''Beautiful Dreamers'' is a 1990

Canadian film Cinema in Canada dates back to the earliest known display of film in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, in 1896. The film industry in Canada has been dominated by the United States, which has utilized Canada as a shooting location and to bypass British fil ...

directed by John Kent Harrison. It stars

Colm Feore Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...

and Rip Torn. It was nominated for four

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...

in 1991.

Synopsis

Rip Torn is the American poet

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

. The setting is a 19th-century Canadian institution for the mentally retarded. A compassionate

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, doctor named Richard Bucke(

) defies his superiors by treating his patients as human beings rather than animals. When Whitman champions his cause, the doctor is ostracized by those who fear the poet's reputation as a freethinking radical. Based on a true incident – Whitman spent the summer with Dr. Bucke in 1880.

Cast

Richard Maurice Bucke Richard Maurice Bucke (18 March 1837 – 19 February 1902), often called Maurice Bucke, was a prominent Canadian psychiatrist in the late 19th century. An adventurer during his youth, Bucke later studied medicine. Eventually, as a psychiatrist ...

* Rip Torn as

Wendel Meldrum Wendy Anne "Wendel" Meldrum (July 21, 1954 – January 27, 2021) was a Canadian actress best known for her roles as the "low talker" in the 1993 ''Seinfeld'' episode "The Puffy Shirt", and as Miss White/Mrs. Heimer on ''The Wonder Years''. She g ...

as Jessie Bucke *

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an A ...

as Molly Jessop * Colin Fox as Rev Haines *

Roland Hewgill Roland Hewgill (February 11, 1929 – November 9, 1998) was a Canadian actor."Hewgill began career in Stratford". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 13, 1998. Primarily a stage actor, most famously associated with the Stratford Festival, he also had ...

as Timothy Pardee

References

External links

*. Canadian drama films 1990 films C/FP Distribution films Films directed by John Kent Harrison 1990 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films English-language Canadian films Walt Whitman 1990 drama films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub