What The Critics Say

"This is Dame Judi's show. However extraordinary an actor she may be, she cannot conceal the obvious fact that she's having the time of her life. Isn't that delicious?" Jorge Morales VILLAGE VOICE "Curious as to why Judi Dench has been nominated for 4 Oscars, 5 Golden Globes, 8 SAG Awards, and 20 BAFTA awards? See this film and you'll understand why." John Venable SUPERCALA.COM "Dame Judi Dench is utterly delightful in this witty and whimsical crowd pleaser." Edward Douglas COMINGSOON.NET "A smashing performance by Judi Dench as an upper-class London widow who finds a new lease on life that arouses both her spirit and her spunk." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH "It's extremely well written for her [Dench]. And she just chews up every word and spits it out and we love it. She's so good. I agree with you, you know, the surrounding bits. I'm not sure that the drama is as well developed as it could have been. But she's such a gorgeous character. It's nice seeing Bob Hoskins in a role like this." Margaret Pomeranz ABC ATTHEMOVIES "...the pairing of Dench and Hoskins is usually watchable. But then Dame Judi could act opposite a lamppost and still bring it all to life." Julian Wood FILMINK "Inspired by a true story, "Mrs Henderson Presents", directed by Stephen Frears, is a star vehicle for Dench and Hoskins (who is also one of the producers); and their scenes together sparkle with the life and energy two seasoned performers can bring to the screen." Dani Haski OURBRISBANE "Say what you will about feel-good films anchored by feisty old broads, the English have a knack with them and Stephen Frears' fact-based tale of a formidable, aristocratic widow who makes it her mission to put naked girls on the London stage is delightful." Ed Gonzalez WORLD MOVIES DB

