Late Flowering Lust

Late Flowering Lust is a television film starring Nigel Hawthorne, based on the poetry of John Betjeman. Produced by Caroline Speed and directed by David Hinton, it first aired on BBC2 on 8 May 1994. The film features performances by the dancers of Adventures in Motion Pictures, set to the music of Jim Parker.

Late Flowering Lust
Title screen
Genre	Comedy drama
Directed by	David Hinton
Starring	Nigel Hawthorne Richenda Carey Jonathan Cecil
Composer	Jim Parker
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Avril MacRory Douglas Rae
Producer	Caroline Speed
Cinematography	Nic Knowland
Editor	Jon Costelloe
Running time	53 minutes
Production company	Ecosse Films
Original release
Network	BBC2
Release	8 May 1994 (1994-05-08)

Synopsis

When Cousin John is invited to a pre-War weekend house party in Home Counties Betjeman land, he is taken aback by the beauty of the gels. His hosts, the Faircloughs, are of the older generation and the daughter and all her friends are of the younger one.^[1] The bright young things cavort through their social litany: tennis, golf, swimming, cycling, even a pheasant shoot. Cousin John is left on the fringes of the activity, watching wistfully.

Cast

• Nigel Hawthorne as Cousin John
• Richenda Carey as Mrs Fairclough
• Jonathan Cecil as Mr Fairclough

Rosemary Allen, Scott Ambler, Matthew Bourne, Ally Fitzpatrick, Maxine Fone, Andrew George, Etta Murfitt and Simon Murphy from Adventures in Motion Pictures portray the bright young things.

Production

Late Flowering Lust arose from Nigel Hawthorne's appreciation for Betjeman's poetry^[2] and was originally conceived as a theatre production by Hawthorne and his partner, Trevor Bentham. However, when approached by producer Douglas Rae, they opted for a film version to keep open the possibility of a later stage run.^[3] They proposed involving Adventures in Motion Pictures and inviting Matthew Bourne to choreograph the film.^[2] Hawthorne, portraying Cousin John, described the character as "an amalgam of Betjeman, myself and my father".^[4]

Filming took place over two weeks in the summer of 1993.^[5][2] The house featured was Benington Lordship, near Stevenage in Hertfordshire.^[2] The park and gardens of Benington Lordship and the 19th-century gatehouse also featured in the production.

Jim Parker's music, originally composed for the albums Banana Blush, Late Flowering Love (both 1974) and Varsity Rag (1981),^[6] was performed by the Nash Ensemble under Parker's direction.^[7] Hawthorne recited the poetry of John Betjeman.

Hawthorne mentioned in a 1994 interview that a stage version was planned for the following February,^[8] but it never came to fruition.

• 
  Benington Lordship features in the comedy drama
• 
  The 19th-century gatehouse
• 
  The gardens of Benington Lordship

Reception

Late Flowering Lust received widespread praise following its initial broadcast.^[9]

Max Davidson notes that "the point about lust for Betjeman was that it was real and potent and ubiquitous", while saying that "Hawthorne simpering at a girl in tennis shorts was experiencing nothing stronger than the humiliation Sir Humphrey Appleby might feel if his secretary turned up in a short skirt."^[10]

Accolades

Late Flowering Lust was nominated for a Golden Rose of Montreux television award.^[5]

Home video

The film was only ever released on VHS, so it is not available on DVD.^[1]