''Mister Quilp'' is a 1975 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Michael Tuchner Michael John Tuchner (24 June 1932 – 17 February 2017) was a British film and theatre director. Born in Berlin, to German-Jewish parents, he was seven years old when his family moved to Britain with the rise of the Nazis. He eventually re ...

and starring Anthony Newley,

David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ' ...

and Jill Bennett. It is based on the 1841 novel '' The Old Curiosity Shop'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, under which name it was also released.

Main cast

* Anthony Newley as Daniel Quilp *

as Richard Swiveller * Jill Bennett as Sally Brass * Sarah-Jane Varley as Little Nell * Michael Hordern as Grandfather / Edward Trent *

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...

Sampson Brass Sampson Brass is a fictional character in the 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. He is a corrupt attorney who affects feeling for his clients, whom he then cheats. Among his clients is the villainous Daniel Quilp, the novel's ...

Yvonne Antrobus Yvonne Daphne Antrobus (born 1 November 1940) is a British novelist, abridger, radio dramatist, and actress. Writing She has made over 100 abridgments and dramatisations for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 and for independent audio publishers ...

as Betsy Quilp * Sue Barbour as Stiltdancer *

David Battley David John Battley (5 November 1935 – 20 January 2003) was a British actor of stage and screen, mainly appearing in comedy roles. Early life Battley was born at Battersea, London, the elder son of John Battley, a post-Second World War Labour ...

as Codlin *

Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...

as George, Mrs. Jarley's asst. * Philip Davis as Tom Scott * Peter Duncan as Kit Nubbles * Brian Glover as Furnaceman *

Chris Greener Christopher Paul Greener (21 November 1943 – 11 February 2015) was a British actor and basketball player who went on to represent the United Kingdom. Greener was born in New Brighton, Wallasey, Cheshire. He was at one point the tallest ...

as Giant *

Rosalind Knight Rosalind Marie Knight (3 December 1933 – 19 December 2020) was an English actress. Her career spanned 70 years on stage, screen, and television. Her film appearances include ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957), ''Carry On Nurse'' (1959), ' ...

as Mrs. George * Ronald Lacey as Harris *

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the L ...

as Mr. Garland * Paul Rogers as Single Gent / Henry Trent *

Maxwell Shaw Maxwell Shaw (21 February 1929 - 21 August 1985 in London, England) was an actor, known for ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' (1962), '' Once More, with Feeling!'' (1960) and ''BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950). He is best remembered for his televis ...

as Isaac List *

Norman Warwick Norman Warwick (14 July 1920 – 26 August 1994) was a British cinematographer.Muir p.303 Selected filmography * '' Tons of Trouble'' (1956) * ''You Can't Escape'' (1956) * '' Small Hotel'' (1957) * '' The Young and the Guilty'' (1958) * '' A L ...

as Vuffin * Mona Washbourne as Mrs. Jarley * Malcolm Weaver as Acrobat * Sarah Webb as Duchess

Release

The film was one of several "Family Classics" made into modern musical films by Reader's Digest. ''Mr. Quilp'' was theatrically distributed by

EMI Films EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

in the United Kingdom and by Avco Embassy Pictures in the USA.

Home media

In the VHS and

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

formats, it was released by Magnetic Video under the title ''The Old Curiosity Shop'', though this release was heavily edited down by roughly 30 minutes. Viewers in the UK have reported seeing it played on television in the 1980s. To date, the film has never been officially released on DVD.

Critical reception

Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film a mixed review, praising the music and Newley's performance, but criticizing the decision to center the film around the titular evil money-lender and failing to make the story compelling enough to hold interest.MR. QUILP (1975) , Roger Ebert 25 November 1975
from Roger Ebert's official online archive of reviews, Accessed online 10 November 2013.

References

External links

* 1975 films British historical musical films Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films based on The Old Curiosity Shop 1970s historical musical films Films directed by Michael Tuchner Films shot at Pinewood Studios Reader's Digest Films set in London Films set in the 19th century Embassy Pictures films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{historic-musical-film-stub