Mrs. Henderson Presents
Mrs. Laura Henderson (the undeniably affecting Dench), a wealthy widow, refuses to spend her last days playing bridge and cooking scones, instead she buys herself The Windmill Theater in London. She hires a successful and stubborn showman Vivian Van Dam (Hoskins) to make it work. While the Germans are bombing, the Windmill roars louder as Laura bypasses censorship laws and runs a nude revue. In order to titillate Londoners, she gets her dancers to just stand still – thus they’re not actually nude dancers, just nude, and legal. “Brought to its knees by war, what Mrs. Henderson Presents brings a nation to its feet in applause”.
- Director:
- Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things, High Fidelity, Mary Reilly, Dangerous Liaisons)
- Writer:
- Martin Sherman
- Cast:
- Judi DenchBob HoskinsWill YoungKelly ReillyThelma BarlowChristopher Guest
Reviews & comments
Review
A good flick. Really a ladies one, but I did enjoy it.
The story of the establishment (or re-establishment) of a theatre during war times and the trials and tribulations of getting it going and keeping it going. Due to Mrs Hendersons view of what sort of show soldiers and their girls would want to see Mrs. H found the athorities attempting to shut her...
Roger Ebert
pressMrs. Henderson Presents is not great cinema, and neither was the Windmill great theater, but they both put on a good show...
Premiere Magazine
pressIt's a slight story to be sure, but the pleasures of Mrs. Henderson Presents lie less with the narrative and more with the film's tone and the dynamic duo of Dench and Hoskins...
BBC
pressDENCH AND HOSKINS LEAP OFF THE SCREEN... Something wicked this way comes in Stephen Frears' musical-drama Mrs Henderson Presents. Amazingly it's Dame Judi Dench, who delivers a captivating performance as an upper class widow who buys a dilapidated Soho theatre and turns it into a nude revue, which combines a quirky showbiz tale with stiff upper lips in war-torn London...
Roger Ebert
pressMrs. Henderson Presents is not great cinema, and neither was the Windmill great theater, but they both put on a good show...
Premiere Magazine
pressIt's a slight story to be sure, but the pleasures of Mrs. Henderson Presents lie less with the narrative and more with the film's tone and the dynamic duo of Dench and Hoskins...
BBC
pressDENCH AND HOSKINS LEAP OFF THE SCREEN... Something wicked this way comes in Stephen Frears' musical-drama Mrs Henderson Presents. Amazingly it's Dame Judi Dench, who delivers a captivating performance as an upper class widow who buys a dilapidated Soho theatre and turns it into a nude revue, which combines a quirky showbiz tale with stiff upper lips in war-torn London...
Review
A good flick. Really a ladies one, but I did enjoy it.
The story of the establishment (or re-establishment) of a theatre during war times and the trials and tribulations of getting it going and keeping it going. Due to Mrs Hendersons view of what sort of show soldiers and their girls would want to see Mrs. H found the athorities attempting to shut...
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