- The V.I.P.s
Infobox Film | name =The V.I.P.s
image_size =200px
caption = original film poster
director =Anthony Asquith
producer =Anatole de Grunwald
writer =Terence Rattigan
starring =Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor Louis Jourdan Maggie Smith Orson Welles Rod Taylor
Elsa Martinelli Margaret Rutherford
music =Miklós Rózsa
cinematography =Jack Hildyard
editing =
distributor =Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
released = 1963
runtime = 119 min
language =
budget =
imdb_id = 0057634"The V.I.P.s", also known as "Hotel International", is a 1963
MGM drama film . It was directed byAnthony Asquith , produced byAnatole de Grunwald and written byTerence Rattigan , with a music score byMiklós Rózsa . The film has anall-star cast includingRichard Burton ,Elizabeth Taylor ,Louis Jourdan ,Elsa Martinelli ,Maggie Smith , Rod Taylor,Orson Welles andMargaret Rutherford , who won both theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress and theGolden Globe in the same category.Plot
The film is set at
London 'sHeathrow airport during a fog. As flights are delayed, the VIPs of the title play out the drama of their lives in a number of slightly interconnected stories. The delays have caused serious hardship for most of the characters and have plunged some of them into deep personal or financial crisis. The central story concerns Frances Andros (Elizabeth Taylor) trying to leave her husband, millionaire Paul Andros (Richard Burton) and fly away with her lover Marc Champselle (Louis Jourdan). Because of the fog, Andros has the opportunity to come to the airport to convince his wife not to leave him. Film producer Max Buda (Orson Welles) has to leave London, taking his newest protégée Gloria Gritti (Elsa Martinelli) with him, if he is to avoid paying a hefty tax bill. The Duchess of Brighton (Margaret Rutherford) is on her way to Florida to take up a job which will pay her enough money to save her historic home. Les Mangrum (Rod Taylor), an Australian businessman, is anxious to get to New York to prevent his business from being sold. His dutiful secretary, Miss Mead (Maggie Smith) is secretly in love with him. Knowing that it is a matter of great urgency, she decides to approach Andros, unbeknownst to her boss, and asks him to advance the money which will save Mangrum's company. Raymond Austin, stuntman and friend of Burton, played Burton's driver.Background and production
According to the playwright Terence Rattigan, who wrote the screenplay, this is based on the true story of
Vivien Leigh 's attempt to leave her husbandLaurence Olivier and fly off with her loverPeter Finch , only to be delayed by a fog at Heathrow.The team of director Asquith, producer De Grunwald, and writer Rattigan were to produce another portmanteau film the following year entitled "
The Yellow Rolls-Royce ".Stringer Davis , husband of Margaret Rutherford, plays "Mr. Stringer," a tiny role as a sympathetic hotel waiter in a scene with Rutherford.Reaction
Critical reaction to the film was generally poor. It nevertheless did extremely well at the box office, helped by the enormous publicity attached to the Burtons' previous film, "Cleopatra".
Cast
*Elizabeth Taylor - Frances Andros
*Richard Burton - Paul Andros
*Louis Jourdan - Marc Champselle
*Elsa Martinelli - Gloria Gritti
*Margaret Rutherford - Duchess of Brighton
*Maggie Smith - Miss Mead
*Rod Taylor - Les Mangrum
*Orson Welles - Max Buda
*Linda Christian - Miriam Marshall
*Dennis Price - Commander Millbank
*Richard Wattis - Sanders
*Ronald Fraser - Joslin
*David Frost - Reporter
*Joan Benham - Miss Potter
*Michael Hordern - Airport Director
*Lance Percival - B.O.A.C. Officer
* Martin Miller - Dr. Schwutzbacher
*Peter Sallis - Doctor
*Stringer Davis - Hotel Waiter
*Clifton Jones - Jamaican Passenger
*Moyra Fraser - Air Hostess
* Duncan Lewis - Hotel Receptionist
* Raymond Austin - Rolls Chauffeur
* Cal McCord - Visitor
* Virginia Bedard
* Jill Carson - Air Hostesses
* Ann Castle - Lady Reporter
* Rosemary Dorken
* Betty Trapp - Waitress
* Maggie McGrath - Waitress
* Lewis Fiander - (uncredited) Third Reporter
* John Blythe - Barman
*Richard Briers - Meteorological Official
* Richard Caldicot - Hotel Representative
*Reginald Beckwith - Head Waiter
* Terry Alexander - Captain
* Frank Williams - Assistant to Airport Director
* Clifford Mollison - Mr. River the Hotel Manager
* Gordon Sterne - Official
*Joyce Carey - Mrs. Damer
*Robert Coote - John Coburn
*Angus Lennie - Meteorological Man
* Peter Illing - Mr. DamerExternal links
*imdb title | id=0057634 | title=The V.I.P.s
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