Stevie (1978 film)

Stevie is a 1978 biographical drama film produced and directed by Robert Enders from a screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, based on Whitemore's 1977 play of the same name.[2] The film stars Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Mona Washbourne and Alec McCowen.

Stevie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Enders
Screenplay byHugh Whitemore
Based onStevie
by Hugh Whitemore
The works of Stevie Smith
Produced byRobert Enders
Starring
CinematographyFreddie Young
Edited byPeter Tanner
Music byPatrick Gowers
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Enterprise Pictures Limited (United Kingdom)
  • First Artists (United States)
Release dates
  • 30 August 1978 (1978-08-30) (MWFF)
  • 13 September 1978 (1978-09-13) (Los Angeles)
Running time
102 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • United States[1]
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film is about the life of British poet Stevie Smith and centres on Smith's relationship with her aunt, with whom she lived for many years in a house in Palmers Green, London.[3]

Cast

Release

Stevie had its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival on 30 August 1978. The film was released in Los Angeles on 13 September 1978 by First Artists. After The Samuel Goldwyn Company acquired the distribution rights from First Artists, the film was released in New York City on 19 June 1981.[1] It was distributed by Hoyts in Australia and by Universal Pictures internationally.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 10 reviews.[4] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars and wrote that "it contains one of Glenda Jackson's greatest performances. She knows this character well. [...] She does what great actors can do: She takes a character who might seem uninteresting, and makes us care deeply about the uneventful days of her life."[5] Linda Deutsch, writing for the Associated Press, stated: "Stevie is a rare, exquisite little movie which grows in stature as it lingers in memory", and continued, "Glenda Jackson, in another of those amazing portrayals which make her an actress beyond compare, turns Stevie's rather humdrum existence into a dazzling study of love, anguish and small savored moments of joy."[6]

Accolades
Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Mona Washbourne Won [7]
British Academy Film Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated [8]
Golden Globe Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Glenda Jackson Nominated [9]
Best Supporting Actress Mona Washbourne Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Won[lower-alpha 1] [10]
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films Won [11]
Best Actress Glenda Jackson Won
Best Supporting Actress Mona Washbourne Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated [12]
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actress Glenda Jackson Won [13]
Best Supporting Actress Mona Washbourne Won

Notes
  1. Tied with Maureen Stapleton for Interiors

References
  1. "Stevie (1978)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. Stevie (1978)
  3. "Movie Review: Stevie" New York Times, 19 June 1981. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  4. "Stevie". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  5. Ebert, Roger (2007). Roger Ebert's Four-Star Reviews 1967–2007. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 727. ISBN 978-0-7407-7179-8.
  6. Deutsch, Linda (2 September 1981). "'Stevie': An exquisite movie". The Desert Sun. No. 25. p. B5 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  7. "BSFC Winners: 1980s". Boston Society of Film Critics. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  8. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1979". BAFTA. 1979. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  9. "Stevie – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  10. "L.A. critics rate 'Coming Home' best". The Spokesman-Review. 23 December 1978. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via Google News Archive.
  11. "1981 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  12. "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  13. "1981 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". Mubi. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
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