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Joe Orton Laid Bare

Celebrating groundbreaking 1960s playwright Joe Orton. Fifty years since his murder at the hands of his lover, the film charts Joe's brief meteoric rise and tragic demise.

Film celebrating the wit, work and world of groundbreaking 1960s playwright Joe Orton in his own words and those of friends and colleagues. Fifty years since his murder at the hands of his lover Kenneth Halliwell, the film charts Joe's brief meteoric rise and tragic demise, and celebrates his unique comic voice as well as his significant role in the culture of 60s swinging London.

Antony Sher, Freddie Fox and Jaime Winstone lead an all-star ensemble cast, bringing to life excerpts of Orton's hilarious work for the TV generation, while Bryan Dick plays Orton himself, walking the viewer through the streets Joe inhabited and using his diary to revive the voice of one of Britain's most controversial comic writers.

The film builds to a tense and surprising conclusion as the circumstances of Joe's death are re-examined and new evidence reveals a sinister and powerful figure at the centre of events that led to his murder. Interviewees include Kenneth Cranham, Sir Michael Codron, Christopher Hampton, Patricia Routledge, Orton biographer John Lahr and Joe's sister Leonie.

1 hour, 19 minutes

Last on

Tue 9 Jan 2018 01:15

Music Played

  • Les Baxter

    Lust (feat. Bas Sheva)

  • Claude Vasori

    Accroche Toi, Caroline (Vision On Theme)

    Performer: Paris Studio Group.
  • Lee Morgan

    The Sidewinder

  • Charles Mingus

    Boogie Stop Shuffle

  • The Flamingos

    I Only Have Eyes For You

  • Joe Meek

    Globetrotter

  • Ant么nio Carlos Jobim

    Stone Flower

  • Les Baxter

    Atlantis

  • Ant么nio Carlos Jobim

    Children's Games

  • Jean-Claude Vannier

    Les Garde Volent Au Secours Du Roi

  • Martin Denny

    Misirlou

  • Charles Mingus

    Theme For Lester Young

  • Charles Mingus

    Solo Dancer (Stop! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!)

Credits

Role Contributor
Executive Producer Franny Moyle
Director Richard Curson Smith
Production Company IWC Media

Broadcasts

Joe Orton's 'Edna Welthorpe' letters

An animated tribute to the spoof complaints Orton wrote pretending to be an old woman.