In this adaptation of the Henry James story, an aspiring writer’s admiration for a celebrated author has devastating consequences for the family.
The American writer James Sinclair (Michael J. Shannon) travels to England to meet his literary idol, the aesthete novelist Mark Ambient (Tom Baker). Sinclair is welcomed into the Ambient household, but he soon discovers a deep fissure in the family. Mark’s puritanical wife Beatrice (Georgina Hale) despises her husband’s work, believing its perceived immorality poses a grave threat to their frail young son, Dolcino (Stefan Gates). Sinclair’s fawning admiration for Ambient only hardens Beatrice’s resolve to protect her child from his father’s influence, a conviction that leads to a tragic conclusion.
This single drama is a curious artefact of international co-production. Although presented with an entirely English cast and crew, the film was originally made in 1974 for a French television series dedicated to the works of Henry James. Purchased by the BBC, its 1976 broadcast gave audiences the chance to see the reigning Doctor Who, Tom Baker, in a distinctly different role at the height of his fame. The production is also notable as an early television credit for director Tony Scott, whose sharp, atmospheric visuals offer a preview of the style he would later bring to his extensive career in Hollywood cinema.
Broadcast: BBC 2, 1 Episode, 13 November 1976
Adapted by: Robin Chapman
From the story by: Henry James
Director: Tony Scott
Producer: Stephen Bayly
Main Cast: Tom Baker (Mark Ambient), Georgina Hale (Beatrice Ambient), Michael J. Shannon (James Sinclair), Catherine Willmer (Gwendolen Ambient), Stefan Gates (Dolcino), Preston Lockwood (Doctor), Rosamund Greenwood (Doctor), John Moore (Jesse), Rynagh O’Grady (Ruth), Gary Rich (Boy)
