''God Rot Tunbridge Wells!'' is a 1985 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...

, written by

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play ''Look Back in Anger'' tra ...

and starring

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

Christopher Bramwell Christopher Bramwell is a British actor who was active on television from 1977 until 1996. He appeared in several TV dramas including ''Grange Hill'', '' Enemy at the Door'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' ...

and Dave Griffiths.BFI.org
/ref> It was aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in 1985 and was made to mark the 300th anniversary of Handel's birth.

Plot

In old age, the German composer

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

reflects over his life and musical career.

Main cast

– Elderly Handel *

– Young Handel * Dave Griffiths – Handel in middle age * Isabella Connell – Princess of Wales * Anne Downie – Vittoria Turquini * Beth Robens – Handel's Mother * Simon Donald – Prince Ruspoli

References

External links

* 1985 television films 1985 films British biographical films British musical films British television films Channel 4 original programming Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films directed by Tony Palmer Films set in the 18th century George Frideric Handel in fiction Cultural depictions of George Frideric Handel 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{bio-film-stub