Main Cast: Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Jean de Baer, Maurice Denham, Mercedes Ruehl
Release Year: 1986
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Helene Hanff's book 84 Charing Cross Road had previously been a TV program and a stage play before it was converted into this 1986 film. The scene is New York, 1949: Anne Bancroft plays a struggling writer and passionate bibliophile, who answers an advertisement from a rare-volumes bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. Thus begins a two-decade romance by correspondence between Bancroft and Briton Anthony Hopkins, the man in charge of the overseas department of Marks and Company. Though several meetings are arranged, Bancroft and Hopkins never come face to face thanks to mitigating circumstances. But Anne finally makes it to London, and finds that much has changed. 84 Charing Cross Road was produced by Mel Brooks, the husband of star Anne Bancroft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
It's hard to build an entire film around charm, but this is essentially what the makers of 84 Charing Cross Road have done. How well they have succeeded will likely depend upon one's appreciation of -- or tolerance for -- the two characters who make up the core of the film. Epistolary in nature, director David Jones has done an admirable job of opening up the static story, finding ways of framing the constant voice-overs by placing the characters in different settings or situations. Hugh Whitemore's screenplay also helps; while there is still little action, he provides pithy, witty dialogue and delineates two strongly defined characters. Ultimately, of course, the film rises or falls on the actors who portray its characters, and there are no complaints here. Anne Bancroft brings her special brand of spunkiness and feistiness to the role, as well as her ability to twist unsuspected emotions from seemingly neutral sentences. Anthony Hopkins' skill and artistry are given free rein here, resulting in a delightfully understated and extremely effective performance. Although the supporting cast -- especially Judi Dench -- is quite good, it's Bancroft and Hopkins who matter here, and they do not disappoint. Even they, however, are unable to overcome the limitations of the film's basic concept. As a result, Charing Cross fails to totally satisfy, despite its charms. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Eleanor David - Cecily Farr; Daniel Gerroll - Brian; Wendy Morgan - Megan Wells; Ian McNeice - Bill Humphries; J. Smith-Cameron - Ginny; Tom Isbell - Ed; John Bardon - Labour Party Canvasser; Connie Booth - Lady From Delaware; Ronn Carroll - Businessman on Plane; Janet Dale - Joan Todd; David Davenport - Coronation Party Friend; Anne Dyson - Mrs. Boulton; James Eckhouse - Joey the Dentist; Marty Glickman - Baseball Commentator; Kevin McClarnon - Cop at Columbia; Gwen Nelson - Bill's Great Aunt; Freda Rogers - Coronation Party Friend; Sam Stoneburner - New York Bookseller; Tony Todd - Demolition Workman; Rebecca Bradley - Shela Doel At Age 12; Kate Napier Brown - Mary Doel At Age 21; Danielle Burns - Cecily Farr's Daughter; Rupert Holliday Evans - Coronation Party Friend; Zoe Hodges - Mary Doel at Age 4; Charles Lewsen - Print Buyer; Betty Low - Maxine's Mom; Michael John McGann - Maxine's Stage Manager; Roger Ostime - Stately Home Butler; Bernie Passeltiner - Willie, Deli Owner; Barbara Thorn - Sheila Doel at Age 29
Credit
Jo Lustig - Associate Producer, Judy Courtney - Casting, Marilyn Johnson - Casting, Jane Greenwood - Costume Designer, Lindy Hemming - Costume Designer, Mark McGann - First Assistant Director, Jake Wright - First Assistant Director, David Jones - Director, Chris Wimble - Editor, Mel Brooks - Executive Producer, George Fenton - Composer (Music Score), Eileen Diss - Production Designer, Gary Levy - Production Designer, Edward Pisoni - Production Designer, Brian West - Cinematographer, Geoffrey Helman - Producer, David John - Sound/Sound Designer, Gary Alper - Sound/Sound Designer, Hugh Whitemore - Screenwriter, Helene Hanff - Book Author
In 1949 Helene Hanff, in search of obscure classics and British literature titles she has been unable to find in New York City, notices an ad placed by antiquarian booksellers Marks & Co located at the titular address in London in the Saturday Review of Literature. She contacts the shop and manager Frank Doel fulfills her requests. A long distance friendship evolves over time, not only between the two but between Hanff and other staff members as well, including birthday gifts, holiday packages, and food parcels to compensate for post-World War II food shortages in England. Their correspondence includes discussions about topics as diverse as the sermons of John Donne, how to make Yorkshire Pudding, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Hanff postpones visiting her English friends until too late: Doel dies in December 1968 and the bookshop eventually closes. She finally visits Charing Cross Road and the vacant shop in the summer of 1971.
In his review in the New York Times, Vincent Canby called it "a movie guaranteed to put all teeth on edge . . . a movie of such unrelieved genteelness that it makes one long to head for Schrafft's for a double-ginmartini, straight up, and a stack of cinnamon toast from which the crusts have been removed."[1]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "The film is based on a hit London and New York play, which was based on a best-selling book. Given the thin and unlikely subject matter, that already is a series of miracles. And yet there are people who are pushovers for this material. I should know. I read the book and I saw the play and now I am reviewing the movie, and I still don't think the basic idea is sound . . . Miss Fiske . . . was the librarian at the Urbana Free Library when I was growing up . . . She never had to talk to me about the love of books because she simply exuded it and I absorbed it. She would have loved this movie. Sitting next to her, I suspect, I would have loved it, too. But Miss Fiske is gone now, and I found it pretty slow-going on my own."[2]
Variety described it as "an appealing film on several counts, one of the most notable being Anne Bancroft's fantastic performance in the leading role . . . [She] brings Helene Hanff alive in all her dimensions, in the process creating one of her most memorable characterizations."[3]
Box office
In its opening weekend in the U.S. the film grossed $24,350 at one theater. The total U.S. box office was $1,083,486.[4]
