Princess Caraboo (1994)

Director:

Michael Austin

Writers (WGA):

Michael Austin (written by) &
John Wells (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

She was everything they dreamed of... And nothing they expected.

Plot:

Bristol, England, early 19th century. A beautiful young stranger who speaks a weird language is tried for the crime of begging...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | 19th Century | Bristol | England | Language

Cast

Jim Broadbent	...	Mr. Worrall
Phoebe Cates	...	Princess Caraboo / Mary Baker
Wendy Hughes	...	Mrs. Worrall
Kevin Kline	...	Frixos
John Lithgow	...	Professor Wilkinson
Stephen Rea	...	Gutch
Peter Eyre	...	Lord Apthorpe
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Lady Apthorpe
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	Magistrate Haythorne
John Wells	...	Reverend Hunt
John Lynch	...	Amon McCarthy
John Sessions	...	Prince Regent
Arkie Whiteley	...	Betty
Kate Ashfield	...	Ella
Ewan Bailey	...	Ship's Captain
Annabel Brooks	...	Lady Neville
Anna Chancellor	...	Mrs. Peake
Rachel Fielding	...	Mrs. Benson
Anoushka Fooks	...	Charlotte
David Glover	...	Musician
Jerry Hall	...	Lady Motley
Jamie Harris	...	Tom
Peter Howell	...	Clerk of the Court
Barbara Keogh	...	Mrs. Wilberforce
Anthony Van Laast	...	Second dressmaker
Phillip Lester	...	Print Worker
Steven Mackintosh	...	Harold
Tim McMullan	...	Light Fingered Aristocrat
Murray Melvin	...	Lord Motley
Dougray Scott	...	Dragoon Captain
Andrew Seear	...	Mr. Peake
David Sibley	...	Harrison
Ed Stobart	...	Footman
Stromboli	...	Fire Eater
Pauline Thomson	...	First dressmaker
Jacqueline Tong	...	Mrs. Hunt
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Lord Neville
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Antonia Dauphin
Susie Bick	...	(uncredited)
Kimberly J. Brown	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Austin

Writing credits (WGA)
Michael Austin		(written by) &
John Wells		(written by)

Produced by
Marc Abraham	....	executive producer
Armyan Bernstein	....	executive producer
Simon Bosanquet	....	producer
Andrew S. Karsch	....	producer (as Andrew Karsch)
Tom Rosenberg	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Richard Hartley

Cinematography by
Freddie Francis

Film Editing by
George Akers

Casting by
Lucy Boulting

Production Design by
Michael Howells

Art Direction by
Sam Riley

Set Decoration by
Sasha Schwerid

Costume Design by
Tom Rand

Makeup Department
Nuala Conway	....	makeup artist
Peter King	....	supervising makeup artist
Christopher Redman	....	hair stylist: Ms. Cates
Christopher Redman	....	makeup artist: Ms. Cates
Barbara Southcott	....	hair stylist: Mr. Kline
Barbara Southcott	....	makeup artist: Mr. Kline

Production Management
Thomas A. Bliss	....	executive in charge of production
Alison Odell	....	post-production supervisor
Mary Richards	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jonathan Benson	....	first assistant director
Simon Bosanquet	....	second unit director
Antony Ford	....	co-second assistant director
Melvin Lind	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Lester Barwick	....	carpenter
Les Benson	....	property master
Suzy Freeman	....	art department trainee (as Suzanne Freeman)
Cecily Gatacre	....	scenic artist
Andrew Golding	....	construction manager
Paul Grayston	....	carpenter
Raymond Griffiths	....	assistant painter (as Ray Griffiths)
Ken Hawkey	....	stand-by painter
Samantha Heskia	....	assistant art director
John Hogan	....	dressing props
Derek Ixer	....	property storeman
Maxie McDonald	....	stand-by props
Joshua Meath-Baker	....	assistant art director
Dave Midson	....	chargehand dressing props
Brian Mitchell	....	stand-by stagehand
Con Murphy	....	stand-by rigger
John Palmer	....	dressing props
Stephen Scott	....	carpenter
Bill Stallion	....	storyboard artist
Brad Watson	....	art department trainee (as Bradley Watson)
Robert Wells	....	assistant carpenter
Tommy Westbrook	....	stand-by carpenter
Totty Whately	....	production buyer
Clive Wilson	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Peter Best	....	dialogue editor
Kevin Braithwaite	....	sound department trainee
Jeremy Child	....	assistant sound editor
Sarah Ellis	....	assistant sound editor
Peter Fuchs	....	assistant sound recording engineer
Peter Glossop	....	production sound mixer
Keith Grant	....	sound recording engineer
Leonard Green	....	assistant sound editor
Peter Holt	....	foley editor
Eddy Joseph	....	supervising sound editor
Dominic Lester	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Colin Miller	....	dialogue editor
Bob Mullen	....	assistant sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	dubbing mixer
Martin Trevis	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Ian Wingrove	....	special effects supervisor