The Inside Story "Mrs Henderson Presents" is not the first film to be made featuring the famous "Windmill" Theatre. In 1945, Hollywood produced the film "Tonight and Every Night" which starred the beautiful Rita Hayworth as a Windmill girl. Until now, previous efforts had concentrated on the theatre and its manager Vivian Van Damm. "Mrs Henderson Presents" tells a different tale. The tale of Laura Henderson, a wealthy seventy year old widow, who, finding life a trifle boring after the death of her husband Robert, comes across a run-down Soho theatre and decides to restore it. It's a colorful tale, told I am convinced with a touch of licence. That aside, what a character Laura Henderson must have been. A little research reveals much of what is portrayed about her on the screen is based on history. She certainly was a colorful, larger than life character. Soho in Laura Henderson's time was much different to the Soho of the seventies that I, along with mates from Adelaide visited whilst in the UK. Bob Hoskins recalls what it was like when WW2 finished; "My mum and dad took me to the Windmill when I was five, after the war. Families would go with their kids, and take picnics and just watch these shows. The tableaux were most beautiful things I'd ever seen in my life. Then you had comics and acts in between them. It was innocent. Soho was a sort of village and the Windmill was right in the middle of it." Fast forward to nine years ago. Hoskins comes to producer Norma Heyman with, "the idea of this movie, along with mountains of research his friends the Roses had compiled over 13 years. They'd wanted it to make a TV series out of it but it was turned down by some of the great and the good." The year was 1996 and Hoskins and Heywood had just joined forces to create the production company Heyman Hoskins. Eventually the project got under-way and right from the start, Bob and Norma agreed that only one woman could play the lead and it would have to be Dame Judith Dench. "It was what Judi could give us: something magical. The real Judi behind the part she normally plays. The mischievous, naughty, very sexy Judi, the practical joker, the charmer," said Heyman. "Mrs Henderson is three things," says Hoskins. "she's charming, cheeky and an absolute cow. Only Judi could really get away with that." With former head of Channel 4 Film on Four David Aukin on board as Executive Producer, the next step was to secure the services of Stephen Frears as the films Director. "We chose Stephen because of how he works with the material. He never likes to appear to be in control but he's always in control," says Heyman. "And he likes actors; he grew up with them. He has great compassion and the ability to make everyone feel comfortable, and do what he wants them to." How comfortable? "Judi rowed up and down the river 30 times on our first day shooting in England and didn't complain once, and she told me she'd do it again. He is just an extraordinary director," Heyman said. Frears says he was thrilled to given the chance to work with Dench again. He'd directed her in two '80's Television productions, "Going Gently" and "Saigon Year of the Cat". "Judi was so right because she's wonderful being mischievous," he says. "She is herself the most mischievous woman in the world. That head-girl stuff is nonsense. Judi was made for the role. She's incredibly well equipped." Dame Judith says working with Frears clinched it for her. "I love working with him; he never gives up until he's satisfied. He nags you, in a nice way, and he pretends he doesn't but he does all the time. He also pretends he doesn't know quite what's happening or what he's doing, but he's not mystified at all. He's got a beguiling way of working. I just trust him." Dame Judith also believes that there is a place for a Mrs Henderson in the twenty first century. "She was very stubborn, and got in the way a lot. She got dressed up as a man once and got in just to make sure everybody was being treated properly. Not just the girls but the audience too. That was fantastic. So I love all that. She needs to be around today." There are so many delighful and funny parts in the film but here's one from the production. Hoskins says he was happy to produce the film but was convinced to take the role of Vivian Van Damm after Dame Judith came on-board. Given the part, and a wig, he didn't have a clue how to portray the man. Frears solved that by telling Hoskins, "You've got no problems; all you've got to do is play me". Hoskins did just that by playing "this grumpy old sod who was a pain in the bum. It was the best script note I ever had." The Windmill Theatre The site in Great Windmill Street in London's Soho where Laura Henderson was to create her world-famous theatre has had a long and varied past. The street took its name from a real windmill that stood there from the reign of Charles II until the late 18th century. In 1910 a cinema, the Palais de Luxe, was opened on the site. It stood on the corner of a block of buildings that included the Apollo and Lyric theatres, where Archer Street joins Great Windmill Street, just off Shaftsbury Avenue. The cinema was one of the first places where early films were shown, but as larger cinemas were opened in the West End, business slowed and it was forced to close. In 1931, Laura Henderson bought the disused building and hired the architect, Howard Jones, to remodel the interior as a tiny, one-tier theatre. Named The Windmill, it opened on June 22, 1931, with a new play by Michael Barrington called Inquest. But it was only a minor success as a theatre and returned to screening films, such as The Blue Angel starring Marlene Dietrich. Soon after Mrs Henderson's new manager, Vivian Van Damm, hit upon the idea of producing a non-stop musical revue at The Windmill. "Revuedeville" opened on February 3, 1932, featuring 18 unknown acts, but in the first few years the theatre lost £20,000, a fortune at that time. Eventually it became a commercial success, so much so that nearby Piccadilly and Pavilion theatres copied it and ran non-stop shows too, which took its toll on the Windmill's ticket sales. When Mrs Henderson and Mr Van Damm decided to copy the hugely successful Moulin Rouge in Paris and put naked girls on stage, business picked up. Skirting London's draconian censors by having the girls pose completely motionless on stage, like artwork, Van Damm concocted a series sumptuous nude tableaux vivants based around such themes as Mermaids, Red Indians, Annie Oakley and Britannia. The Windmill was the only theatre in London which stayed open throughout the War [except for 12 compulsory days from 4-16 September 1939], hence earning its legendary slogan, "We Never Closed." During some of the worst air attacks of the Blitz, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, the showgirls and some of its acts moved into the safety of the theatres two underground floors.
