The Clandestine Marriage
Alex Bailey
Synopsis
Hogarth's England of 1776 and the nouveau riche Sterlings - all city money and no class, and the country aristocratic Oglebys - all class and no money, are brought together by the intended marriage of Lord Ogleby's son, Sir John and Sterling's eldest daughter, Betsy.
However, Betsy's sister Fanny, who has secretly married her father's clerk, Lovewell, by whom she is pregnant, quickly becomes the object of affection not only of Sir John but of his elderly father. Betsy is furious, as is her aunt Mrs Heidleberg, who rules her brother and his household with a rod of iron. Fanny desperately tries to stave off the attentions of both men while her father secretly agrees to exchange one daughter for the other.
Soon the entire company is at loggerheads and cross purposes, Fanny's secret wedding is revealed, and all the while the clock ticks towards the wedding, which must take place if both families are not to loose face.
This exuberant, sexy and cheerfully astringent comedy of errors, where genuine heartache and true love jostle with lust and greed, is set against the glories of an English country house in high summer and is as sharply relevant today as ever.
Details
- Year
- 1999
- Type of film
- Features
- Format
- 35mm Kodak
- Director
- Christopher Miles
- Producer
- Andrew Warren
- Co-Producer
- Andrew Warren
- Director of Photography
- Denis Crossan BSC
- Principal Cast
- Nigel Hawthorne, Joan Collins, Timothy Spall, Tom Hollander, Natasha Little, Paul Nicholls, Emma Chambers
- Screen Writer
- Trevor Bentham
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 26th November 2005
