White Mischief

"In a world of wife swapping, drugs and chocolate covered lobsters, murder seemed so uncivilised."

1987 1h 47m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 63

DramaRomanceThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A millionaire past his prime and his young wife arrive in Kenya circa 1940 to find that the other affluent British expatriates are living large as the homefront gears up for war. They are busy swapping partners, doing drugs, and attending lavish parties and horse races. She begins a torrid affair with one of the bon vivants, and her husband finds out and confronts them. The husband and wife decide to break up peacefully, but the bon vivant is murdered and all the evidence points to the husband.

“In a world of wife swapping, drugs and chocolate covered lobsters, murder seemed so uncivilised.”

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Cast

Greta Scacchi
Diana, Lady Broughton
Charles Dance
Josslyn Hay
Joss Ackland
'Jock' Delves Broughton
Sarah Miles
Alice de Janzé
John Hurt
Gilbert Colville
Trevor Howard
Jack Soames
Geraldine Chaplin
Nina Soames
Murray Head
Lizzie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Radford
Writers: Jonathan Gems, Michael Radford
Languages: English, Swahili
Countries: United Kingdom

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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swahili.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Radford, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Priestley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance and Joss Ackland carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In a world of wife swapping, drugs and chocolate covered lobsters, murder seemed so uncivilised.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0094317 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Radford directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. George Fenton scores. Tom Priestley cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Swahili.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

139 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swahili.
3Directed by Michael Radford, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tom Priestley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance and Joss Ackland carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In a world of wife swapping, drugs and chocolate covered lobsters, murder seemed so uncivilised.".
8IMDB entry: tt0094317 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 63 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "based on novel or book", "upper class", "africa", "nairobi".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: George Fenton
Editing: Tom Priestley
Production design: Roger Hall
Costume design: Marit Allen
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,300,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: White Mischief (1987)

Also by

Michael Radford

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-02
★ 6/10
"Alice" (Sarah Miles) moves to colonial Kenya with her elderly husband "Jock" (Joss Ackland) and soon she is enjoying the social whirl that is their unfettered lifestyle. She falls in easily with the great and the good - even befriending the all-but-mute "Colvile" (John Hurt) but it's not that dalliance that worries her husband, though. It's one with the debonaire Earl of Erroll (Charles Dance) and soon a rather embarrassing/cuckolding menage à trois gradually emerges. When the latter man is found brutally slaughtered, a court case ensues but will it convict the culprit? It's speculatively based on real events and the photography is stunning, as is the general aesthetic of the drama. The film itself, though, is all rather underwhelming. A solid cast of British stage and screen actors cannot turn the really pedestrian screenplay into anything that remotely depicts the complex, hedonistic and entitled lives these people lived amidst the abject poverty of the local population. I reckon Joss Ackland is the only one who emerges with any credit here - and that's largely because he has probably the better part, especially as the plot thickens - but as for the rest of this, it's all just a disappointing critique on spoiled people, drug abuse and over-indulgence that I found a bit too sterile.
kevin20192024-06-13
★ 4/10
"White Mischief" provides an account of what the vapid British elite did when the Luftwaffe began the blitz on London - they simply packed up their stiff upper lips and ran away to Kenya to continue indulging in the obscene and debauched life of privilege which they had become accustomed to. A life which was no doubt an accident of birth instead of an admirable and triumphant rise out of the oppressive and unforgiving depths of poverty through sheer determination and an ambition to succeed. Unfortunately such people hold no fascination or have any true relevance to the way hard working ordinary people live their lives, so it really comes as something of a surprise this film should hold any interest at all outside the circles of the well-to-do and those with aspirations to be just like them. However, this keen sense of fascination is indeed fleeting and ultimately there is very little to relieve the unremitting and tiresome monotony of it all.