84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

David Hugh Jones

Writers:

Helene Hanff (book)
James Roose-Evans (play)

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

True story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | Correspondence | Book | Apartment | Bookstore

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Anne Bancroft	...	Helene Hanff
Anthony Hopkins	...	Frank P. Doel
Judi Dench	...	Nora Doel
Jean De Baer	...	Maxine Stuart
Maurice Denham	...	George Martin
Eleanor David	...	Cecily Farr
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Kay
Daniel Gerroll	...	Brian
Wendy Morgan	...	Megan Wells
Ian McNeice	...	Bill Humphries
J. Smith-Cameron	...	Ginny
Tom Isbell	...	Ed
Anne Dyson	...	Mrs. Boulton
Connie Booth	...	The Lady from Delaware
Ronn Carroll	...	Businessman on Plane

Runtime:

100 min | West Germany:95 min (video)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:G (Ontario) | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG (certificate #28282) | UK:PG | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

Brooksfilms

Trivia:

When they made the film the famous shop was a record store so they rebuilt it at Shepperton Studios. That also made it easier to change the passing traffic from the 1940's to the 1970's.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Helene is at the dentist's office, the dentist pulls out an old style cable driven drill, but then when he starts to work, the sound is the high pitch sound of the much later turbine drill.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Businessman on plane: Your first trip to London?
Helene Hanff: Yes.
Businessman on plane: You want a word of advice? Don't trust the cab drivers; they'll take you five miles to go three blocks... and, uh, don't waste your time looking at a street map. Nobody can find their way around London - not even Londoners.
Helene Hanff: Maybe I should go to Baltimore instead.
Businessman on plane: No; you'll enjoy it. London's a great place. What kind of trip is it - business or pleasure?
Helene Hanff: Unfinished business.

Movie Connections:

References "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" (1950)

Simply the best.

84 Charing Cross Road is one of my favorite movies. Based on the memoirs of Helene Hanff (the book contains the letters from which they read throughout the film), this is the story of a single New York woman named Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) who builds a forty-year friendship with some people who work in a bookstore in England. The movie begins during WWII as Helene, a writer, is searching for out-of-print books and, frustrated at the poor selection in the city's bookstores, starts writing letters to the Marx brother's bookstore in England. Through her letters, she not only becomes a frequent customer, but eventually, becomes quite close with all of the bookstore's employees. And through their letters, they share experiences over the years, which the viewer witnesses through a juxtasposition of two different cultures: American and British.

I like the technique used in this film. The interaction between Helene and her British friends occurs only through letters, so rather than have the characters write a letter and then dub what is written, eventually, the characters just face the camera and say what they would have written, with the camera cutting back and forth for each others response at times as though we suddenly become the recipient of their conversations.

The film also has a wonderful cast with Anne Bancroft as Helene, Anthony Hopkins as the generous Frank P. Doel, Judi Dench as his wife, and Mercedes Ruehl as Helene's neighbor. It is a wonderful story.