Dark River (1990 film)
| Dark River | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Malcolm Taylor |
| Written by | Malcolm Taylor |
| Produced by | Malcolm Taylor[1] |
| Starring |
|
| Edited by | Stuart Taylor |
| Music by | Keith Miller[2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 1 hr. 40 min.[2] |
Dark River is a 1990 British film starring Tom Bell, Siân Phillips, Kate Buffery, Ian McNeice and Tony Haygarth.[3] The film was an official selection at the 1990 Montreal World Film Festival and the Ghent Film Festival of the same year.[2]
Plot summary
The film is set in a British colony on the banks of a river flowing through the lowlands of Africa. A stranger named Deacon arrives in the tight-knit community, refusing to abide by its self-serving code.[2] He immediately enters into disputes with the locals, including: businessman K.B. Priestley, who uses his authority in the community to disguise his personal weaknesses; his daughter Lydia, who uses the men in the community as rungs in her climb out of provincialism; Yorkie, a sour, manipulative club barman; and widow and cocoa heiress Mrs Blessington, who plays puppet-master from a distance.
Deacon writes and publishes a novel which draws on their weaknesses, which becomes a success back home, causing problems for its author. Before sunrise one morning, a boat sets sail upriver, carrying First Secretary Hugo Shrike and Deacon, who has made a rendezvous with a person he intends to kill.
References
- ^ Leafe, David (1 November 1990). British Film Institute Film and Television Handbook 1991. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-85170-277-3.
- ^ a b c d "Dark River". Film Fest Gent. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- ^ "Dark River". www.tcm.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
External links
- Dark River at IMDb