Morgan!
Encyclopedia
Morgan! is a 1966
comedy film
made by the British Lion Films Corporation
. It was directed by Karel Reisz
and produced by Leon Clore from a screenplay by David Mercer, based on his 1962 television play for BBC Television, the leading role at that time being played by Keith Barron
.
The film stars David Warner
, Vanessa Redgrave
and Robert Stephens
with Irene Handl
and Bernard Bresslaw
.
The eponymous hero is working-class artist Morgan Delt (David Warner), obsessed with Karl Marx
and gorilla
s, who tries to stop his ex-wife (Vanessa Redgrave) from remarrying.
The film was nominated for Academy Awards
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
(Vanessa Redgrave) and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
.
The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or
(Golden Palm) at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
and Redgrave was awarded Best Actress.
American 1980s icon Morgan Fairchild
took her first name from this film.
film).
With the help of his mother's wrestler friend Wally "The Gorilla" (Arthur Mullard), Morgan kidnaps Leonie, who is conflicted in her love for him and her need to be away from him for the sake of her own, and his, sanity. His antics get Morgan arrested and committed to an insane asylum, where he learns that Leonie is pregnant with his child, but happily continues to tend his hammer and sickle-shaped flowerbed.
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
made by the British Lion Films Corporation
British Lion Films
British Lion Films Corporation is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Until 1976 they were also film distributors as British Lion Films Ltd, with a distributor filmography of 232 films. As a production company they are still active and have produced...
. It was directed by Karel Reisz
Karel Reisz
Karel Reisz was a Czech-born British filmmaker who was active in post–war Britain, and one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in 1950s and 1960s British cinema.-Early life:...
and produced by Leon Clore from a screenplay by David Mercer, based on his 1962 television play for BBC Television, the leading role at that time being played by Keith Barron
Keith Barron
Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:...
.
The film stars David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
, 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...
and 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:...
with Irene Handl
Irene Handl
-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
and Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...
.
The eponymous hero is working-class artist Morgan Delt (David Warner), obsessed with Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s, who tries to stop his ex-wife (Vanessa Redgrave) from remarrying.
The film was nominated for Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Vanessa Redgrave) and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
.
The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(Golden Palm) at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 5-20, 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given.-Jury:*Sophia Loren *Marcel Achard *Vinicius de Moraes *Tetsuro Furukaki...
and Redgrave was awarded Best Actress.
American 1980s icon Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She achieved prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series, in which she usually conveyed a glamorous image. Fairchild has also performed in live theater and played guest roles in television comedies...
took her first name from this film.
Plot summary
Morgan Delt is an artist from a working class background, married to Leonie, a woman far above him in social standing. Given to a rich fantasy life to begin with, Morgan goes off the mental deep end when Leonie informs him that she is asking for a divorce and taking up with art dealer Charles Napier (Stephens), a man more befitting her class. Thoroughly gone around the bend, Morgan enacts a series of bizarre gags and stunts in a campaign to win Leonie back, including putting a skeleton in her bed and crashing her wedding dressed as a gorilla (the film segues into brief extracts from the original King KongKing Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
film).
With the help of his mother's wrestler friend Wally "The Gorilla" (Arthur Mullard), Morgan kidnaps Leonie, who is conflicted in her love for him and her need to be away from him for the sake of her own, and his, sanity. His antics get Morgan arrested and committed to an insane asylum, where he learns that Leonie is pregnant with his child, but happily continues to tend his hammer and sickle-shaped flowerbed.
Cast
- David WarnerDavid Warner (actor)David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
- Morgan Delt - 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...
- Leonie Delt - Robert StephensRobert StephensSir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
- Charles Napier - Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
- Mrs. Delt - Bernard BresslawBernard BresslawBernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...
- Policeman - Arthur MullardArthur MullardArthur Ernest Mullard, original surname Mullord was an English comedy actor.- Early life :...
- Wally