When enigmatic school master James Wallraven (Michael Redgrave, Time Without Pity) rents a small room adjacent to Wanda's (Bette Davis, The Nanny), an ageing cellist, he soon realises that the privacy he seeks is clearly unattainable. From there begins a parade of revolving doors through which the occupants of this seedy West London boarding house – a sleazy young musician (Alexis Kanner, Goodbye Gemini), a snooping landlady (Kay Walsh, The Rainbow Jacket) – all seemingly stuck in purgatories of their own making, desperately attempt to find their place in a tainted society.
Featuring a pair of screen legends and based on the stage play The Cellist by Marion Hart, Connecting Rooms is presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, and is accompanied by a wealth of archival extras, including a rare recording of Bette Davis in conversation, and two short films by director Franklin Gollings.
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Supplements
- The John Player Lecture with Bette Davis (1971, 32 mins): archival audio recording of the iconic actor in conversation with Joan Bakewell at London’s National Film Theatre
- Spotlight at the Fair (1951, 19 mins): documentary short from the Spotlight series, directed by Franklin Gollings, which takes a look at travelling fairs across the UK
- The Way to Wimbledon (1952, 17 mins): documentary short directed by Gollings and narrated by John Mills, which focuses on the fifty weeks of the year when Wimbledon is preparing to host the next tennis championships
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- Bette Davis eulogy: transcript of a speech by Gollings, originally broadcast on Clyde Radio, Scotland, following the actor’s death in 1989
- Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Laura Mayne, extracts from the film’s press kit, archival interviews with Bette Davis and Frank Gollings, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on Spotlight at the Fair and The Way to Wimbledon, and film credits