The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne


1h 56m 1987

Film Details

Also Known As
Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Romance
Release Date
1987
Distribution Company
Island Pictures
Location
London, England, United Kingdom; Lee International Studios, Shepperton, England, United Kingdom; Dublin, Ireland

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 56m

Synopsis

Crew

Les Allett

Props

Ron Allett

Props

David Barron

Production Supervisor

Gillian Bates

Production Coordinator

Keith Batterbee

Construction

Susie Beavis

Other

Mark Birmingham

Production Assistant

Bob Blues

Production Associate

Francine Brown

Script Supervisor

Peter Browne

Production

Graham Bullock

Construction

Lois Burwell

Makeup Supervisor

Bob Cann

Construction

Alan Chesters

Construction Manager

Adam Cooper

Other

Jim Cowan

Generator Operator

Alistair Crocker

Sound

Gordon Davis

Accounting Assistant

Georges Delerue

Music

Eddie Dougall

Boom Operator

Trevor Dyer

Construction

John Fields

Construction

Mark Fisher

Song

Jim Foran

Construction

Bert Gadsden

Props

Jon Gardey

Photography

Patrick Gleeson

Other

Joe Goodman

Song

Liz Green

Production Assistant

Ken Groom

Construction

Tim Grover

Assistant Editor

Brendan Gunn

Dialect Coach

Peter Hannan

Director Of Photography

Henry Harris

Art Director

George Harrison

Executive Producer

Bob Hathaway

Music Editor

Bruno Heller

Sound

Jacky Holding

Accounting Assistant

Michael Holdings

Assistant

Sarah Horton

Art Assistant

Charles Hubbard

Location Manager

Charles Ireland

Sound Editor

John Ireland

Sound Editor

Ken Jackson

Construction

Elton John

Production Associate

Richard Johnson

Producer

David 'ned' Kelly

Carpenter

Irene Lamb

Casting

Nick Laws

Assistant Director

Terry Lee

Negative Cutting

Ken Lintott

Makeup Supervisor

Brian Lofthouse

Props

Lee Lighting Ltd

Lighting

Josie Macavin

Set Decorator

Larry Marchant

Construction

Brian Martin

Gaffer

Brian Moore

Source Material (From Novel)

Brian Morris

Other

David Murphy

Wardrobe

Andy Nelson

Sound

Peter Nelson

Screenplay

Peter Nelson

Producer

Maurice Newsome

Driver

Denis O'brien

Executive Producer

Grania O'shannon

Location Manager

Steve Payne

Props

Alan Perez

Other

Michael Pickwoad

Production Designer

Jill Quertier

Production

Luke Quigley

Key Grip

Terry Rawlings

Editor

Larry Shay

Song

Jeanie Sims

Assistant

Bob Smith

Camera Operator

Bobbie Smith

Hairdresser

John Stanborough

Color

Stefan Stankowski

Other

Brian Sullivan

Best Boy

Rob Sutton

Construction

Terry Tapping

Driver

Eric Tomlinson

Music

Ann Townsend

Hairdresser

Tony Tromp

Assistant Editor

John Turner

Electrician

Elizabeth Waller

Costume Designer

Adam Walton

Assistant Director

Brian Webb

Construction

Rick Wentworth

Music Arranger

Gary White

Assistant Director

Gordon White

Electrician

Dennis Wilson

Construction

Kirsten Wing

Wardrobe Assistant

Paul Wood

Electrician

Film Details

Also Known As
Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Romance
Release Date
1987
Distribution Company
Island Pictures
Location
London, England, United Kingdom; Lee International Studios, Shepperton, England, United Kingdom; Dublin, Ireland

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 56m

Articles

Wendy Hiller, 1912-2003


Dame Wendy Hiller, one of Britain's most distinguished actresses of screen and stage and whose career highlights include being George Bernard Shaw's favorite leading lady, and an Oscar winner for her performance as a lonely spinster in Separate Tables (1958), died at her home in Beaconsfield, England, on May 14. She was 90.

Wendy Hiller was born on August 15, 1912, in Bramhall, and raised in Manchester, where her father was a cotton-cloth manufacturer. Educated at Winceby House, a girl's school in Sussex, Hiller found herself drawn to the theater, and after completing secondary school, Wendy joined the Manchester Repertory Theater, where she was a bit player and later an assistant stage manager. In 1934, she earned critical acclaim and stardom when Manchester Rep cast her as the lead in the popular drama, Love on the Dole, written by her future husband, Ronald Gow. The play was such a hit, that Hiller would repeat her role in London and triumphed on Broadway.

