Saraband for Dead Lovers
Encyclopedia
Saraband for Dead Lovers (released in the United States. as Saraband) is a 1948
British historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden
and starring Stewart Granger
and Joan Greenwood
. It is based on the novel by Helen Simpson
. Set in seventeenth century Hanover
, it depicts the doomed romance between Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
and Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, the wife of the Elector of Hanover.
Jim Morahan
, William Kellner
and Michael Relph
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
- Set Decoration, Color.
(Joan Greenwood) seeks solace from dashing Count Philip Konigsmark
(Stewart Granger) when her husband Prince George Louis (Peter Bull
), later to become King George I of Great Britain
, wants nothing to do with her. The lovers are brought down by a jealous Countess Platen (Flora Robson
).
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
British historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden was an English film director.-Life and career:Dearden was born at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. He graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean...
and starring Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
and Joan Greenwood
Joan Greenwood
Joan Greenwood was an English actress. Born in Chelsea, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark...
. It is based on the novel by Helen Simpson
Helen de Guerry Simpson
Helen de Guerry Simpson was an Australian novelist.-Life and career:Simpson was born in Sydney into a family that had been settled in New South Wales for over 100 years...
. Set in seventeenth century Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
, it depicts the doomed romance between Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck or Philipp Christoph Königsmarck, was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier...
and Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick and Lunenburg was the wife and cousin of George Louis, Elector of Hanover, later George I of Great Britain, and mother of George II through an arranged marriage of state, instigated by the machinations of Duchess Sophia of Hanover...
, the wife of the Elector of Hanover.
Jim Morahan
Jim Morahan
Jim Morahan was a British art director. He began his career in film in 1936. He worked in a number of prominent British productions in the 1940s and 1950s, such as Scott of the Antarctic , Whisky Galore! , The Blue Lamp , The Man in the White Suit , The Cruel Sea , The...
, William Kellner
William Kellner
William Kellner was an Austrian-born art director who worked primarily on British films in the 1940s and 1950s. He began his career as a draughtsman working for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger on their films A Canterbury Tale and I Know Where I'm Going! and on David Lean's Brief...
and Michael Relph
Michael Relph
Michael Relph was a British art director and producer. He was the son of actor George Relph....
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
- Set Decoration, Color.
Plot summary
Sophie DorotheaSophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick and Lunenburg was the wife and cousin of George Louis, Elector of Hanover, later George I of Great Britain, and mother of George II through an arranged marriage of state, instigated by the machinations of Duchess Sophia of Hanover...
(Joan Greenwood) seeks solace from dashing Count Philip Konigsmark
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck or Philipp Christoph Königsmarck, was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier...
(Stewart Granger) when her husband Prince George Louis (Peter Bull
Peter Bull
Peter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
), later to become King George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, wants nothing to do with her. The lovers are brought down by a jealous Countess Platen (Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
).
Cast
- Stewart GrangerStewart GrangerStewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
as Count Philip Konigsmark - Joan GreenwoodJoan GreenwoodJoan Greenwood was an English actress. Born in Chelsea, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark...
as Sophie Dorothea - Flora RobsonFlora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
as Countess Clara Platen - Françoise RosayFrançoise RosayFrançoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
as The ElectressElectressAn Electress was the consort of an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the Empire's greatest princes.The Golden Bull of 1356 established by Emperor Charles IV settled the number of Electors at seven...
Sophia - Frederick ValkFrederick ValkFrederick Valk was a German-born Jewish stage and screen actor of Czech descent who fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, and subsequently became a naturalised British citizen...
as The ElectorPrince-electorThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
Ernest Augustus - Peter BullPeter BullPeter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
as Prince George Louis - Anthony QuayleAnthony QuayleSir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
as Durer - Michael GoughMichael GoughMichael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
as Prince Charles - Megs JenkinsMegs JenkinsMuguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.-Life and career:...
as Frau Busche - Jill BalconJill BalconJill Angela Henriette Balcon was an English film and radio actress. She made her film debut in Nicholas Nickleby , though she was best known for her stage, television, and radio work....
as Knesbeck - David HorneDavid Horne (actor)-Biography:British actor and playwright David Horne began his film career in the 1930s, after a distinguished early career in the theatre. He was generally seen portraying pompous, self-satisfied characters...
as Duke George William - Mercia Swinburne as Countess Eleanore
- Cecil Trouncer as Major Eck
- Noel HowlettNoel HowlettNoel Howlett was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme Please Sir!...
as Count Platen - Barbara Leake as Maria, Clara's Maid
- Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
as Lord of Misrule - Anthony Lang as Young Prince George
- Rosemary Lang as Young Princess Sophie
- Edward SinclairEdward SinclairEdward "Teddy" Sinclair was a British actor most famous for his role as the verger Maurice Yeatman in Dad's Army. He also made appearances in Z Cars and Danger Man.Edward's father was the son of a stage actor who died when he was 14...
as Nils - Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
as Governor of Ahlden - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Envoy at Ahlden - Guy RolfeGuy RolfeGuy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...
as Envoy at Ahlden
Popular culture
- UK goth band The Sex Gang ChildrenSex Gang ChildrenThe Sex Gang Children are a positive punk group that formed in the early 1980s in England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, they remain one of the more well-known bands out of the early Batcave scene and have reformed for new albums and touring various times...
have a song called Saraband for Dead Lovers.