Comrades (film)
Encyclopedia
Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas
and starring an ensemble
cast including James Fox
, Robert Stephens
and Vanessa Redgrave
. It depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
, who were transported to Australia
in the nineteenth century. Parts of the film were shot in the ghost town of Tyneham
in south Dorset
which was taken over by the military during WWII for use as a training area and is still part of a large military range. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival
.
Bill Douglas
William Gerald Forbes Douglas was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.-Biography:...
and starring an ensemble
Ensemble
Ensemble may refer to:* Musical ensemble* Ensemble cast * Dance ensemble* Statistical ensemble ** Quantum statistical mechanics, the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems...
cast including James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
, Robert Stephens
Robert Stephens
Sir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
. It depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...
, who were transported to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the nineteenth century. Parts of the film were shot in the ghost town of Tyneham
Tyneham
Tyneham is a ghost village in south Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. It remains a civil parish.-Location:The village is situated northeast of Worbarrow Bay on the Jurassic Coast, about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage. It is part of the Lulworth Estate. Tyneham is...
in south Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
which was taken over by the military during WWII for use as a training area and is still part of a large military range. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival
37th Berlin International Film Festival
The 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987.-Jury:* Klaus Maria Brandauer * Juliet Berto* Kathleen Carroll* Callisto Cosulich* Victor Dyomin* Reinhard Hauff* Edmund Luft* Jiří Menzel...
.
Cast
- Keith Allen ... James Hammett
- Dave AtkinsDave Atkins (actor)Dave Atkins was an English actor mostly known for portraying Sharkey in Britannia Hospital, Moving Man #1 in Clive Barker's Hellraiser in 1987, and pub landlord Les in Men Behaving Badly....
... Mr. Frampton's Foreman - Stephen Bateman ... Old Tom Stanfield
- Katy Behean ... Sarah Loveless
- Mark Brown ... Legg
- Michael Clark ... Sailor
- Lynette CurranLynette CurranLynette Curran is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Australian television series and films. Between 1967 and 1974 she was a regular in soap opera Bellbird. She also acted in the film version of the serial, Country Town ....
... Prostitute - Joanna DavidJoanna DavidJoanna David is a British actress, best known for her television work.She was born in Lancaster, England. Her first major television role was as Elinor Dashwood in the BBC's 1971 dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility followed a year later in War and Peace, in which she played Sonya...
... Mrs. Frampton - Philip Davis ... Young Stanfield
- Arthur DignamArthur DignamArthur Dignam is an Australian character actor.Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder 1955–1956....
... Fop - Patrick Field ... John Hammett
- Jeremy Flynn ... Brine
- James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
... Norfolk - William GaminaraWilliam GaminaraWilliam Gaminara is an English actor and screenwriter, best known for playing pathologist Professor Leo Dalton on the television series Silent Witness . His other television credits include Will Newman in Attachments and Dr Andrew Bower in Casualty.Gaminara voiced Dr Richard Locke in the...
... James Loveless - John Hargreaves ... Convict
- Michael HordernMichael HordernSir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
... Mr. Pitt - Freddie JonesFreddie JonesFrederick 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,...
... Vicar - John Rafter LeeJohn Rafter LeeJohn Rafter Lee is a British actor, voice actor, professional narrator, and playwright who is best known for his portrayal of the mysterious Trevor Goodchild in Peter Chung's Æon Flux...
... Juggler - Alex McCrindleAlex McCrindleAlex McCrindle was a British actor. He is best known for his role as General Jan Dodonna in Star Wars.-Biography:...
... Jailor - Murray MelvinMurray MelvinMurray Melvin is an English stage and film actor.The son of Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, he is best known for having created the role of Geoffrey in the Shelagh Delaney play, A Taste of Honey, a role which he recreated opposite Rita Tushingham in the 1961 film of the same name...
... Clerk - Alex NortonAlex NortonAlexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
... Various characters - Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
... Mrs. Carlyle - Robin SoansRobin SoansRobin Soans is an actor, and a playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary plays. These plays include Across the Divide ; A State Affair which looked at life on a Bradford estate, produced by Out of Joint theatre company; The Arab Israeli Cookbook ; Talking to Terrorists Robin Soans (born...
... George Loveless - Imelda StauntonImelda StauntonImelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
... Betsy Loveless - Robert StephensRobert StephensSir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
... Frampton - Malcolm TerrisMalcolm TerrisMalcolm Terris is a British actor.He had a lengthy career in a large number of television programmes. Possibly his best known role was in When the Boat Comes In, a popular 1970s series, where he played the part of Matt Headley...
... Gentlemen Farmers - Sandra VoeSandra Voe- Television and films :Voe began her on screen career in 1966, appearing in an episode of Dr. Finlay's Casebook. She has also appeared in Coronation Street, London's Burning, Taggart, Casualty, Monarch of the Glen, The Bill and Midsomer Murders.Her film credits include Breaking the Waves,...
... Diana Stanfield - Valerie Whittington ... Elvi Stanfield
- Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
... Mrs. Wetham - Brian McDermott ... Auctioneer