An Ideal Husband (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
An Ideal Husband is a 1998 film
based on the play of the same name
by Oscar Wilde
.
Sir Robert Chiltern, a rich landowner, belongs to the English 'county set' and is a member of an (unnamed) local government authority somewhere north of London. Well-off and with a loving and trusting wife, his honour and very existence are threatened when Mrs. Laura Cheveley appears with evidence of a past misdeed of Sir Robert's. It transpires that Robert's wealth stems from insider trading
concerning a proposed canal project at an unspecified location.
She attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting the project - in which she has invested heavily - and in desperation, Sir Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring, an apparently idle philanderer. Goring knows the lady from years before.
After several varieties of machination, the story ends happily. Lord Goring marries Robert's sister Mabel, Mrs. Chevely is outsmarted, and Lady Chiltern retains her faith in her husband's honour and 'idealism'.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
based on the play of the same name
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...
by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
.
Plot
While the film retains the premise of Wilde's play and much of the original dialogue, it updates the action to the present-day. The external scenes of the film were shot at various locations in the English 'home counties', principally in BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
Sir Robert Chiltern, a rich landowner, belongs to the English 'county set' and is a member of an (unnamed) local government authority somewhere north of London. Well-off and with a loving and trusting wife, his honour and very existence are threatened when Mrs. Laura Cheveley appears with evidence of a past misdeed of Sir Robert's. It transpires that Robert's wealth stems from insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
concerning a proposed canal project at an unspecified location.
She attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting the project - in which she has invested heavily - and in desperation, Sir Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring, an apparently idle philanderer. Goring knows the lady from years before.
After several varieties of machination, the story ends happily. Lord Goring marries Robert's sister Mabel, Mrs. Chevely is outsmarted, and Lady Chiltern retains her faith in her husband's honour and 'idealism'.
Cast
- Trevyn McDowellTrevyn McDowellSouth African born Trevyn McDowell is a former actress and property developer, who has starred in films, television programmes, theatre and radio, predominantly in her adopted homeland of England....
– Lady Gertrude Chiltern - Jonathan FirthJonathan FirthJonathan Firth is a British actor best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as Middlemarch, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Victoria & Albert.-Early life:Jonathan Firth was born in Essex, England...
– Lord Arthur Goring - Sadie FrostSadie FrostSadie Frost is an English actress, who currently runs fashion label Frost French and has designed the kitchens for a new development in the East End of London.-Biography:Frost was born Sadie Liza Vaughan in London...
– Mrs. Laura Cheveley - James WilbyJames WilbyJames Jonathon Wilby is an English film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father...
– Sir Robert Chiltern - Robert HardyRobert HardyTimothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
– Lord Caversham - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
– Lady Markby