The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (film)

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Directed by Stuart Orme
Produced by Raymond Day (associate producer)
Mark Forstater (producer)
Written by Joan Aiken (book)
William M. Akers (screenplay)
Starring Stephanie Beacham
Mel Smith
Music by Colin Towns
Cinematography Paul Beeson
Edited by Martin Walsh
Release date
 1989
Running time
 92 min (USA)
93 min (UK)
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a 1989 dark fantasy film directed by Stuart Orme with a screenplay by William M. Akers. The cast includes Stephanie Beacham as Letitia Slighcarp, Mel Smith as Mr. Grimshaw, Richard O'Brien as James, and Jane Horrocks as Pattern. Newcomers Emily Hudson and Aleks Darowska played Bonnie Willoughby and her cousin Sylvia. The film is an adaptation of the 1962 book of the same name written by Joan Aiken. It is currently aired on British television and it is also available on both VHS and DVD.

Plot

The film is set in an alternative-history version of nineteenth century England where packs of wolves roam the countryside.

Bonnie Green is the spoiled daughter of Lord and Lady Willoughby, who live at the country estate of Willoughby Chase. Lady WIlloughby is ill, and her father plans to take a convalescence to the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, in London, Bonnie's cousin, Sylvia, is leaving her Aunt Jane to keep Bonnie company while her parents are away. While travelling on a train, she meets a mysterious man named Grimshaw. At Willoughby Chase, a woman arrives revealing it to be Bonnie and Sylvia's fourth cousin and their new governess, Letitia Slighcarp. Later, Bonnie sneaks into the carriage meant to pick up Sylvia, taking with her a rifle. When the train arrives at the station, Mr. Grimshaw is knocked unconscious after wolves attempt to attack the train. Bonnie and Sylvia take Mr. Grimshaw with them back to WIlloughby Chase. Not soon after, Bonnie's parents leave for their convalescence aboard the Thessaly. The next day, Bonnie and Sylvia go out on a sleigh and almost are attacked by wolves until a boy named Simon, who lives in a cave and raises geese, rescues them. They return in the night to discover that Miss Slighcarp has dismissed all the servants except for James and Pattern. During dinner, Miss Slighcarp refuses to give an explanation to the servants' dismissal, gives the girls oatmeal instead of the usual feast and she harshly reprimands Bonnie after she accidentally spills cream on her father's farewell letter, thus Bonnie begins to suspect her governess's true evil nature.

The day after, Bonnie and Sylvia catch Miss Slighcarp in Lady Willoughby's best dress. Bonnie demands she take it off and eventually throws a pot full of water on Miss Slighcarp yelling, "I hate you!". Miss Slighcarp then locks Bonnie in a wardrobe in the schoolroom and Sylvia sees that Miss Slighcarp has ordered James to rid of all the toys. Sylvia steals the key from Miss Slighcarp who is bathing (and is actually bald) and frees Bonnie. They discover a secret passage and overhear a conversation in which Miss Slighcarp reveals she has forged a copy of Lord Willoughby's will (with Mr. Grimshaw's help who is a master forger as well as her ally) and prearranged the sinking the Thessaly ship by paying the captain in an attempt to claim the Willoughby fortune. Mr. Grimshaw throws the real will into the fireplace but Bonnie and Sylvia rescue the remaining part of it. Bonnie pretends to have gone manic after being in the cupboard too long in an attempt to lure Dr. Morne to rescue them. The plan fails as Sylvia is caught by Mr. Grimshaw and Miss Slighcarp burns the letter addressed to Dr. Morne. To get them out of her way Slighcarp rides a carriage with the girls aboard and takes them to an orphanage in the industrial town of Blastburn, run by the widowed Gertrude Brisket, an old friend of Slighcarp's, and her teenage son Rupert, where they are forced to work in a laundry with dangerous machinery that keeps breaking down from improper maintenance, on one such case, a small boy named Joey tries to help Sylvia when she is about to fall, but is prevented to do so by Bonnie for his own safety, and she saves her cousin. Some time later, Joey dies due to asphyxiation with a bed sheet after he accidentally falls into one of the laundry tubs. Meanwhile, Miss Slighcarp gets a newspaper from Blastburn with the headline, "Thessaly Sunk!" thus she decides to return to Blastburn, during the journey Simon sneaks into the carriage unnoticed. In Blastburn Slighcarp tells Brisket she'll be able to join her in Willoughby Chase after inheriting Lord Willoughby's fortune and that they'll have to dispose of the girls. Bonnie and Sylvia are locked in a coal room and Simon attempts to help them. Rupert and Miss Slighcarp chase Bonnie and Sylvia through the facility but Rupert falls into two rollers meant for clothing and gets crushed to death. Slighcarp informs Brisket of the girls' escape and of her son's death, Brisket is deeply grieved by losing her son and weeps but Slighcarp simply says "You can mourn later, they've escaped!" Simon and the girls escape in the carriage Slighcarp travelled in and when they finally arrive to the Willoughby Chase grounds they use a horse drawn sleigh, but Miss Slighcarp and Brisket follow in a motorized sleigh as well as a pack of ravenous wolves. Brisket is killed when Slighcarp pushes her off the sleigh accidentally and she is eaten by wolves. Slighcarp then loses control of the sleigh which explodes due to overheating of the mechanism causing her to fly out. She is presumed dead.

Bonnie and Sylvia return to the Chase after James is informed the Willoughbys have been saved and he and Pattern capture Mr. Grimshaw as he attempts to escape. They are chased into the kitchen when wolves have infiltrated the household and so has Miss Slighcarp, who unexpectedly emerges from the back kitchen door as the girls try to escape in order to arrive at Simon's cave. Incredibly she has survived the sleigh's explosion but her once beautiful face has now become horribly disfigured and her elegant dress and travel cloak have become rags. She threatens to drown Sylvia in a basin and to stab Bonnie with kitchen knives but she is attacked and chased out of Willoughby Chase by Bonnie. Just after, Lord and Lady Willoughby return from their recuperation having survived the sinking of the ship and being stranded on a tropical island. Slighcarp, exhausted, wounded and defeated, is devoured by wolves and Grimshaw is arrested after trying to steal all the estate's silver, amazingly showing no resistance and saying joyously that it is a miracle. The film ends when Aunt Jane is invited to come live at Willoughby Chase with Lord and Lady Willoughby, and Bonnie and Sylvia.

Cast

Soundtrack

Colin Town's original score to The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was released in 1995 by Digital TER. Unfortunately the album only includes cues of certain scenes while the rest of the score remains unreleased or incomplete, such as Letitia Slighcarp's arrival to Willoughby Chase, the scene where Slighcarp locks Bonnie in the schoolroom wardrobe, the dismissal of the servants, the introduction before the journey to Blastburn, the entire first portion of the chase sequence in the Blastburn workhouse and the final moments of the motorized sleigh sequence among others.

Track listing

  1. Willoughby House
  2. Main Theme
  3. Rocking Horse
  4. Bonnie collects Sylvia
  5. Playing in the Snow
  6. Simon's Cave
  7. Slighcarp in the Bath
  8. Secret Passage
  9. Journey to Blastburn
  10. Mrs. Brisket
  11. Home Thoughts
  12. Collage
  13. Dangerous Laundry
  14. Quick They've Escaped
  15. The Ski Sledge
  16. Theme
  17. Slighcarp the Witch
  18. The Parents Return
  19. Sufficient for Her Needs
  20. Main Themes
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