''Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War'' is a 2002 British

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

, directed by

Ian Sharp Ian Sharp (born 13 November 1946, Clitheroe, Lancashire) is an English film and television director. He is best known for directing the SAS action thriller ''Who Dares Wins'' (1982) and directing the action sequences of the James Bond film ''G ...

and starring

Pauline Collins Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off, ''Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography, ...

John Alderton John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''Thomas & Sarah'', ''Wodehouse Playhouse'', ''Little Miss'' (original television series), ''Please Sir!'', ''No, Honestly' ...

and

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

. It is based on a 1993 novel with the same name by author and conspiracy theorist Vernon Coleman. It is the story about a woman, Thelma Caldicot, who is coerced by her manipulative son Derek and daughter-in-law to move into a run-down nursing home, owned by Derek's employer, after the death of her bullying husband. Derek also gets her to sign over her house to him. However, she doesn't like it at the nursing home and shows her frustration. After having been medicated by the staff to stay calm, she finally incites her fellow inmates to revolt. The film premiered in June 2002 at the International Filmfest Emden, where it came second in the competition for the Bernhard Wicki Prize. A few weeks later, it participated in the

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

.IMDb: ''Release info - Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War''
Retrieved 2013-02-02 The film had its first wide cinema release in United Kingdom and Ireland, where it opened on 31 January 2003.

Cast

as Thelma Caldicot *

Terence Rigby Terence Christopher Gerald Rigby (2 January 1937 – 10 August 2008) was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series '' Soft ...

as Henry Caldicot *

as Derek *

Anna Wilson-Jones Anna Wilson-Jones (born 8 October 1970) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Juliet Miller in the television series '' Hotel Babylon'' and main character Tim Bisley's ex-girlfriend Sarah in the series ''Spaced''. Acting career ...

as Veronica * Gwenllian Davies as Audrey *

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film ve ...

as Joyce *

Frank Mills Frank Mills (born June 27, 1942) is a Canadian pianist and recording artist, best known for his solo instrumental hit "Music Box Dancer". Early life and education Mills was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was raised in Verdun, Quebec and started pl ...

as Leslie *

Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in ''To S ...

as Bernard *

as Hawksmoor *

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair w ...

as Matron *

Angela Bruce Angela Bruce (born 6 May 1951) is an English actress, noted for her television work. Bruce was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire to a West Indian father and white mother, but was put up for adoption aged three, and brought up in Craghead, ...

as Gina * Paul Freeman as Jenkins * Martin Jarvis as JB *

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...

as Nick Reid *

Camille Coduri Camille Coduri (born 18 April 1965) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jackie Tyler, the mother of Rose Tyler, in '' Doctor Who'', and also for her roles as Faith in ''Nuns on the Run'', Miranda in ''King Ralph'', and Dot Clapto ...

as news journalist

Reception

BBC Films awarded the film a 1 star review, reporting that the film was 'Lacking in laughs and light on radical zeal, this is the kind of unambitious British cinema that should have been pensioned off a long time ago.'

References

External links

* * * * Films directed by Ian Sharp 2002 films British comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{2000s-UK-film-stub