A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)
| A Tale of Two Cities | |
|---|---|
_cinema_poster.jpg) Original UK cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Screenplay by | T.E.B. Clarke |
| Produced by | Betty E. Box |
| Starring | Dirk Bogarde Dorothy Tutin Paul Guers |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | Alfred Roome |
| Music by | Richard Addinsell |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors |
Release date | 1958 |
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British period drama based on parts of Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin.
Plot
Sydney Carton, a drunken English lawyer, discovers that Charles Darnay, a man he once defended, is a French aristocrat trying to escape the French Revolution. While he envies the man over the love of a woman, Lucie Manette, his conscience is pricked and he resolves to help him escape the guillotine.
Cast
- Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton
- Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette
- Paul Guers as Charles Darnay (Voice dubbed by Tim Turner - uncredited)
- Marie Versini as Marie Gabelle
- Ian Bannen as Gabelle
- Cecil Parker as Jarvis Lorry
- Stephen Murray as Dr. Manette
- Athene Seyler as Miss Pross
- Alfie Bass as Jerry Cruncher
- Ernest Clark as Stryver
- Rosalie Crutchley as Madame Defarge
- Freda Jackson as The Vengeance
- Duncan Lamont as Ernest Defarge
- Christopher Lee as Marquis St. Evremonde
- Leo McKern as Attorney General-Old Bailey
- Donald Pleasence as John Barsad
Production
Ralph Thomas insisted on the film being shot in black and white as he felt the book was written in black and white.[1] The film was shot in the Loire Valley in France with several thousand American soldiers posted nearby in Orléans used as extras.
in the 'cast biographies' on the Carlton DVD release it wrongly states that director Ralph Thomas and producer Betty Box were married. She was married to fellow producer Peter Rogers who was the producer of the Carry On film series.
References
- ^ Dixon, Wheeler W. Ralph Thomas Interview Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-Century Cinema 2001 SIU Press