The Duchess of Duke Street Movie Review 1978

Cockney Rosa Lewis (Jones), a clockmaker's daughter born in 1869, goes into service with the ambition to become the best cook in London. She learns from a society household's French chef, where she was a kitchen maid, and eventually won success by an unexpected opportunity to cook for Edward, the Prince of Wales. A marriage-of-convenience and a mysterious legacy allows Rosa to buy the rundown Bentinck Hotel (actually the Cavendish) and cater fashionable dinners. By unceasing hard work, Rosa turns her establishment into an exclusive and discreet haunt for aristocrats, the wealthy, and various celebrities. British series on seven cassettes.

Distribution

PBS Home Video, Catalog Fulfillment Center, PO Box 751089, Charlotte, NC 28275-1089, Phone: (800)531-4727, Toll-free: 800-645-4PBS, Email: info@pbs.org, URL: http://www.pbs.org

Available on VHS
Running time 880 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

London, Women, Grand Hotel, Edibles

Screenplay

Julian Bond, Julia Jones, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Maggie Wadey, Jeremy Paul, Jack Rosenthal, Bill Craig, John Hawkesworth

Cast

Gemma Jones, Christopher Cazenove, John Welsh, George Pravda, June Brown, Victoria Plucknett, Richard Vernon, Doreen Mantle, Elizabeth Bennett, Donald Burton, John Cater, Holly DeJong, John Rapley

Director

Cyril Coke, Gerry Mill, Simon Langton, Bill Bain, Raymond Menmuir

Producer

John Hawkesworth, BBC Television, Time-Life Television