The Wicked Lady | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Winner |
Produced by |
Yoram Globus Menahem Golan |
Written by |
Leslie Arliss Gordon Glennon Magdalen King-Hall Aimée Stuart Michael Winner |
Starring |
Faye Dunaway Alan Bates John Gielgud Denholm Elliott Hugh Millais |
Music by | Tony Banks |
Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
Edited by | Michael Winner |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | MGM/UA |
Release date
|
22 July 1983 |
Running time
|
98 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million (est.) |
Box office | $724,912 |
The Wicked Lady is a 1983 British drama film directed by Michael Winner. It was screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. It is a remake of the 1945 film of the same name, which was one of the popular series of Gainsborough melodramas.
Caroline is to be wed to Sir Ralph and invites her sister Barbara to be her bridesmaid. Barbara seduces Ralph, and marries him herself, but, despite her new wealthy situation, she gets bored and turns to highway robbery for thrills.
While on the road she meets a famous highwayman, Jerry Jackson, and they continue as a team, but some people begin suspecting her identity and she risks death if she continues her nefarious activities.
The actor Mark Burns appeared in The Wicked Lady as King Charles II, but during the filming director Michael Winner could not afford to pay him even the Equity union minimum fee. Burns told him to make a donation to the Police Memorial Trust, which was run by Winner. Years later when Burns appeared at a magistrates court on a charge of speeding, Winner, appearing as a character witness, told the bench that the actor had given "his entire fee" for a major film to the fund and Burns was subsequently discharged.
The film received a Razzie Award nomination for Faye Dunaway as Worst Actress.
The soundtrack for the movie was composed by Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks.