IMDb > An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
An Awfully Big Adventure
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An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) More at IMDbPro »

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An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) -- In Liverpool in 1947, a theatre company is planning to produce a series of plays. Sixteen year old Stella...
An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) -- Open-ended Trailer from Fine Line

Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   1,188 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mike Newell
Writers:
Beryl Bainbridge (novel)
Charles Wood (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for An Awfully Big Adventure on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
21 July 1995 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
In a world of make believe Stella is about to discover the difference between true love... and real life. more
Plot:
In Liverpool in 1947, a theatre company is planning to produce a series of plays. Sixteen year old Stella... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Spring Awakening's Morgan Karr To Sing At Joe's Pub 3/24
 (From BroadwayWorld.com. 24 February 2009, 12:58 PM, PST)
Hugh Grant
 (From The Hollywood News. 16 December 2008, 7:57 PM, PST)
User Comments:
The Show Must Go On more (26 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Alan Rickman ... P.L. O'Hara

Hugh Grant ... Meredith Potter
Georgina Cates ... Stella
Alun Armstrong ... Uncle Vernon
Peter Firth ... Bunny
Prunella Scales ... Rose
Rita Tushingham ... Aunt Lily

Alan Cox ... Geoffrey
Edward Petherbridge ... St. Ives
Nicola Pagett ... Dotty Blundell
Carol Drinkwater ... Dawn Allenby
Clive Merrison ... Desmond Fairchild
Gerard McSorley ... George
Ruth McCabe ... Grace Bird

James Frain ... John Harbour
Pat Laffan ... Mr. Harcourt
Patti Love ... Mary Deare
Hilary Reynolds ... Babs Osbourne
Tom Hickey ... Freddie Reynalde
Robbie Doolin ... Reporter
Brendan Conroy ... Disley
Johnny Murphy ... One Eye
Peter O'Farrell ... Long John Silver
Agnes Bernelle ... Mrs. Ackerly
Larry Murphy ... Inspector
Vicky Curtis ... Ellen
Brian McGrath ... Vicar
Padraig O'Raghallaigh ... GPO clerk
Nick Grennell ... Actor
Willie Smith ... Empire stage manager
Katy O'Donnell ... Young Stella
Kate O'Malley ... Baby Stella
Earl Gill ... Band
John Drummond ... Band
Chris Kenevey ... Band
Jack Bayle ... Band
Rolf Kholman ... Band
Horace Hessey ... Singer
Betty Casey ... Singer
Paddy Casey ... Pianist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Stephen Holland ... Rep Actor - Stage Manager (uncredited)

Alan Smyth ... (uncredited)
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Directed by
Mike Newell 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Beryl Bainbridge  novel
Charles Wood  writer

Produced by
Victor Glynn .... co-producer
Conor Harrington .... co-producer
Hilary Heath .... producer
Philip Hinchcliffe .... producer
John Kelleher .... executive producer
Steve Matthews .... script producer
Mark Shivas .... executive producer
John Sivers .... executive producer
Andrew Warren .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
Richard Hartley 
 
Cinematography by
Dick Pope 
 
Film Editing by
Jon Gregory 
 
Casting by
Susie Figgis 
 
Production Design by
Mark Geraghty 
 
Art Direction by
David Wilson  (as Dave Wilson)
 
Costume Design by
Joan Bergin 
 
Makeup Department
Ann Buchanan .... makeup artist
Francesca Crowder .... hair stylist
Stephanie O'Rourke .... assistant hair stylist
 
Production Management
George Adams .... executive production manager
John McDonnell .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Noel Byrne .... third assistant director
Jim Gorman .... assistant director
Martin O'Malley .... assistant director
Mickey Walsh .... second assistant director
 
Art Department
Tommy Bassett .... construction manager
Triona Coen .... stand-by props
Clodagh Conroy .... art department stand-by
Eddie Cunningham .... carpenter
Owen Monaghan .... dressing props
Paddy Murray .... stand-by props
Tony Nicholson .... dressing props
Eamonn O'Higgins .... property master
Alan Scott .... painter
Jeanne Vertigan .... production buyer
 
