| A Private Function | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Malcolm Mowbray |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| Edited by | Barrie Vince |
| Music by | John Du Prez |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £1.2 million |
| Box office | $2,527,088[1] |
A Private Function is a 1984 Britishcomedy film starringMichael Palin andMaggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed inIlkley andBen Rhydding inWest Yorkshire.[2] The film was also screened in the section ofUn Certain Regard at the1985 Cannes Film Festival.[3]
In a small town inNorthern England in 1947, the citizens endure continuingfood rationing. Some local businessmen want to hold a party to celebrate theroyal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip and illegally decide to raise apig for that occasion. However, the pig is stolen by Gilbert Chilvers, who was encouraged to do so by his wife Joyce. Meanwhile, the local food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing.
Three pigs were used in the filming ofA Private Function which were all named Betty. ProducerMark Shivas was advised by Intellectual Animals UK that the pigs used should be female and six months old so as to not be too large or aggressive. However, the pigs were "unpredictable and often quite dangerous".[4]
During filming of one of the kitchen scenes, Maggie Smith was hemmed in by one of the pigs and needed to vault over the back of it in order to escape.[5]
The film had a Royal charity premiere on 21 November 1984 before being screened at theLondon Film Festival on 22 November and opening at theOdeon Haymarket in London on 30 November.[6]
OnSneak Previews in 1985, bothGene Siskel andRoger Ebert gave the movie two thumbs up. They called it one "really funny movie" and one "flat out winner." Siskel said it "had perfectly believable characters" and Ebert said "just beneath this veneer of respectability is utter madness."[7]
The film made £1,560,000 in the UK.[8]
The film won threeBAFTA Film Awards:Best Actress for Maggie Smith,Best Supporting Actress for Liz Smith, andBest Supporting Actor for Denholm Elliott. It was also nominated forBest Original Screenplay (Alan Bennett) andBest Film.
A musical based on the film opened in theWest End in April 2011 under the new titleBetty Blue Eyes. It was produced byCameron Mackintosh and ran for several months at theNovello Theatre. It starredReece Shearsmith as Gilbert andSarah Lancashire as Joyce.[9]