Miss Amelia
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The Ballad of the Sad Café is a 1991 Southern Gothic drama film directed by Simon Callow in his directorial debut, [4] and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, and Rod Steiger. Its plot follows Amelia, a moonshiner in rural 1930s Georgia whose lonely life is interrupted by the arrival of two men: First, her long-lost cousin, and later ...
Jun 7, 1991 · June 7, 1991. 3 min read. `The Ballad of the Sad Cafe” comes wrapped in cultural glory; it is based on a novel by Carson McCullers and a play by Edward Albee, and yet it persists in sounding like a sketch for “Saturday Night Live.”
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: Directed by Simon Callow. With Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Cork Hubbert, Rod Steiger. A tangled triangle. In the rural South of the early 20th century, Miss Amelia is the town eccentric, selling corn liquor and dispensing medicine.
- (876)
- Comedy, Drama, Mystery
- Simon Callow
- 1991-06
- Plot
- Production
- Release
- Notes and References
In 1930s Georgia, Miss Amelia is a lonely, eccentric moonshiner who dominates her small farming community, selling moonshine to locals and acting as the town's makeshift doctor. While she is liked by some, others find her brusque nature unbecoming. Late one night, a hunchbacked dwarf named Lymon arrives at Amelia's mercantile, claiming to be her lo...
Development
Actress Vanessa Redgrave championed screenwriter Michael Hirst's adaptation of the Edward Albee play (which itself was based on the novella by Carson McCullers), and her involvement in the project was integral to it receiving funding.Director Simon Callow found Albee's original play "too talkative" for the medium of film, and as a result, Hirst's screen adaptation features less dialogue.
Casting
Redgrave was cast in the role of Amelia from the production's outset.In preparing for the part, Redgrave made certain alterations to the character's appearance and manner: Willem Dafoe was considered for the part of Marvin, but demanded a salary too high for the film's budget.Keith Carradine was cast in the role instead.
Filming
Principal photography took place in the summer of 1990 in Spicewood, Texas, near Austin, as well as in Seguin, on a budget of $3 million. In order to perfect a Southern American accent from her native English accent, Redgrave studied with George Burns, an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She added, "Not only that, [George] knew how to wiggle and flap his ears, and he made an electrical device that, placed behind Cork Hubbert's ears, produced a wiggle for the camera that...
The film had its premiere at the New Directors/New Films Festivalin New York City on March 28, 1991, before being released in the United States on May 8 of that year.
Web site: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California. American Film Institute. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190424110039/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5...Web site: Berlinale: 1991 Programme . 21 March 2011 . berlinale.de.Web site: Turner Classic Movies. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. LoBianco. Lorraine. live. https://archive.today/20200527103026/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/430514%7C355230/The-Ballad-of-the-S...Mar 28, 1991 · The central figure in "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," Simon Callow's screen adaptation of the celebrated Carson McCullers novella, is Miss Amelia (Vanessa Redgrave), a woman of most...
- Simon Callow
Overall, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe is a haunting and beautiful exploration of human emotions and inhuman behaviors. I would highly recommend this film to everyone interested in an eerie combination of the real and surreal.
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Dec 31, 1990 · The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe Review. A dwarf melts the hear of a small back-water's local dramatic ice queen (Redgrave), and for a time a community is brought together in her newly opened café,...
