IMDb RATING
6.4/10
5.7K
YOUR RATING
Based on the Profumo Scandal of 1963, an affair between an exotic dancer and the Minister of War shakes up the British government.Based on the Profumo Scandal of 1963, an affair between an exotic dancer and the Minister of War shakes up the British government.Based on the Profumo Scandal of 1963, an affair between an exotic dancer and the Minister of War shakes up the British government.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Joanne Whalley
- Christine Keeler
- (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Jeroen Krabbé
- Eugene Ivanov
- (as Jeroen Krabbe)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie narrowly escaped an X rating in the U.S. because of some questionable footage during the Cliveden House orgy scene. Closer scrutiny revealed that two extras were having real sex on a piano in one of the background scenes. Even though the images were blurry, the scene had to be trimmed for all general releases to avoid the restrictive rating, which BBFC censor James Ferman accomplished by defusing the light from a table-lamp in the foreground. The inquisitive-minded will find this sequence about 49 minutes and five seconds into the movie.
- GoofsA title card says, "One Year Later, 1962," indicating that Profumo addressed Parliament about Keeler that year. Profumo addressed Parliament in March 1963.
- Quotes
Stephen Ward: All Russians are spies, it's how they're brought up.
- Alternate versionsOriginal 114-minutes British version was shortened to 108 minutes for the USA theatrical release in order to avoid a X rating.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Wogan: Wogan with Sue Lawley (1989)
Featured review
I didn't expect much out of this when I was saw it about 15 years ago, but it turned to be quite interesting. The only problem was it has too much a sleazy feel to it and an obvious political agenda, which is not unusual in films. The agenda is almost always one way.
There is a lot of nudity in here, lots of it mainly with Bridget Fonda who plays "Mandy Rice-Davies" and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as "Christine Keeler." Whalley-Kilmer looked particularly beautiful.
John Hurt as "Stephen Ward" and Ian McKellen "John Profumo" are the males. The story is about Britain's "Profumo Affar," as it was labeled back then - a sex scandal involving English politicians in the early 1960s.
In what could be a dry account turns out to be a fascinating movie, well-acted and beautifully-photographed. I've seen it three times and the third was probably the last. By then, the titillation of the nudity had worn off and the bias of yet another Liberal agenda bashing conservatives (it's same all over in the world of film-making) got a bit annoying. That, and the fact that had no English subtitles on the DVD, was disappointing.
There is a lot of nudity in here, lots of it mainly with Bridget Fonda who plays "Mandy Rice-Davies" and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as "Christine Keeler." Whalley-Kilmer looked particularly beautiful.
John Hurt as "Stephen Ward" and Ian McKellen "John Profumo" are the males. The story is about Britain's "Profumo Affar," as it was labeled back then - a sex scandal involving English politicians in the early 1960s.
In what could be a dry account turns out to be a fascinating movie, well-acted and beautifully-photographed. I've seen it three times and the third was probably the last. By then, the titillation of the nudity had worn off and the bias of yet another Liberal agenda bashing conservatives (it's same all over in the world of film-making) got a bit annoying. That, and the fact that had no English subtitles on the DVD, was disappointing.
- ccthemovieman-1
- Jul 19, 2006
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,800,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $658,660
- Apr 30, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $8,800,000
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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