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The Lady's Not For Burning (1974)
STARS: Richard Chamberlain.
DIRECTOR: Joseph Hardy. DURATION: N/A.
SYNOPSIS: Medieval-set black comedy about a depressed man who falls for a woman suspected of being a witch.
RC PLAYS: Thomas Mendip.
Director Joseph Hardy probably describes the plot best: "It's about a man who tries to get himself hanged because he's tired of life. He's a poet. And a woman is being chased by the townspeople because they think she's a witch - they want to kill her. He and the witchwoman fall in love and go off together at the end."
Back at school, Chamberlain had made one of his first ventures onto the stage in a production of Christopher Fry's play, so it was somewhat ironic that years later he should return to play the lead in what became one of the biggest successes of his career.
The film came about after the actor had played the part of Mendip the suicidal poet to great acclaim at the Chichester Festival, where he'd been asked to perform thanks to his glowing reputation as a stage performer at the time. The reviews were so impressive that it was only a matter of time before a TV company snapped up the rights to make a filmed version - which PBS of America promptly did.
For once during a production, it was the director who was starstruck, rather than Richard - who seemingly always felt rather overawed by big-name cast mates. But Hardy soon realised he had nothing to worry about. "Chamberlain could have been nervous about my directing him for television," says the man behind the camera, "but he put himself in my hands and never questioned the concept or how it was shot."
Both the stage and TV versions of The Lady's Not For Burning proved to be personal triumphs for their star, whose voice and musical skill were well-suited to the dialogue's style. The entire production managed to marry the reasons for Chamberlain's theatrical and small screen success - the success which would always elude him in the cinema.
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