Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool

THIS is the latest film to be show by Thame Cinema 4 All, this coming Saturday, March 24, at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame.

UK 2017, 103 minutes, 15 certificate – Directed by Paul McGuigan, starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Stephen Graham, Kenneth Cranham

Synopsis

Gloria Grahame was a great star of the 1940s and 50s Hollywood cinema, with iconic roles as the blonde-bombshell film noir femme-fatale. Her life off screen was sensational, not least her notorious love life. But what you might not know is that in the 1970s, towards the end of her career, she spent years appearing on stage in regional English theatres, grafting away long after her cinema career had come to an end. And during this time she met and fell in love with Peter Turner, a young actor trying to get his break, who finds himself sharing Gloria’s shabby boarding house in north London.

During their time together, Gloria spends time with Peter’s family in Liverpool, and loves the warm familial embrace of the small, suburban brick terrace and the no-nonsense affection of Peter’s parents (Walters and Cranham) who manage to overcome their dismay at the fact that their son is dating a Hollywood legend.

Some time after a painful breakup, Gloria comes back into Peter’s life. She is taken gravely ill and, in need of someone to care for her, Peter and his family take her in, tucking her up under the chenille bed spread with a hot water bottle and some down to earth kindness. This is a beautifully tender love story, with Bening turning in perhaps a career best performance as the vulnerable, tough, sexy and hard working Grahame, reluctant to submit to the mysogyny of the industry, and determined to maintain her craft, long after the movie business has tossed her on the scrap heap.

A great, strange and true story, and one that deserves your attention. View trailer here.

8pm start – doors open 7.30pm – licensed bar – tickets are available on the door or online- Click here