80'S FOCUS ... NUTCRACKER .. 1982 ..

The Rank Organisation
Presents
NUTCRACKER
Starring
JOAN COLLINS as Madame Carrrere
CAROL WHITE as Margaux Lasselle
PAUL NICHOLAS as Mike Mc Cann
FINOLA HUGHES as Nadia Gargarin
WILLIAM FRANKLYN as Sir Arthur Cartwright
LESLIE ASH as Sharon
MURRAY MELVIN as Leopold
TREVOR BAXTER as Charlie Parker
ROSEMARIE FORD as Dancer
ED BISHOP as Sam Dozier

JOAN HEADS THE CAST OF NUTCRACKER..

Director of Photography - Peter Jessop
   Music by Simon Park
         Screenplay by Raymond Christodoulou
          Based on a screenplay by Max and Yvonne Roman
              Edited by Max Benedict
                Produced by Panos Nicolau
                    Directed by Anwar Kawadri
                                                                                  ~~~~~~~~~



Madame Carrere runs a renowned international ballet company in London.. When a young Russian ballerina decides she wants to defect, she chooses The Carrere School of ballet to do so! The scene is set for international intrigue! However Nadia has plans of her own, as she becomes unimpressed with Laura Carrere's management skills and devises a cunning plan! Can Madame Carrere keep on her toes long enough to save her empire or will she have to watch it crumble as if in a Nutcracker!
 (c) 1982 .. RANK .. 100 MINS ..CERT X ..

Even at the time of it's release this British production seemed dated and what possessed producers to make it isa mystery. Joan only accepcted the role as work was thin on the ground and she needed to work. She had started a run in the play 'Murder in Mind' and planned to film 'Nutcracker' after the run ended. However she got the call asking her to take a role in a series called 'Dynasty' and little did she know the new heights her career would take in the role. Joan fufilled her obligations in filming 'Nutcracker', however she was unhappy with many aspects of the production. Rank decided to market the film as a return to Joan's roles in her 70's hit films 'The Stud' and 'The Bitch' and marketed the film as such..
Posters read the following tagline..
" In The Stud she sizzled .. In The Bitch she blazed.. Now in Nutcracker.. Joan Collins Breaks All The Rules!"
Apart from that line, Joan was not happy with promotional material, paticularly the poster which featured an image of Joan in a leotard wearing a pair of stilettos rather than ballet shoes.. After some protests, the image was changed reflecting the appropriate footwear!

Although filmed before Joan got into her stride as Alexis Colby, the character of Laura Carrere could easily have fitted into the series as Joan's costumes and image is almost a blueprint for latter day Alexis. Joan looks as elegant as ever in the film, which is just as well as the storyline is not at exciting, with the added sex scenes included, echoeing similar scenes in 'The Stud'. British star Finola Hughes appears as the Russisan ballerina defecting to Britain, this was one of her first major roles, before making it big in America as star of the long running daytime drama 'General Hospital' and later 'Blossom'.. Finola later worked again with Joan in the shortlived Aaron Spelling night time drama 'Pacific Palisades'..

The film was also the last screen appearance of 60's screen star Carol White, who died ten years after this film, aged fifty of liver disease. Many other popular British faces appear including a young Leslie Ash, long before her sitcom days and her problems with collagen.. West End and TV star Paul Nicholas plays the nosey reporter who is determined to find the elusive Nadia..The film did very little at the box office, finding a home on video cassette, it has yet to appear on dvd..

As expected reviews of the film were not too kind..
FILM REVIEW..
' A mild little comedy drama, glossed over with a coating of soft porn! Finola Hughes is actually rather personable as the young ballet dancer, even holding her own with an imperious Miss Collins, lording it over all,as the autocratic, not to say highly sexed ballet school owner..A character directly in line from her other ladies in 'The Stud' and 'The Bitch'. One just wishes Joan could find something more than flimsy, second feature material, into which to sink those pearly whites!"

Even with the films shortcomings, fans of Joan and Finola will certainly enjoy the proceedings.. A video release from Rank was available in the UK in the early 80's, but it has yet to get a re-release on dvd.. The film was retitled 'Nutcracker Suite' in the USA and an 80's video release was also widely available..You never know it may get an airing on dvd at some stage....

(c) 2011 Mark McMorrow..