White Mischief

The producers wanted to fire Trevor Howard from the film because of his alcoholism, but Sarah Miles insisted that he stay.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton committed suicide shortly after being acquitted, fueling years of speculation until his granddaughter Isabella Blow took her own life in 2007. That sad event prompted author Christine Nicholls to reveal new evidence showing that Jock slipped behind Erroll's car as Erroll said goodbye to Diana, and shot him as Erroll drove away. The killer was later caught by his neighbor Athan Philip, a doctor who was in desperate need of money.

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The BBC television drama The Happy Valley (1986), which dealt with the same subject, aired on 6 September 1987, the same year this film was released in cinemas.

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The legal disclaimer at the end of the title sequence reads: "The story of this film was inspired by events that took place in Kenya in 1940 and 1941. The film does not claim to accurately represent the characters involved or the events that occurred."

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Many film posters carried the following long promotional line: "In England they were the elite, but bound by society's rules. In Kenya there were no rules, only glamour, decadence… and murder."

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The film completely omits any mention that murder victim Lord Erroll was the most active member of the British Union of Fascists before the war began. According to one conspiracy theory, he was killed by British Intelligence for secretly aiding the Italians who had invaded Abyssinia on Kenya's northern border.

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This was director Michael Radford's first theatrical film in three years; his previous one was 1984 (1984), and it remained the last film he acted in for seven years, until The Postman (1994).

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On the original release poster, black-and-white images of Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance faced in opposite directions, with a much smaller Joss Ackland between them and a color Kenyan landscape in the background. Scacchi looks oddly 1980s for a character from the 1940s, her hair slicked flat against her head. This is because the photograph was taken from a scene in which her character dresses as a man and attends a drag party.

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James Fox, the novelist whose book was the source for this film, is a different person from the actor James Fox, producer Robert Fox's brother, and from another famous actor, Edward Fox.

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

This film was released five years after the publication of James Fox's source novel and the research book of the same name. The film was adapted from Fox's nonfiction book White Mischief: The Murder of Lord Erroll (1982), which he wrote based on a newspaper article published in 1969.

PRODUCTION STORY · SOURCED

One of Trevor Howard's last theatrical films.

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This film was released 46 years after the real-life events of the Happy Valley murder of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, in Kenya, Africa, in 1941.

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This was the second collaboration between Michael Radford and John Hurt, more than three years after 1984 (1984).

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White Mischief (1987) lost money during its theatrical release. However, Jake Eberts reported that Goldcrest Films invested £1,300,000 in the film and received £1,633,000, making a profit of £333,000.

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Diana Caldwell (the inspiration for the character Diana Broughton) died in 1987, the year the film was released.

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This was Jacqueline Pearce's first and only nude scene in her career. She was 44 years old.

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The title is a pun and a reference to Evelyn Waugh's unrelated earlier novel "Black Mischief" (1932), which has never been filmed. Scoop (1987), a Waugh adaptation made for television, was released the same year as this film.

EASTER EGGS & REFERENCES · SOURCED

George Fenton also composed the music for the similarly titled film White Palace (1990).

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Hugh Grant played a character with the same name as himself. This is the only theatrical film in which Grant has played a fictional character bearing his own name (as of April 2019).

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He appears as Hugh. (This is not considered a cameo, because it is used *only* without being listed among the principal cast, and Grant is listed in the credits.)

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Josslyn Hay (Charles Dance) held the official title of Earl of Erroll, specifically the 22nd Earl of Erroll, and his full name was Josslyn Victor Hay.

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Sir John Hurt and Charles Dance both appeared in the 2017 film That Good Night.

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Hugh (Hugh Grant) went by the nickname "Hughie."

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The Happy Valley (1986), another BBC series about the murder, first aired on 6 September 1987, a few months before the release of White Mischief (1987).

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Filming took place from February to May 1987 at Shepperton Studios and in Kenya. Wrotham Park was used as Doddington Hall, Delves Broughton's house.

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On 30 January 1988, the Regal Cinema in Cromer, Norfolk, held a gala screening of White Mischief attended by film stars John Hurt and Joss Ackland as well as TV presenter Barrie Norman.

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The film's cast includes three Oscar nominees: John Hurt, Sarah Miles and Trevor Howard.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

The sum Jock promised to pay her in the event of their divorce (£5,000 a year) would be equivalent to £350,000 (or $450,000).

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Sir Henry Delves Broughton (Joss Ackland) went by the nickname "Jock."

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The film was made by the similarly named production company "White Umbrella Films Limited."

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The opening title card reads: "KENYA 1940."

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The cast brings together two actors from the Alien series: John Hurt appeared in Alien (1979), while Charles Dance appeared in Alien³ (1992).

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