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Dance with a stranger

Original title: Dance with a Stranger
  • 1985
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Rupert Everett and Miranda Richardson in Dance with a stranger (1985)
A stormy relationship, complicated by the strictures of 1950s social class and gender roles, ends in death. Based on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.
Play trailer1:58
1 Video
71 Photos
True CrimeBiographyCrimeDrama

A stormy relationship, complicated by the strictures of 1950s social class and gender roles, ends in death. Based on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.A stormy relationship, complicated by the strictures of 1950s social class and gender roles, ends in death. Based on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.A stormy relationship, complicated by the strictures of 1950s social class and gender roles, ends in death. Based on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.

  • Director
    • Mike Newell
  • Writer
    • Shelagh Delaney
  • Stars
    • Miranda Richardson
    • Rupert Everett
    • Ian Holm
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    3.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Mike Newell
    • Writer
      • Shelagh Delaney
    • Stars
      • Miranda Richardson
      • Rupert Everett
      • Ian Holm
    • 39User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:58
    Official Trailer

    Photos71

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    Top cast40

    Edit
    Miranda Richardson
    Miranda Richardson
    • Ruth Ellis
    Rupert Everett
    Rupert Everett
    • David Blakely
    Ian Holm
    Ian Holm
    • Desmond Cussen
    Matthew Carroll
    • Andy
    Tom Chadbon
    Tom Chadbon
    • Anthony Findlater
    Jane Bertish
    • Carole Findlater
    David Troughton
    David Troughton
    • Cliff Davis
    Paul Mooney
    • Clive Gunnell
    Stratford Johns
    Stratford Johns
    • Morrie Conley
    Joanne Whalley
    Joanne Whalley
    • Christine
    Susan Kyd
    • Barbara
    Lesley Manville
    Lesley Manville
    • Maryanne
    Sallie Anne Field
    • Claudette
    • (as Sallie-Anne Field)
    David Beale
    • Man in Little Club
    Martin Murphy
    • Roy
    Tracy-Louise Ward
    • Girl with David Blakely
    Michael Jenn
    Michael Jenn
    • Wilf
    Alan Thompson
    • Ralph
    • Director
      • Mike Newell
    • Writer
      • Shelagh Delaney
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews39

    6.63.1K
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    Featured reviews

    7Prismark10

    Dance with a Stranger

    Miranda Richardson made her film debut as Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain in 1955.

    Ellis was a platinum blonde nightclub hostess and part time prostitute in a drab class ridden Britain still going through post war austerity.

    Ellis ended up having a mutually destructive relationship with playboy racing driver and drunk David Blakely (Rupert Everett.)

    Both Ellis and Blakely could not keep away from each other despite the physical and mental cruelty they displayed.

    Desmond Cussen (Ian Holm) was an older wealthier man who was also obsessed with Ellis and she would have probably been better off with him. He showered her with gifts, paid for her son's boarding school fees and he even housed her when she lost her job and flat. Cussen could not giver ther the excitement that Blakely offered.

    Blakey may had been from a well to do family but he was a loser. Both in the racing world and in his personal life. Money problems, a raging libido meant that he constantly let Ellis down and she became increasingly jealous.

    Director Mike Newell showed a lot of skill in making this low budget film made for Channel 4 Film but giving it bigger budget aplomb.

    Newell decides to concentrate on the relationship between Ellis, Blakey and Cussen. Not on the legal aftermath.

    All three actors, Richardson, Everett and Holm are in top form. The first two were rising stars and had a lot to prove.

    Miranda Richardson won several awards for her portrayal of Ruth Ellis. Like other young actresses she could had easily disappeared mainly due to a lack of a British film industry. However she played a trump card. Her next role was as Queen Elizabeth in Blackadder II. One of the funniest comedies of all time.
    Michele_Phillips

    Mike Newell's DANCE WITH A STRANGER is a drama based on the obsessive and ultimately destructive love affair between a wealthy young British man and a 30 something madame.

    Although best known for his blockbuster hits FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and LOVE ACTUALLY, Mike Newell does a splendid job of bringing this tragic tale to the screen. The cinematography is lush and the recreation of London in the 1950's, both sets and costumes, is brilliantly realized. Obsession can be a difficult subject to tackle and yet one is compelled by the script, the visuals, and most of all the consummate acting, to see this affair through to it's conclusion. Miranda Richardson is the woman trapped by her need to make a good living and her inability to disentangle herself from the clutches of a destructive affair. An incredibly young Ruppert Everett and the redoubtable Ian Holm make up the other two sides of this twisted triangle. While all three actors shine, Richardson's portrayal is one of an individual tortured by a relationship that can never be and at a loss to explain why it endures to herself or anyone else. Not for the faint of heart but well worth the effort. Based on a true story.
    10AngelRedhead

    Last user review

    I've just read the last user review on this film & I would advise anyone who has any knowledge of the Ruth Ellis story to ignore it. There were legal reasons why everything was not explained. The boy was a result of a war time romance. Ruth Ellis also had a husband (& daughter) who for legal reasons could not be named or mentioned. Ian Holm played the part of her lover who did exist & did nothing to help her once she was arrested.

    If you don't understand the film read the following books first & then watch the film: Ruth Ellis: The Last Woman to Be Hanged (Robert Hancock) Ruth Ellis: My Sister's Secret Life (Muriel Jakubait, Monica Weller) Ruth Ellis, My Mother: A Daughter's Memoir of the Last Woman to Be Hanged (Georgie Ellis, Rod Taylor)

    Personally I think the film is excellent but of course I did know the story before I watched it.
    7blanche-2

    powerful and depressing true story

    Miranda Richardson is her usual brilliant self in "Dance with a Stranger," a 1985 film telling the true story of Ruth Ellis and David Blakeley.

    Blakeley was a rich young race car driver who becomes involved in an obsessive, passionate, and often violent relationship with night club hostess Ellis. It leads to tragedy.

    The scandal took place in the '50s, and the atmosphere of the time is captured beautifully here, and the film is well directed by Mike Newell.

    The acting is beyond flawless, with perfect performances by Ian Holm as the passive man who supported Ruth, Desmond Cussen, Rupert Everett as the self-centered Blakeley, and Richardson, one of the truly great actresses of our time, as Ruth.

    I'm not certain why Richardson's name isn't uttered along with that of Helen Mirren's or Meryl Streep's. She's a true chameleon. No one can ever equal her supporting performance in "Damage" - I don't really care that someone else won the Oscar! Here she gives a fully fleshed-out portrait of the unapologetic, tough, sexy Ellis.

    The script has some disappointments - one of which is, we don't get to the real story until the last minutes of the film - it's not really told, in fact - so obviously, that wasn't considered the real story by screenwriter Shelagh Delaney.

    The problem is that Ellis' situation was very controversial, and if you know it, you sit through the movie waiting for that part to begin. If you don't, well, then I guess you won't miss it.

    The purpose of "Dance with a Stranger" is to show what led up to the tragedy, which includes the class-consciousness of British society. In doing so, it leaves out the possible involvement of the Ian Holm character, Cussen, in what actually happened.

    Still, thanks to the strong acting, the story is fascinating, and these real characters come to life.
    9joelcairo1941

    Not for the faint of heart

    There is nothing sentimental about this story of obsession. Set in London in the 1950's--and what could be drearier--this bleak story based on the true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in England, is a tour-de-force for Newell, the director, the two leads, Richardson and Everett, and the incomparable Ian Holm.

    Miranda Richardson as Ellis gives a knockout performance in every scene. She has so perfectly captured the emotional pitch of a woman in love with a heel that one cannot help identifying with her. Her all-consuming love, even to the point of neglecting her son, makes it ridiculous to entertain the common query of "why doesn't she just get away from him?" Mike Newell captures all of the emotional highs and lows of a relationship of this kind, and the rakishly handsome Everett is both charming and destructive as Ellis's amor.

    The beauty of this movie is that it is not just about two ill-fated lovers, the way many Hollywood movies are. It is also about England's class system. Ellis's attraction to Blakeley is more about her desire to be acknowledged by her "betters" than just by this one man. Perhaps the most heartrending scene comes at the end where one sees Ellis's painted finger going over a letter she is about to send on the eve of her execution to Blakeley's mother, apologizing for the misery she has caused her. The language of the letter is perfect, because it reveals volumes about Ellis's class aspirations, and the hopelessness of her ever achieving them.

    This movie is a must-see for movie lovers, but it is not for the Meg Ryan set.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was released in the 30th Anniversary year of the death of Ruth Ellis.
    • Goofs
      Ruth switches on a radio which begins to play immediately. In those times, vacuum-tube radios had to warm up for about 20 seconds.
    • Quotes

      David Blakeley: I want you to marry me.

      Ruth Ellis: Why? Are you pregnant?

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Buried Treasures - 1987 Edition (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Would You Dance With a Stranger? (Sotto un cielo di stelle)
      Written by Giovanni D'Anzi and Alfredo Bracchi

      English Lyrics by Ray Miller

      Performed by Mari Wilson

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 4, 1985 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Un Crime pour une passion
    • Filming locations
      • Fingest, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Goldcrest Films International
      • National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC)
      • Film Four International
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,174,622
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,174,622
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 36m(96 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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