Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

"If life is a performance, his was a masterpiece."

2023 1h 35m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 8

DocumentaryHistory

Synopsis

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The extraordinary life of playwright, singer, actor, composer, and director Noël Coward, who rose from poverty to stardom while keeping his sexuality a secret. Featuring Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Frank Sinatra, Michael Caine and Lucille Ball. Narrated by Alan Cumming. With Rupert Everett as the voice of Noël Coward. Directed by Academy Award Nominee Barnaby Thompson.

“If life is a performance, his was a masterpiece.”

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Cast

Noël Coward
Self (archive footage)
Rupert Everett
Noël Coward (voice)
Alan Cumming
Narrator (voice)
Laurence Olivier
Self (archive footage)
Maggie Smith
Self (archive footage)
Harold Pinter
Self (archive footage)
Michael Caine
Self (archive footage)
Frank Sinatra
Self (archive footage)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Barnaby Thompson
Writers: Barnaby Thompson
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Noël Coward and Rupert Everett and Alan Cumming carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If life is a performance, his was a masterpiece.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt19811076 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Barnaby Thompson directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Noël Coward and Rupert Everett and Alan Cumming carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "If life is a performance, his was a masterpiece.".
6IMDB entry: tt19811076 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story (2023)

Also by

Barnaby Thompson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-24
★ 7/10
This is quite a fascinating documentary. Not because Barnaby Thompson has a particularly innovative approach to the subject matter, but because he has managed to use an enormous amount of contemporaneous archive of this enigmatic man, and because he has engaged the charismatic dulcets of Rupert Everett to, rather authentically, read excerpts from his journals that were written, meticulously, throughout his adult life. Born in relative poverty, Coward lived with his parents whilst his mother slaved away running a boarding house. Like his friend in later life, Charlie Chaplin, you get the feeling that this hand-to-mouth upbringing instilled in this largely uneducated man a determination to succeed. From child acting to writing; the USA, Britain and Jamaica all provided creative conduits as he steadily rose to be the best paid writer in the world. Of course, his life wasn't without it's pitfalls and failures but there is a resilience about the man that this film reinforces time and again. His homosexuality is referenced in the narrative from Alan Cumming but unlike Sir John Gielgud, Coward's complete discretion when it came to that aspect of his life was such that there is little, if anything, to put meat on those particular bones. We just know he was gay, he just never let it define his public persona. The variety and quality of the archive is illustrative of the talents - and of the endearing pomposity - of this creative wordsmith and if you are at all interested in the development of music, theatre, cinema and comedy - aspects of the entertainment industry that this man influenced heavily - then you ought to enjoy it.

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