Though Laura Henderson's relationship with Van Damm was a stormy one [he had her banned several times from the theatre, only to find her sneaking in disguised as a Chinese mandarin and a polar bear] they bore much affection for each other. When she died in 1944, at age 82, she left the Windmill to Van Damm, who continued their work. After Laura Henderson's time, a host of great British comedians began their careers at the Windmill. Among them were Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine, Tony Hancock, Bruce Forsyth and Kenneth More, who did his first Windmill gig in the early 30's and became the UK's top box-office star of the 1950s. Van Damm continued with the theatre until his own death in December 1960, when he left the venue to his daughter, Sheila. Unable to compete with the local Soho strip joints and massage parlours, The Windmill closed on 31 October 1964. In the mid 1960s, The Windmill was reconstructed as a cinema and casino, and in 1973 a campaign was started to revive "The Old Windmill Days" and reclaim the theatre. But in February 1974, the venue was bought by the nightclub entrepreneur Paul Raymond. He made it a home for nude shows "a la Revuedeville but without the comic element," although for a period in the 80's he re-introduced burlesque when he renamed the Windmill 'La Vie en Rose'. Today, a lap-dancing club has taken over the building that once was the Windmill Theatre. Cast & Crew Bytes "MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS" stars .......
Academy ® Award winner; 5 time BAFTA Award winner; 7 time Olivier Award winner; London Critics' Circle Theatre Award; Golden Globe & Tony Award winner Dame Judith Dench CH, DBE ["Shakespeare in Love", "Tea With Mussolini", "Chocolat", "Iris", "The Shipping News" "Ladies In Lavender" and "Pride & Prejudice"]; Will Young ["Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"]; Kelly Reilly ["v", "Last Orders", "Russian Dolls" and "Pride & Prejudice"]; Thelma Barlow ["King's Ransom"]; Emmy, Grammy & AFI Award winner Christopher Guest ["The Princess Bride", "A Few Good Men", "Best In Show" and "A Mighty Wind"]; Doraly Rosen ["Love Actually"]; Camille O'Sullivan ["On the Edge"]; Rosalind Halstead ["Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"]; Natalia Tena ["About A Boy"]; Sarah Solemani ["Mrs Henderson Presents"]; Anna Brewster ["Anita and Me"]; Karen Aspinall [TV'S "Casanova"] and Golden Globe winner; New York Critics Award; Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award; Evening Standard Best Actor Award winner Bob Hoskins ["Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Enemy at the Gates", "Maid in Manhattan", "Vanity Fair" and "Unleashed"] as Vivian Van Damm.
"MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS" was .......
directed by Stephen Frears ["My Beautiful Laundrette", "The Grifters", "High Fidelity" and "Dirty Pretty Things"]; screenplay by ["Alive and Kicking", "Bent" and "Callas Forever"]; costume design by BAFTA & ACADEMY Award winner Sandy Powell ["Velvet Goldmine", "Shakespeare in Love" and "The Aviator"]; production design by Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski ["My Beautiful Launderette", "Madeline", "Snatch", "Birthday Girl" and "The Truth About Charlie"]; edited by Lucia Zucchetti ["Kill The Day", "The Low Down", "Long Time Dead" and "Intermission"]; cinematography by BAFTA award Andrew Dunn ["Practical Magic", "Gosford Park", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Stage Beauty" and "v"]; original music by George Fenton [who appeared in and co-wrote the music for "Private Road" and went on to write soundtracks for films such as "Sweet Home Alabama", "Ae Fond Kiss", "Stage Beauty", "Hitched" and "Bewitched"] produced by Norma Heyman ["The Honary Consul", "Dangerous Liaisons", "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Gangster No. 1"]. What It's All About Widowed at seventy, Mrs henderson is finding life a touch boring, until she discovers a theatre which is for sale. It's just the tonic she needs. Something to lift her spirit and sink her teeth into. Enthusiastically she sets about restoring the aging Windmill Theatre. But Mrs Henderson knows nothing about running a theatre, that requires a special expertise. The kind that only comes with experience. Leslie Pearkes, her lawyer friend believes that Vivian Van Damm is what Mrs Henderson needs, but their first meeting doesn't go well. He thinks she is rude, provocative and eccentric. She thinks he is a touch sensitive, but just the man for the job. What both Mrs Laura Henderson and Vivian Van Damm don't know is that their partnership will forge a true friendship and create history. The Windmill Theatre re-opens, providing non-stop entertainment known as "Revuedeville". It proves to be too successful and soon every other theatre in London follows suit. Then Laura comes up with a brilliant concept. The Windmill Theatre will feature a nude review. Not a sleezy production but one in which the naked girls appear as works of art. Her good friend, Lord Cormer who happens to be the governments Lord Chamberlain and the chief censor, agrees to licence the theatre on one condition. The girls must remain perfectly still throughout every performance. It proves to be another success for both Laura and Van Damm. Perhaps a little too popular? The Verdict "That dame, Dame Judi Dench has never been better than she is in "Mrs Henderson Presents". It's typicially British, awfully good, a little bit naughty, and Dench, with Hoskins in tow, milks it for all its worth. Dench's Mrs Henderson is so deliciously wicked one almost wishes one could have met the real thing. Highly recommended to those who want a good laugh and the pleasure of seeing two stars at their absolute best." The Cast

Judi Dench Bob Hoskins Will Young Kelly Reilly Thelma Barlow Christopher Guest Karen Aspinall Elise Audeyev Samuel Barnett Anna Brewster Rosalind Halstead Victoria Hay Shona McWilliams Camille O'Sullivan Doraly Rosen Sarah Solemani Natalia Tena

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Laura Henderson Vivian Van Damm Bertie Maureen Lady Conway Lord Cromer Dancer Millerette Paul Doris Frances Millerette Gracie Kramer Jane Maggie Vera Peggy

The Crew Directed by Stephen Frears Written by David Rose/Kathy Rose/Martin Sherman Produced by Norma Heyman Original Music by George Fenton Cinematography by Andrew Dunn Film Editing by Lucia Zucchetti Casting by Leo Davis Production Design by Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski Set Decoration by Claudia Parker & Robert Wischhusen-Hayes Costume Design by Sandy Powell Run Time 103 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - The Weinstein Co - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved