''Amelia and the Angel'' is a 1958 British film directed by Ken Russell. It was his second completed film after ''Peep Show''. The movie was seen by

Huw Wheldon Sir Huw Pyrs Wheldon, (7 May 1916 – 14 March 1986) was a Welsh broadcaster and BBC executive. Early life Wheldon was born on 7 May 1916 in Prestatyn, Flintshire, Wales. He was educated at Friars School, Bangor, at the time an all-boys g ...

and led to his offering Russell a full-time job.

Plot

A schoolgirl, Amelia, attempts to find an angel costume in time to appear in her school play.

Cast

*Mercedes Quadros as Amelia

Production

Russell was then a photographer who wanted to get into the film industry and thought of the idea. He says he was influenced by '' La Belle et Bete'' and ''

The Red Balloon ''The Red Balloon'' (french: Le ballon rouge) is a 1956 French fantasy comedy-drama featurette written, produced, and directed by Albert Lamorisse. The thirty-four-minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a se ...

''. Quadros was the daughter of an uruguayan diplomat and was recommended to Russell by a friend. Russell's wife

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

did the costumes. Filming took two weeks and was financed by Russell himself – the budget was "peanuts... about 100 pounds" he said. Russell said Quadros "was delightful, no trouble at all – as long as I gave her scary whirlwind rides in an old, broken-down Morris 8 I had she was as good as gold. I remember she fell over on the steps of the Albert Memorial at one point and broke her hand, the poor devil. In most of the film, she has her right hand turned away from the camera."Observer Review: FILM: AMELIA AND THE ANGEL 1957: 'It got me into the BBC and launched me': Ken Russell. Russell, Ken. The Observer26 Sep 2010: 14.

Reception

The film screened in cinemas in 1958 for the Experimental Film Committee.EXPERIMENTAL FILMS THREATENED: Committee without funds Our London Film Critic. The Manchester Guardian12 May 1958: 5. Russell showed the film to

at the BBC and led to Wheldon offering Russell a job on ''Monitor''. The director later said "A lot of people who were trying to get work on Monitor at the time made films about things like the barrow-boys of Elephant and Castle. Mine was such a change from anything like that and Huw was impressed by it because it was so unusual; he wasn't expecting a film of that sort of quality."" The film has remained popular over the years. "It's just a nice story, that's all," said Russell.

References

External links

*
Amelia and the Angel
at

Letterboxd Letterboxd is an online social networking service co-founded by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011. It was launched as a social app focused on sharing opinions about, and love of film, and is maintained by a small team in Auckland, Ne ...

Amelia and the Angel
at BFI Screenonline 1958 films British short films 1958 short films Films directed by Ken Russell 1950s English-language films {{short-film-stub