''Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World'' is a

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

film based on the life of the American dancer Isadora Duncan first broadcast on 22 September 1966. The film was directed and produced by

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

and written by Sewell Stokes and Russell. It starred

Vivian Pickles Vivian Pickles (born 21 October 1931) is an English actress. Biography Pickles began her career as a child star after being chosen by Mary Field for a series of Saturday Morning children's films, including the lead roles in ''Jean's Plan'' (1 ...

and

Peter Bowles Peter Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English television and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as '' Callan: A Magnum for Schneider'' and ''I, Claudius''. He is however, best remembered for his roles ...

Plot

The film is a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

of American dancer Isadora Duncan.

Cast

as Isadora Duncan *

Paris Singer Paris Eugene Singer (20 February 1867 – 24 June 1932) was an early resident of Palm Beach, Florida. He was 22nd of the 24 children of inventor and industrialist Isaac Singer of Singer Sewing Machine Company fame, from whom he inherited money; h ...

* Alexei Jawdokimov as Sergei Yessenin * Murray Melvin as Photographer * Jeanne Le Bars as Wilma * Alita Naughton as Journalist * Sandor Elès as Bugatti *

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

as Jazz Band Undertaker (uncredited) *

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broad ...

as Jazz Band Chauffeur (uncredited)

Production

Sewell Stokes, a friend of the dancer towards the very end of her life when she was penniless and alone, wrote a memoir of his conversations with her, shortly after her death, entitled ''Isadora, an Intimate Portrait'' (1928). He narrates this film. Two years after the first broadcast of the TV film,

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

played the role of Isadora Duncan in the big-screen biopic ''

Isadora Isidora or Isadora is a female given name of Greek origin, derived from Ἰσίδωρος, ''Isídōros'' (a compound of Ἶσις, ''Ísis'', and δῶρον, ''dōron'': "gift of he goddessIsis"). The male equivalent is Isidore. The name surviv ...

''. Russell's biographer Joseph Lanza believes that "of all his television work, ''Isadora'' is his most accomplished". It explores his "ongoing theme of art being a thing of both glory and vulgarity"Joseph Lanza ''Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films'' p.48

Reception

Bill Gibron from

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

gave the film a positive review and stated: "Herself trained as a dancer, Pickles lights up the screen when she's onstage, Duncan's inflated ego disappearing into a series of carefully choreographed interpretations. Still, some might find the constant confrontations and shouting matches tiring. After all, Russell makes it clear that this was one artist who could have had it all had she just kept her mighty yap shut. Because she didn't, however, we see her downfall in all its brazen glory." Michael Brooke, in his article for the BFI's ''

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...

'' website describes Pickles' performance as a "gloriously vulgar incarnation".

References

External links

* 1966 television films 1966 films British biographical films British television films Films directed by Ken Russell British dance films Cultural depictions of Isadora Duncan 1960s dance films Biographical films about entertainers 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{UK-tv-film-stub