Unmade Movies: Dennis Potter's The White Hotel

Synopsis

Dennis Potter's unproduced screenplay of D. M. Thomas's award-winning novel, plus bonus documentary'Incendiary' Radio TimesThe annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks.The White Hotel, one of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, centres around circus performer Lisa, who visits famous Berlin psychoanalyst Dr Probst to discover the cause of her mysterious breast and pelvic pains. Reading her sexually-charged journal, Probst concludes that the answer lies in her past. But then Lisa reveals her unsettling premonitions - 'I see what is going to happen. And what is going to happen cannot be endured.' Is her trauma really the result of childhood memories, or a dark vision of the future?Lauded for his groundbreaking TV dramas, Dennis Potter also wrote several acclaimed screenplays, including Gorky Park. The White Hotel was taken up by numerous directors, from Bertolucci to David Lynch, with actors including Barbra Streisand and Meryl Streep slated to star - but the project defeated them all. Now, directed by Jon Amiel, who worked with Potter on The Singing Detective, this haunting, hallucinatory drama has finally found an audience. Anne-Marie Duff (His Dark Materials) stars as Lisa, with Bill Paterson (Fleabag) as Probst and Simon McBurney (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as the narrator. It is preceded by a 15-minute documentary, The Long Road to the White Hotel, telling the story of the many failed attempts to film Thomas's novel and the making of the radio production.NB: Contains strong language and sexual scenesProduction creditsWritten by D. M. ThomasOriginal screenplay by Denis Potter under licence from Briarpatch Limited L.PDirected by Jon AmielProduced by Laurence Bowen and Peter EttedguiSound design: Wilfredo AcostaA Dancing Ledge production for BBC Radio 4CastLisa - Anne-Marie DuffProbst - Bill PatersonNarrator - Simon McBurneyThe Lover - David GyasiVictor - Nigel LindsayAunt Magda - Morwenna BanksVera/Old Woman/Wife - Jasmine JonesVarious - Wayne ForesterOfficer/Captain/Maitre d'/Old Man - Nick UnderwoodKoyla - Felix JamiesonLittle Lisa - Tillie MurrayFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 September 2018The Long Road to the White HotelWith DM Thomas, Amanda Bale and Jon AmielProduced by Philippa Geering and Geoff BirdAn Overtone Production for BBC Radio 4First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 September 2018© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd