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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

    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.
    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.
    m0ndayschild

    Watch it properly next time

    Andy of Flatlands, yes maybe it was boring to you as it was based on fact, and face it the average working class person who lived in post war Britain had a boring and hard life. It is a damn good film, and you need to be able to work out the relationships for yourself without being spoon fed. I found it quite easy. I think you have missed the whole point of the miscarriage of justice that happened. Her speaking voice was typical of a working class women trying to be something she wasn't. Does the term "fur coat no knickers" mean anything to you? I suggest you watch it again. It is factual, damn good and worth watching. Miranda Richardson played the part really well as did all the cast. Their performances really were a great portrayal of the characters. By the way she was hanged (as a past tense and a past participle of hang, is used in the sense of "to put to death by hanging)not hung
    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.
    Canino-4

    Worth the wait

    I first heard of this movie at work in 1984 when I saw an engineer who had the movie ad pinned up in his cubicle. I'd had this movie in the back of my head and always meant to check it out, but I've never seen it for rental and didn't want to risk plunking down $20 to order it. It was worth the wait.

    Miranda Richardson, probably best known for The Crying Game and Sleepy Hollow (Now there's a combo!) stars as Ruth Ellis, a deluded romantic from 1950's England who managed to ride a sexual obsession to her own execution, the last on the books in the country's history. All this comes at the expense of a man who truly loves her, and a son who is not a priority in her life, to say the least. Ellis was adored, worshipped even, by clumsy businessman Ian Holm, but she only has eyes for Ruppert Everett. Everett's a hot shot car driver working on some new car design that's he convinced is going to revolutionize the auto industry. He exudes the confidence that Holm couldn't hope to possess. All three performances are outstanding.

    As the story unfolds, director Mike Newell seems to pull no punches. I don't know the how's or the who's of this case, but Newell gives this film an authenticity many strive for, but few attain. In essence, it's Holm's character that is hung out to dry. He has to stand by as Everett continually denigrates Richardson both physically (A few punches, a glass of booze in the face,etc.), and emotionally (Too many episodes to count). Holm could have been molded into a flawed hero, and perhaps he would have been in the hands of a director with eyes on receipts instead of craft. Everett's character could have slipped into melodrama, as well. He has a roguish charm, I suppose, but he's basically just a spoiled rich boy, the type to bring a low class Richardson too his parents estate, and be suprised when she is intimidated.

    At the center is Richardson, bringing Ruth Ellis back to life. It's disturbing how she can see what she's doing to her young son, truly care for him, but not let it effect her. Even more reprehensible is watching her use Holm to watch her child while she crawls back to Everett after another beating, to sneak a quickie in a fog-filled back alley.

    Mike Newell directed Donnie Brasco, an excellent film which took a similar, bleak look at the life of a policeman who set aside his family in the name of his job. Newell didn't flinch in painting Joseph Pistone (The real life cop), as an obsessed man who started to lose his own identity. Pistone's family pays a heavy price for his dedication (misplaced?), but Ruth Ellis' paid even more. She left a son alone, and it's not a stretch to infer that he led a desperate life, based on what we learn in the closing comments.

    Don't wait 16 years to see this film, like I did. Hunt it down on cable, or check out your local video store. This is a small story that gets big treatment.

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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

    • How long is Dance with a Stranger?Powered by Alexa

    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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