Walter (1982) >>>
| As its major contribution to drama, Channel 4 has achieved what is probably the most substantial boost for the British film industry in years. Channel 4 has succeeded in funding - wholly or with partners - not one, but 20 full-length feature films in its first year. Many of these films have had preview runs in cinemas, or garnered critical acclaim and international film festival awards, but the nationwide TV audience will be able to enjoy them within the year. The movies deploy a wide range of talent - Jeremy Irons, Ian McKellen, Glenda Jackson and Janet Suzman, and directors like Jack Gold and Michael Apted. And they range in style and subject from the murder thriller Praying Mantis to the extraordinary recreation of Gaelic legend in Hero; from the powerful study of violence and vengeance in the Irish Angel to the gentle recreation of 1940s schooldays in First Love. There will be two seasons in the Channel's first year, one running up to Christmas, and the second season starting in the New Year. The first season starts on the channel's opening night with... WALTER. Some call him 'backward', some say he's 'handicapped' and others just think of him as a joke. Walter, adapted by David Cook from his award-winning book, is the moving story of a mentally-handicapped man at the mercy of society's blinkered attitudes. Sensitively portrayed by IAN McKELLEN, Walter emerges as a likeable character, who manages through his own efforts and the help of his mother (BARBARA JEFFORD) to read, write and even hold down a mundane job. But when his parents die, the nightmare begins and leads him through the forbidding doors of a long-stay mental hospital. This Central production is directed by Stephen Frears, whose many credits include the movie Gumshoe, the Alan Bennett series for LWT, and most recently Saigon for Thames. It is shot by Chris Menges and produced by Nigel Evans who also made the controversial documentary Silent Minority about the treatment of young mentally-handicapped patients. A sequel, based on David Cook's subsequent novel Winter Doves, and taking up Walter after 19 years in the hospital, will be shown in Film on Four's second season next spring. Prod Co: Central Independent TV (exec prod: Richard Creasey) Press Contact: Karen Mellor C4 Commissioning Editor: David Rose | |
| Broadcast | 9:00pm on Tuesday, 2nd November 1982 |
| Strand | Film on Four |
| Alternate Title | - |
| Duration | 70 minutes |
| Genre | Drama |
| IMDb ID | tt0383046 |
| Director | Stephen Frears |
| Writer | David Cook |
| Cast | Ian McKellen, Barbara Jefford, Arthur Whybrow, Tony Melody, David Ryall, Linda Polan, Keith Allen, Lesley Clare O'Neill, Paula Tilbrook, Marjorie Yates, Jim Broadbent, Kenny Ireland, Don McKillop, Nabil Shaban, Bob Flag, , John Surman, Trevor Laird, Robin Hooper, Stephen Petcher, Garry Cooper, Frankie Connolly, John Czeslaw, Gareth Owen, Jimmy Fagg, José Nava, Ian Hinchcliffe, Lol Coxhill, Neil Wintle |
| Language | English |
| Repeat | No |
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