Themes: Scandals and Cover-Ups, Social Climbing, Political Corruption
Main Cast: John Hurt, Joanne Whalley, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen, Leslie Phillips
Release Year: 1989
Country: UK
Run Time: 115 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In 1963, the conservative British government was shaken to its foundations by the Profumo Scandal. The central character in this disastrous affair was John Profumo, Britain's minister of war, who had become sexually involved with call-girl Christine Keeler, whose "sponsor" was high-priced osteopath Dr. Stephen Ward. Fancying himself a dashing international adventurer, Ward had also offered Christine to alleged Soviet spy Eugene Ivanov. Another of Ward's stable, Mandy Rice-Davies, allegedly had slept with numerous British and American luminaries. The whole sordid story, which ended with Ward's suicide and Profumo's public disgrace, was recounted with relish in director Michael Caton-Jones's Scandal, which featured John Hurt as Stephen Ward, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Christine Keeler, Ian McKellan as Profumo, Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies, and Jeroen Krabbe as Ivanov. In its original form, the film was ripe enough to court an X-rating; post-production trimming enabled it to squeak by with an R. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Britt Ekland - Mariella Novotny; Roland Gift - Johnnie Edgecombe; Jeroen Krabbé - Eugene Ivanov; Jean Alexander - Mrs. Keeler; Keith Allen - Kevin; Paul Brooke - Detective Sergeant; Iain Cuthbertson - Lord Hailsham; Oliver Ford Davies - Mr. Woods; Joanna Dunham - Lady Astor; Trevor Eve - Matinee Idol; Ronald Fraser - Justice Marshall; Deborah Grant - Valerie Profumo; Daniel Massey - Mervyn Griffith-Jones; Richard Morant - D'Lazlo; Mia Nadasi - Olga; Alex Norton - Detective Inspector; Ann Queensbury - Mrs. Hare; Terence Rigby - James Burge; Johnny Shannon - Peter Rachman; Malcolm Terris - Northern Gent; Joan Turner - Plump Neighbor; James Villiers - Conservative M.P.; Tariq Yunus - Ayub Khan; Arkie Whiteley - Vicky; Colette Dolan - Murray's Dancer; Czeslaw Grocholski - Polish Gent; Leon Herbert - Lucky Gordon; Tony Mathews - Press Secretary; Jeff Nuttall - Percy Murray; Ken Campbell - Editor of Pictorial; Doremy Vernon - Head Girl; Ralph Brown - Paul Mann
Credit
Chris Townsend - Art Director, Jane Robinson - Costume Designer, Michael Caton-Jones - Director, Angus Newton - Editor, Joe Boyd - Executive Producer, Nik Powell - Executive Producer, Carl Davis - Composer (Music Score), Simon Holland - Production Designer, Michael Molloy - Cinematographer, Bob Weinstein - Producer, Harvey Weinstein - Producer, Stephen Woolley - Producer, Michael Caton-Jones - Screenwriter, Michael Thomas - Screenwriter
