Barnes & Noble

The inspiring, almost-too-amazing-to-be-true story of a London music hall that remained open throughout World War II makes an apt starring vehicle for two of Britain’s most accomplished character actors, Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. She plays Laura Henderson, a recently widowed woman of means who operates a ramshackle theater as a diversion; he plays Vivian Van Damm, a tough-but-tender veteran showman. Their unlikely collaboration results in the renamed Windmill Theater, which becomes a sensation in the months before Hitler plunges Europe into war. Later, even as the Nazis drop bombs on the city during the Blitz, Mrs. Henderson elects to keep the Windmill open as a morale booster for both civilians and young servicemen. By this time, though, the theater’s popularity is partly attributable to its nude revues. Hollywood paid tribute to the Windmill some 60 years ago in Tonight and Every Night, a highly fictionalized musical drama starring Rita Hayworth. Mrs. Henderson Presents, while not without its own deviations from the historical record, comes a lot closer to presenting the true picture. Director Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) quickly establishes the prickly nature of the relationship between owner and impresario: Notwithstanding her puckish delight in arousing controversy over the female nudity in the Windmill’s shows, Laura Henderson is very much a product of the upper classes, with all the imperiousness and prejudice her background implies. Van Damm, a self-made man whose success never entirely obscures his hardscrabble beginnings, often finds himself at odds with his boss, but he comes to respect and admire her. Dench and Hoskins, both able scene-stealers, work marvelously together. Kelly Reilly is also charming as the Windmill’s most popular showgirl, and Christopher Guest contributes a delightful turn as a stuffy bureaucrat. Expertly blending comedy and drama Mrs. Henderson Presents registers as first-rate entertainment. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A recently widowed eccentric with money to burn and no intentions of settling down enlists the aide of a showbiz professional to transform a run-down theater in Soho into London's most innovative entertainment hot spot in director Stephen Frears' cinematic account of the groundbreaking Windmill Theater. The year is 1937 and, despite having recently lost her husband, 69-year-old Laura Henderson (Judy Dench) remains as ambitious and vital as ever. Aghast at her friend Lady Conway's (Thelma Barlow) suggestion that she take up a mundane hobby such as diamond collecting to pass the time, Mrs. Henderson instead shocks her well-to-do social circle by purchasing the ramshackle Windmill Theater in the heart of downtown Soho. Unafraid to take a risk in the venture, yet lacking the experience needed to run the theater, Mrs. Henderson brings in showbiz veteran Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to line up an opening act that will set the stage ablaze. When the ever-curious Mrs. Henderson's intrusive spying begins to impede on Mr. Van Damm's creative progress, the frustrated theater manager has her banished from rehearsals. Though Van Damm's innovative idea to stage an unending stream of entertainment dubbed "Revudeville" proves a wild and profitable success, the Windmill begins to suffer when other local theaters quickly follow suit. Now faced with the prospect of seeing her once-lucrative endeavor fall by the wayside due to the unoriginality of the copycats who surround her, Mrs. Henderson decides to show audiences something they've never seen before by making the Windmill the first theater to feature nude female entertainers live on-stage. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 796019792042
• Source: WEINSTEIN COMPANY
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Language: English
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:48:00
• Sales Rank: 49,772

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