The Dresser
Encyclopedia
The Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood
, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End
and Broadway
play of the same name.
The film was directed by Peter Yates
and produced by Yates with Ronald Harwood. The cinematography was by Kelvin Pike.
The Dresser stars Albert Finney
, Tom Courtenay
, Zena Walker
, Eileen Atkins
, Michael Gough
and Edward Fox
. Finney and Courtenay were nominated for Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for their performances. Courtenay won the Golden Globe in a tie with Robert Duvall
in London
on 30 April 1980, with Freddie Jones
as "Sir" and Tom Courtenay
as Norman. The play was nominated for Best Play at the Laurence Olivier Awards
for 1980.
on November 9, 1981 and ran for 200 performances, with Tom Courtenay repeating his performance as Norman and Paul Rogers
as "Sir". The play was nominated for the 1982 Tony Award
for Best Play
, Best Actor in a Play
(Tom Courtenay) and the Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Paul Rogers).
: Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney), Best Director, Best Picture
and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
. Albert Finney
won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival
.
Ronald Harwood
Sir Ronald Harwood CBE is an author, playwright and screenwriter. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play of the same name.
The film was directed by Peter Yates
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...
and produced by Yates with Ronald Harwood. The cinematography was by Kelvin Pike.
The Dresser stars Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
, Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
, Zena Walker
Zena Walker
Zena Walker was an English actress in film, theatre, and television.Walker was born in Birmingham, the daughter of George Walker, a grocer, and his wife Elizabeth Louise . She attended St. Martin's School in 1960 and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She starred in an...
, Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
, Michael Gough
Michael Gough
Michael 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,...
and Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
. Finney and Courtenay were nominated for Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for their performances. Courtenay won the Golden Globe in a tie with Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
UK
Ronald Harwood based the play on his experiences as dresser to distinguished English Shakespearean actor-manager Sir Donald Wolfit, who is the "Sir" in the play. The play was first presented on 6 March 1980 at The Royal Exchange Theatre and then opened at the Queen's TheatreQueen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 30 April 1980, with Freddie Jones
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
as "Sir" and Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
as Norman. The play was nominated for Best Play at the Laurence Olivier Awards
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
for 1980.
Broadway
The play opened at the Brooks Atkinson TheatreBrooks Atkinson Theatre
The Brooks Atkinson Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 256 West 47th Street in Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was constructed as the Mansfield Theatre by the Chanin brothers in 1926. After 1933, the theatre fell into relative disuse until 1945, when Michael Myerberg...
on November 9, 1981 and ran for 200 performances, with Tom Courtenay repeating his performance as Norman and Paul Rogers
Paul Rogers (actor)
Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
as "Sir". The play was nominated for the 1982 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
, Best Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
(Tom Courtenay) and the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Paul Rogers).
Cast
- Albert FinneyAlbert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
as Sir - Tom CourtenayTom CourtenaySir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
as Norman - Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as Oxenby - Zena WalkerZena WalkerZena Walker was an English actress in film, theatre, and television.Walker was born in Birmingham, the daughter of George Walker, a grocer, and his wife Elizabeth Louise . She attended St. Martin's School in 1960 and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She starred in an...
as Her Ladyship - Eileen AtkinsEileen AtkinsDame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
as Madge - 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 Frank Carrington - Cathryn HarrisonCathryn HarrisonCathryn Mary Lee Harrison is an English actress. Cathryn was baptised on 27 September 1959 at St. John's Church, Hampstead, London, England....
as Irene - Betty MarsdenBetty MarsdenBetty Marsden was an English comedy actress.Originally from Liverpool, she attended the Italia Conti Stage School and ENSA.In the radio series Beyond Our Ken, she played Fanny Haddock, a takeoff of Fanny Cradock...
as Violet Manning - Sheila ReidSheila ReidSheila Reid is a Scottish actress, best known for her performance as Madge Barron in Benidorm.-Career:Reid has had a long and distinguished career in theatre, film and television, and worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre. In 1980, she played the long-suffering wife of Trevor...
as Lydia Gibson - Lockwood WestLockwood WestLockwood West was a British actor. He is the father of actor Timothy West and the grandfather of actor Samuel West....
as Geoffrey Thornton - Donald EcclesDonald EcclesDonald Eccles was a British character actor.Born in Nafferton, East Yorkshire, he made his stage debut in New York City in 1930, and later became known as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
as Mr. Godstone - Llewellyn ReesLlewellyn ReesLlewellyn Rees was an English actor.Television Roles include: Doctor Who , The Brothers, Inspector Morse, Doomwatch and Coronation Street....
as Horace Brown - Guy ManningGuy ManningGuy Manning is an English multi-instrumentalist and singer, best known for his own album work and for his membership of progressive rock bands Parallel or 90 Degrees, The Tangent and his own, Manning.-Biography:...
as Benton - Anne Mannion as Beryl
- Kevin StoneyKevin StoneyKevin Stoney was an English actor, best known for his television roles.During World War II, Stoney served with the Royal Air Force....
as C. Rivers Lane - Ann WayAnn WayAnn Way was an English character actress in film and television. Born in Wiveliscombe, she began her career in repertory in Dundee in the 1960s....
as Miss White - John SharpJohn Sharp (actor)John Sharp was a British television actor.He made more than 100 appearances in television and occasionally films between 1949 and 1991. Sharp began as a film actor in 1949 and appeared in films throughout the 1950s...
as Mr. Bottomley - Kathy StaffKathy StaffKathy Staff was an English actress, well known for her work on British television...
as Bombazine Woman - Roger AvonRoger AvonRoger Avon was a British film and television actor.Some of his television appearances include Hancock's Half Hour, Dad's Army, When the Boat Comes In, Department S, Doctor Who, serials , Randall and Hopkirk , Our Friends in the North and Blackadder the Third...
as Charles
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for five Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney), Best Director, Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
. Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actor.- Awards :- External links :*...
at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival
34th Berlin International Film Festival
The 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 17 to February 28, 1984.-Jury:* Liv Ullmann * Jules Dassin* Edward Bennett* Manuela Cernat-Gheorghiu* Lana Gogoberidze* Tullio Kezich* Steffen Kuchenreuther...
.