''Country Dance'' is a 1970 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

J. Lee Thompson John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and '' The Guns of Navarone'' along w ...

and starring

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

and Michael Craig. It is based on the novel '' Household Ghosts'' (1961) by

James Kennaway James Peeble Ewing Kennaway (5 June 1928 – 21 December 1968) was a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. He was born in Auchterarder in Perthshire and attended Glenalmond College. Biography Born to a middle class family in Auchterarder, his f ...

which became a three-act stage play in 1967. It was released as ''Brotherly Love'' in the United States. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Maurice Fowler. Shooting took place in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

and

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Synopsis

A tragicomedy set in a fading Scottish aristocratic family, in which the drunken Sir Charles Henry Arbuthnot Pinkerton Ferguson, Bt (

) has an incestuous relationship with his equally eccentric sister Hilary Dow (

Cast

as Sir Charles Ferguson *

as Hilary Dow * Michael Craig as Douglas Dow *

Harry Andrews Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in '' The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...

as Brigadier Crieff *

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his int ...

as Dr. Maitland *

Judy Cornwell Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress and writer best known for her role as Daisy in the successful British sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995). She also played Anya Claus in '' Santa Claus: The Movie' ...

as Rosie *

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...

as Jack Baird * Robert Urquhart as Auctioneer * Mark Malicz as Benny-the-Pole *

Jean Anderson Jean Anderson (12 December 1907 – 1 April 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the BBC drama '' The Brothers'' (1972–1976) and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "J ...

as Matron * Lennox Milne as Miss Mailer *

Helena Gloag Helena Gloag (23 February 1909 – 15 June 1973) was a Scottish actress. She had roles as the grandmother in the television series ''My Ain Folk'' and appeared in films such as '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', ''Ring of Bright Water'', '' ...

as Auntie Belle

Production

The stage play version played at the Edinburgh Festival in 1967. James Kennard wrote the female lead with Susannah York in mind; she was a cousin. Edward Fox played the male lead on stage. In December 1968 James Kennaway, author of the novel, was driving home from a meeting Peter O'Toole to discuss the film version when he died in a car accident. In February 1969 it was announced O'Toole would make the film with Susannah York under the direction of J. Lee Thompson. Filming took place in Ireland in mid 1969. York said "it was the happiest film experience of my life." O'Toole drank heavily through the shoot and at one stage was arrested. Brian Blessed recalled it as "a delightful experience" but admits O'Toole could be difficult. At one point the film was called ''The Same Skin''. Then it was changed to ''Brotherly Love''. In April 1970 producer Robert Ginna announced he would make another film with O'Toole and Thompson from a Kennaway novel, ''The Cost of Living Like This'', but it was never made.A Kooky Time for Coco: Kooky Coco By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 12 Apr 1970: D13.

References

Bibliography

* Steve Chibnall. ''J. Lee Thompson''. Manchester University Press, 2000.

External links

* *
Country Dance
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

{{J. Lee Thompson 1970 films 1970 drama films Films based on British novels Films directed by J. Lee Thompson Films scored by John Addison Incest in film British drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films