The Clandestine Marriage

The Clandestine Marriage is definitely not Hawthorne's best work (Madness of King George) but it is quite fun and he does do a great job as the old, odd Lord Oglesby. The rest of the cast is fairly good too, especially Tom Hollander as Sir John and Timothy Spall as Sterling. Joan Collins was over-the-top and, in her English accent with a German twist, was kind of difficult to understand. Overall, I thought this a very entertaining, well-acted movie.

Not bad at all – a movie starring Joan Collins always has the possibility of being a dicey affair, and she may have produced and starred in this one, but that doesn't stop it from being a charming, mannered comedy of errors. Collins has some big IL' surprises up her sleeve for us – for her first trick, she does not play Alexis Carrington, or any variation on her, in this movie. And, as if that weren't earth-shattering enough, she – I kid you not – plays a woman approximately her own age, who also looks her age. That's right, no black eyeliner and no raven tresses. It is amazing. Don't get me wrong, though – we're still dealing with Joan Collins here, so she's still pretty glam, in her own way, and certainly her character is as over-the-top as any Joan Collins character is supposed to be – but she actually acts as part of an ensemble in which she is not center stage at all times. Set in a spectacular 17th century country estate, Stanway House, with all the requisite gorgeous accoutrement, the film does exceptionally well on what was obviously not an enormous budget. The costumes, hair and makeup are beautiful, and though the story gets somewhat messy in the middle of the film, the cinematography and art direction keep the eye glued to the screen. The supporting cast also serves the film well, with a variety of skilled actors who make the best out of minor roles. It is a fun movie to watch and it looks like the kind of movie that the cast and crew had a great deal of fun making. This is a valuable quality that is imparted in the finished product, and makes it easy to overlook any weaknesses.

The costumes are just amazing! The dialog is wonderfully witty! The wigs are inspirational! The makeup is perfect! The locations are breath-taking! The acting is superb! If you like period films you'll need to add this lovely piece to your collection. An excellent ensemble cast who portray tangible characters. This feature must have fallen through the cracks of non-advertising land, because I don't remember it being in theaters. I find myself watching it about three or four times a year - it will really make you smile. It is indeed a film of "Quaalitaay." I'll have to hire Paul Nicholls for one of my films; would like to see more of him.

I thought this movie was very good. The characters, the costumes... you have to like movies like this to start with in order to appreciate it. The timing on the humor was really good. The music was excellent and I would like to find the soundtrack. Miriam Stockley sings the song Secret. She performs several of the songs in the movie. She's a cross between Celine Dion and Enya. The British speak was easy enough that you could understand what they were saying. A lot of that is too much and it's hard to catch it all. There are a lot of recognizable actors in this and they all did a good job. I highly recommend this movie for just some old fashion humor in a period piece.

The arranged marriage of an English aristocrat's daughter goes awry befuddling all concerned in this well made and lighthearted comedy. An unpretentious little film, "Clandestine Marriage" serves up an ample portion of good old English comedy and quits while it's ahead.