You don’t have to look too far across the county for a sprinkling of movie stardust.
Dorset has more than made its mark on the cinema screen – have you heard of of any of the following which were part-filmed in Dorset?
The Browning Version (1951)
The Browning Version (Image: Supplied) Remade in 1994 with Albert Finney using some of the same locations, the original film version of Terence Rattigan’s stage play starred Michael Redgrave and was shot at Sherborne School.
The Damned (1961)
Oliver Reed and Shirley Anne Field in The Damned Made for Hammer by American director Joseph Losey, Shirley Anne Field and Oliver Reed star in a tale about radioactive children being sealed underground in caves near Weymouth.
Emma (1996)
Gwyneth Paltrow and Toni Collette in Emma (Image: Supplied) Gwyneth Paltrow starred in this faithful film of Jane Austen’s novel, which co-stars the village of Evershot, Mapperton House near Bridport and Stafford House, near West Stafford.
Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)
Terence Stamp and Julie Christie in Far From the Madding Crowd (Image: Supplied)
John Schlesinger’s classic film reading of Thomas Hardy’s tragic novel starred Julie Christie, Terence Stamp and Alan Bates and fittingly features plenty of Dorset.
Gabriel Oak’s caravan stood on cliffs at Scratchy Bottom, near Worbarrow Bay, and Schlesinger treated the world to a view of Durdle Door.
Bathsheba’s farm was a disused building in the shadow of Hardy’s Monument, before she inherits Weatherbury- actually Bloxworth House near Bere Regis.
Shaftesbury’s Gold Hill is featured, as is Maiden Castle, Sydling St Nicholas graveyard, Friar Waddon House near Weymouth and Thornhill House at Sturminster Newton.
The all-night party is held at the Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury, and the cockfight was shot at Horton Tower, near Bournemouth.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)
The French Lieutenant’s Woman One of the most iconic shots of 1980s cinema was Meryl Streep standing on the Cobb Quay at Lyme Regis in Karel Reisz’s blockbuster film of John Fowles’ novel.
The movie also features the town’s disused railway station, the undercliff, the Royal Lion Hotel and Mr Chapman’s Bookshop.
Sleuth (1972)
Sleuth (Image: Supplied) Legendary Hollywood director Joseph L Mankiewicz made this film version of Anthony Shaffer’s stage thriller at Athelhampton House.
Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine star.
Tom Jones (1963)
Tom Jones (Image: Supplied)
Another British classic of the 1960s found Albert Finney and Susannah York under the direction of Tony Richardson as he had a ball with Fielding’s picaresque tale at Cranborne Manor, among other locations, including Minterne House, near Cerne Abbas.
Recommended reading:
Wilde (1998)
Wilde (Image: Supplied)
Stephen Fry was surely the only candidate to play Oscar Wilde in this lively biopic partially filmed in Swanage and on the beach at Durdle Door.
As with any such tome there are bound to be omissions.
Also… Anthony Mann’s 1965 Second World War story, The Heroes of Telemark, was partly filmed in Poole and starred Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris.
Disney’s 1971 live action/animated feature Bedknobs and Broomsticks features an opening shot of Corfe Castle, while Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut, 2004’s Beyond the Sea, a biopic of singer Bobby Darin, features scenes shot in Lulworth.
With thanks to The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations by Tony Reeves.