Sound Department
Philip Alton .... foley editor
Sue Baker .... sound editor
Brian Blamey .... dialogue editor
Mick Boggis .... dubbing assistant
Stephen Farrell .... sound trainee
Derek Holding .... dialogue editor
Tim Lewiston .... assistant dialogue editor
Derek Lomas .... assistant sound editor
Peter Maxwell .... sound re-recording mixer
John Salter .... boom operator
Peter Sutton .... sound mixer
Steve Hancock .... sound camera operator (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Martin Grace .... stunts
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Ciarán Barry .... clapper loader
Alan Butler .... focus puller
Kenny Byrne .... second focus puller
Tom Collins .... still photographer
John Conroy .... assistant camera
John Conroy .... clapper loader
Seamus Corcoran .... additional camera operator
Sean Corcoran .... camera operator: second unit
Con Dempsey .... gaffer
Kieran Dempsey .... best boy
Terry Eiffe .... electrician
Philip Fitzsimons .... electrician
Jonathan Hession .... still photographer
Philip Murphy .... grip
Jimmy O'Meara .... rigger
Tony Rowland .... key grip
Des Whelan .... camera operator
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh .... assistant costume designer
Gabriel O'Brien .... wardrobe trainee
Maeve Paterson .... costume supervisor
Ann Stokes .... wardrobe assistant
 
Editorial Department
Valentina Giambanco .... second assistant editor
Mick Mahon .... editor trainee
Clive Noakes .... color supervisor
Ian Seymour .... first assistant editor
Ben Yeates .... second assistant editor (as Ben Yates)
 
Music Department
Phil Chapman .... music mixer
Allan Jenkins .... score assistant engineer
 
Transportation Department
Arthur Dunne .... transportation captain
 
Other crew
Chris Allies .... title designer
Dougal Cousins .... location manager
Daisy Cummins .... extras coordinator
Janette Hamill .... location coordinator
Andrew Hegarty .... location assistant
Barbara Holloway .... publicist
Gerry Lundberg .... unit publicist
John McKenna .... chief armorer
Johnny Mulligan .... assistant accountant (as John Mulligan)
Suzanne Nicell .... location coordinator
Andrew Noakes .... production accountant
Sinead O'Brien .... production runner
Anneliese O'Callaghan .... production coordinator
Lisa Parker .... assistant production coordinator
Laerke Sigfred Pedersen .... script supervisor
 

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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for sexuality and some language.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Australia:MA | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 (bw) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Bewley's Oriental Cafe - 78-79 Grafton Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland more
Company:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Georgina Cates had unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Stella under her real name of Clare Woodgate. Frustrated, she dyed her hair, reinvented herself as a 16-year-old Liverpool girl called "Georgina Cates", and landed the role. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Stella's coat as her uncle leaves the bathroom. more
Quotes:
Stella: I know other words. Just that no one cares to hear them. more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
14 out of 17 people found the following comment useful.
The Show Must Go On, 31 July 2002
Author: Mimi-16 from USA

I've been curious about this movie for a long time. I finally saw it on IFC.

It was great! In this age of VERY expensive, predictable, committee-approved "art", I was relieved to watch this story unfold. Although I suspected early on about the relationship between Cates and Rickman's characters, it's execution was much better than the usual pap that pretends to be a surprise or twist.

Or even interesting.

The real twists in this story, was its own mirror of the real human forces and decisions that keep some of the sweetest, and unfortunately, worst stories going on. The twists were the tiny reasons why such things, sometimes painful and abhorrent to our collective cultural sense of what's right and decent in a society, to continue within it.

The hypocrisy of denying that these dark parts of ourselves exist often cause them to continue. Often times, the self-appointed moral-police of our culture make this inevitable in their pursuit of human frailty, the aftermath of its hunt, and the white-washing of the events (and non-events) they discovered.

No character represented total evil, good, decadence or purity, including Stella. She had as much (subtle) emotional weaponry with her, as she had emotional scars.

Many Americans don't like, or have been trained (over time) to not have patience for such imperfect main-characters in fiction anymore. The one-dimensional, mass-marketed character, is the norm here now.

That's sad. Because of that, this movie (and others like it) didn't do very well here.

Having this story take place within the entertainment industry is an excellent way of displaying so much of the world's human tragedy AND stupidity being covered up by some people's treachery, some people's nobility, or a combination of both.

And even at the end of this tale, all of the stage crew, like life itself, executed their own particular versions of the adage, "The show must go on."

No perfect hollywood story here, with it's base and stupid doling out of come-uppance of everyone's flaws...or Evil.

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What do y'all think of Rickman's character being putin a positive light? Silverweed
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The HP dork in me just had to post this... lms4000
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'I'm just bending down to tie a shoelace...' Silverweed
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