Director Bryan Forbes described this 1966 tour-de-force as "the one and only occasion where I had total artistic control" over a motion picture. The 79-year old Dame Edith Evans won the BAFTA for her spellbinding portrayal of Mrs Margaret Ross, an eccentric dreaming her way through subsistence in boarding house rooms full of yesterday’s papers, voices heard in dripping taps, bowls of soup from the Salvation Army and the rationed warmth of the library. She has but one ally, Mr Conrad (Gerald Sim), the man from National Assistance.
When her spivvy son Charlie (Ronald Fraser) pays a visit, leaving behind a package full of money – the spoils of a robbery – Mrs Ross mistakes her dreams for reality. But this windfall only brings worse luck – after being cruelly tricked out of her ‘inheritance’ she is reunited with her errant husband Archie – Eric Portman at his most satanic.
With astonishing performances from some of Forbes most treasured ensemble, also including Leonard Rossiter and Avid Bunnage, this is a film that exposes the bleak heart of postwar England. The bombsite exteriors of Oldham in terminal decline are rendered in unforgiving monochrome by Gerry Turpin, who won the BAFTA for Cinematography.
We are delighted to welcome author Cathi Unsworth, who will introduce this special screening of The Whisperers.
Please note: prompt start as no ads/trailers.
Please also note: this show is excluded from membership discounts.