recently put the household in a tizzy. The purported miracle worker is his hosts' teenage son, Ted's godson, David (Tommy Knight). Lord and Lady Logan are set on sharing their boy's "gift" with the world, blissfully unaware that his "laying on of hands" trick involves, well, an emphasis on "laying." At odds with a colorful party of fellow guests only too ready to swallow anything they're told, Ted sets out to prove the miracles are a hoax and save the young man from a lifetime of embarrassment.

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Plot Keywords:

disgrace | manor | investigation | old friend | miracle | 

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Taglines:

A beast of a comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie contains four Game of Thrones (2011) cast members, including Roger Allam, Tim McInnerny, Sebastian Croft, and Sir John Standing.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ted Wallace: [narrating] T. S. Eliot said that the purpose of literature was to turn blood into ink. Well, I tried that. I published five collections of poetry in eight years and I bled like a hemophiliac. Then, somewhere along the way, the blood finally clotted. Over time, the scab became a scar, and now I can scarcely feel the wound. All the arteries and veins are dried out. I no longer turn blood into ink. These days, I turn whiskey into journalism. I haven't written a poem since 1987.

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Soundtracks

Hellzapoppin
Written by Marian Grudeff and Ray Jessel (as Raymond Jessel)
Performed by Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars
Used by kind permission of Carlin Music Corp.
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under License from Universal Music Operations Ltd

User Reviews

Thoroughly enjoyable

This is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Surfing Netflix for something decent to watch when I chanced upon The Hippopotomus, having not heard of it. What a nice surprise! Delightfully funny and tender, without being soppy. The narrative was pure Frye wit...brilliant...smart and so funny. So nice to not be bored by stupid slapstick, but laugh out loud at the fab script. I just loved this film.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hippopotamus

Filming Locations:

West Wycombe House, West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$273,588

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Electric Shadow Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1