Stunts
Romo Gorrara	....	stunt arranger
Chrissy Monk	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Atherfold	....	grip (as Kenny Atherfold)
Mark Baber	....	electrician
Dennis Branch	....	best boy
Eddie Collins	....	camera operator: second unit
Jim Coward	....	generator operator
Mike Evans	....	focus puller
Michael Flynn	....	electrician
Maurice Gillett	....	gaffer
Gordon Hayman	....	camera operator
Philip Hill	....	camera department trainee
Liam Longman	....	still photographer
Kelvin Pike	....	camera operator: second unit
Stuart Reid	....	electrician
Ashley Bond	....	daily clapper loader (uncredited)
Dean Morrish	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Amy Allen	....	casting assistant
Stephane Gripari	....	voice casting
Joan Washington	....	voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Iona Kenrick	....	wardrobe assistant
Sally Turner	....	assistant costume designer
Ros Ward	....	wardrobe mistress
Patrick Wheatley	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Jay Coquillon	....	second assistant editor
Shirley Lixenberg	....	editing department trainee
Dennis McTaggart	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
John Bell	....	orchestrator
William Boulton	....	orchestra leader
Richard Hartley	....	conductor
Julian Hope	....	music advisor
Jupiter Sen	....	music editor
Paul Talkington	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
Phil Allchin	....	unit driver
Les Allett	....	driver: facility vehicle
Joe Ballerino	....	driver: facility vehicle
Bob Bartlett	....	driver: facility vehicle
Mike Beaven	....	unit driver
Jed Bray	....	unit driver
Steve Franklin	....	driver: facility vehicle
Mike Hamilton	....	driver: facility vehicle
Enyonam Mority	....	unit driver
Neil Pearson	....	driver: facility vehicle
Terry Reece	....	unit driver
Gerry Turner	....	driver: facility vehicle
Terry Woods	....	driver: facility vehicle
Stanley Sirkin	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Libbie Barr	....	script supervisor
Clinton Cavers	....	location manager: Devon
Diane Christian	....	assistant accountant
Jennifer Collen-Smith	....	unit publicist
Dave Goodey	....	horse master
Sona Gourgouris	....	production executive
Benjamin Greenacre	....	floor runner
Samara Hampel	....	unit nurse
Samantha Harvey	....	dancer at ball
Frazer Hurrell	....	dancer at ball
Sue Hywel	....	dancer at ball
Allison Jenkins	....	dancer at ball
Neil Jewitt	....	dancer at ball
Steven McCrindle	....	dancer at ball
Christian McWilliams	....	location manager
Elliott Meddings	....	production runner
Rebekah Metcalfe	....	dancer at ball
Nick Musker	....	dancer at ball
Lyndy Noakes	....	assistant accountant
Alison Odell	....	assistant to producer
Chris O'Loughlin	....	dancer at ball
Lucie Pankhurst	....	dancer at ball
Colin Plenty	....	location assistant
Meryl Rowlands	....	unit nurse
Paul Shersby	....	location manager
Clare St. John	....	production coordinator
Paul Tomkinson	....	dancer at ball
Paul Tucker	....	production controller
Gabi Valenti	....	dancer at ball
Anthony Van Laast	....	choreographer: ball sequence
Charlotte Villiers	....	assistant to director
Chris Wheeldon	....	location manager: Wales
R.H. Davies	....	marine coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ardican Films
• Beacon Communications
• Longfellow Pictures
• TriStar Pictures

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1994) (USA) (theatrical)
• Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Laurenfilm (1995) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Rialto Film AG (1995) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Video

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  movie studio
• Berliner Bank  financial services
• Cohen Near North  insurance services
• Cost Prop  costume house
• D & D International  facility vehicles
• Dennis Davidson & Associates Public Releations (DDA)  publicity
• F.I.L.M.S.  financial services
• Film & Photo Design  work prints
• Fox Hill Stables  horses and carriages
• Gwen King and Company  wigs
• International Film Guarantors  completion guaranty provided by
• JAC Publicity  publicity services
• Jacques and Lewis  legal services, UK)
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Magic Camera Company, The  matte shots
• Panavision UK  grip equipment provided by
• Peter Watson Associates  titles
• Sampson & Allen  insurance services
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Set Meals  catering
• Sound One Corporation  adr recording
• Soundfirm  adr recording
• Square Sail Shipyard Ltd.  sailing ships
• Todd-AO Soundelux  adr recording
• Twickenham Film Studios  adr recording
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Princesse Caraboo (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
La princesa Caraboo (Spain) [es]
La principessa degli intrighi (Italy) [it]
Prinsessa Caraboo (Finland) [fi]
Prinzessin Caraboo (Germany) [de]

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Norway:7

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Ardican Films

Trivia:

The beige dress with paisley bodice Rachel Fielding (Mrs. Benson ) wears while being interviewed by Mr. Gutch is the same costume Sabina Franklyn (Jane Bennet) wears at Longbourn in "Pride and Prejudice" (1980), Julie Cox (Annabella Milbanke) wears to read Byron's poetry book in Byron (2003) (TV), and Freema Agyeman (Tattycoram) wears on the Marseilles wharf in "Little Dorrit" (2008). The same costume is also worn by an extra on the Marseilles wharf in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), worn by a guest at Fanny's wedding in Miss Austen Regrets (2008) (TV).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Two If by Sea (1996)

Delicate, funny, intriguing, beautiful -- this film is a treasure on many levels. See it!

"Princess Caraboo" is a rare breed of film these days -- aimed at adults, but highly respectful of the human soul and therefore safe for all ages. All viewers should find the historical angle fascinating, lovers of whimsical, offbeat humor will be delighted, "romantics" will be stirred by the powerful ending...and the ravishing color palette of the sets and costumes will enchant those who crave sheer visual beauty.

I personally thought the wonderful ending was handled very well -- it was particularly powerful for being beautifully understated, and did not "take away" from the effectiveness of the story. Because it had been foreshadowed (with great subtlety) throughout the movie, it did not arrive as a shock but rather as a fulfillment.

I must also put in a good word for the glorious music...another home run. See this film. As others have noted, it will stay with you long afterward.