Back on the London stage, she was playing the lead in George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan, when she caught the eye of the playwright himself. He cast her as the beloved cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (contemporary audiences will no doubt be aware of the musical version - My Fair Lady) on stage in 1936 and in Anthony Asquith's screen adaptation two years later co-starring Leslie Howard. The film was a smash, and Hiller earned an Academy Award nomination for her striking and original Eliza. Shaw would cast her again as an heiress turned Salvation Army worker in the classic Major Barbara for both stage and the 1941 film version.

The ensuing years could very well have been Hiller's time for screen stardom, yet despite her blazing acting ability, regal presence and distinctive voice, her film forays were too few, as she concentrated on the stage and spending time with her husband Gow and two children. Still, when she did make a film appearance, it was often memorable: a materialist turned romantic in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's glorious, I Know Where I'm Going! (1945); a lonely hotelkeeper in Delbert Mann's Separate Tables (1958), which earned her an Academy Award as best supporting actress; an obsessive mother in Jack Cardiff's Sons and Lovers (1960); a unfaltering wife to Sir Thomas More in Fred Zinneman's brilliant A Man for All Seasons (1966); and as a compassionate nurse who cares for the deformed David Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980).

Ill health became an issue for Hiller in her later years, but she made one elegant return to the camera when she was cast as a former society beauty who is interviewed 50 years after her fame in Moira Armstrong's The Countess Alice (1992). In a performance that was touching, but never maudlin, Wendy Hiller proved that few could match her for presence, integrity and dignity. Her contribution to her craft did not go unnoticed, as she was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1975. She is survived by her son, Anthony, and daughter, Ann.

by Michael T. Toole
Wendy Hiller, 1912-2003

Wendy Hiller, 1912-2003

Dame Wendy Hiller, one of Britain's most distinguished actresses of screen and stage and whose career highlights include being George Bernard Shaw's favorite leading lady, and an Oscar winner for her performance as a lonely spinster in Separate Tables (1958), died at her home in Beaconsfield, England, on May 14. She was 90. Wendy Hiller was born on August 15, 1912, in Bramhall, and raised in Manchester, where her father was a cotton-cloth manufacturer. Educated at Winceby House, a girl's school in Sussex, Hiller found herself drawn to the theater, and after completing secondary school, Wendy joined the Manchester Repertory Theater, where she was a bit player and later an assistant stage manager. In 1934, she earned critical acclaim and stardom when Manchester Rep cast her as the lead in the popular drama, Love on the Dole, written by her future husband, Ronald Gow. The play was such a hit, that Hiller would repeat her role in London and triumphed on Broadway. Back on the London stage, she was playing the lead in George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan, when she caught the eye of the playwright himself. He cast her as the beloved cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (contemporary audiences will no doubt be aware of the musical version - My Fair Lady) on stage in 1936 and in Anthony Asquith's screen adaptation two years later co-starring Leslie Howard. The film was a smash, and Hiller earned an Academy Award nomination for her striking and original Eliza. Shaw would cast her again as an heiress turned Salvation Army worker in the classic Major Barbara for both stage and the 1941 film version. The ensuing years could very well have been Hiller's time for screen stardom, yet despite her blazing acting ability, regal presence and distinctive voice, her film forays were too few, as she concentrated on the stage and spending time with her husband Gow and two children. Still, when she did make a film appearance, it was often memorable: a materialist turned romantic in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's glorious, I Know Where I'm Going! (1945); a lonely hotelkeeper in Delbert Mann's Separate Tables (1958), which earned her an Academy Award as best supporting actress; an obsessive mother in Jack Cardiff's Sons and Lovers (1960); a unfaltering wife to Sir Thomas More in Fred Zinneman's brilliant A Man for All Seasons (1966); and as a compassionate nurse who cares for the deformed David Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980). Ill health became an issue for Hiller in her later years, but she made one elegant return to the camera when she was cast as a former society beauty who is interviewed 50 years after her fame in Moira Armstrong's The Countess Alice (1992). In a performance that was touching, but never maudlin, Wendy Hiller proved that few could match her for presence, integrity and dignity. Her contribution to her craft did not go unnoticed, as she was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1975. She is survived by her son, Anthony, and daughter, Ann. by Michael T. Toole

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter December 23, 1987

Wide Release in United States February 5, 1988

Released in United States on Video October 12, 1988

Released in United States 1988

Shown at Dublin Film Festival October 26-November 4, 1988.

Began shooting May 11, 1987.

Film is in memory of Ramon Gow, who died during its production.

Wide Release in United States February 5, 1988

Released in United States on Video October 12, 1988

Released in United States 1988 (Shown at Dublin Film Festival October 26-November 4, 1988.)

Released in United States Winter December 23, 1987