Project Detail

The Clandestine Marriage

Alex Bailey

Synopsis

Hogarth's England of 1776 and the nouveau riche Sterlings - all city money and no class, and the country aristocratic Oglebys - all class and no money, are brought together by the intended marriage of Lord Ogleby's son, Sir John and Sterling's eldest daughter, Betsy.

However, Betsy's sister Fanny, who has secretly married her father's clerk, Lovewell, by whom she is pregnant, quickly becomes the object of affection not only of Sir John but of his elderly father. Betsy is furious, as is her aunt Mrs Heidleberg, who rules her brother and his household with a rod of iron. Fanny desperately tries to stave off the attentions of both men while her father secretly agrees to exchange one daughter for the other.

Soon the entire company is at loggerheads and cross purposes, Fanny's secret wedding is revealed, and all the while the clock ticks towards the wedding, which must take place if both families are not to loose face.

This exuberant, sexy and cheerfully astringent comedy of errors, where genuine heartache and true love jostle with lust and greed, is set against the glories of an English country house in high summer and is as sharply relevant today as ever.

Details

Year: 1999
Type of project: Features
Format: 35mm Kodak
Director: Christopher Miles
Producer: Andrew Warren
Co-Producer: Andrew Warren
Director of Photography: Denis Crossan BSC
Principal cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Joan Collins, Timothy Spall, Tom Hollander, Natasha Little, Paul Nicholls, Emma Chambers
Screen Writer: Trevor Bentham

Genre

Comedy Drama

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Portman Productions Ltd 167 Wardour Street London W1V 3TA Tel: 020 7468 3456 Fax: 020 7468 3469

Sales Company

Portman Entertainment Ltd as Production Company

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