Acting
Rosalind Russell's brittle perfection masking total desperation
Direction
Mann cranks tension through polite conversation and meaningful glances
Writing
Peter Shaffer's stage adaptation—every line weaponized
Director
Daniel Mann
Rosalind Russell
Louise Harington
Jack Hawkins
Stanley Harrington
Maximilian Schell
Walter
Richard Beymer
Philip Harrington
Annette Gorman
Pamela Harrington
Lana Wood
Mary
Bill Quinn
Salesman
William Kerwin
Mark (uncredited)
Todd Armstrong
Tony Blake (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Woman on Beach (uncredited)
Mary Benoit
Woman (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Peter Shaffer's first screenplay adaptation of his own stage play, written before he became famous for 'Amadeus.' Maximilian Schell's performance helped launch his international career.
The film captures 1960s anxieties about class mobility and the crumbling British stiff-upper-lip, with the tutor representing disruptive European intellectualism invading sheltered privilege.
US
