Turtle Diary
Turtle Diary

Turtle Diary (1985)


Turtle Diary

Turtle Diary (1983)

Budget (GBP) 0
Distribution Company

The Samuel Goldwyn Company   (Distributor | Est. Unknown)

Release Date 29 November 1985
Black and White No
Regional Release No
Release Notes Canada 10 September 1985 (Toronto International Film Festival);
UK 6 December 1985;
Australia 26 December 1985;
USA 14 February 1986;
France 19 February 1986;
USA 20 April 1986 (USA Film Festival);
Italy 2 August 1986 (Rome premiere);
Italy 14 August 1986;
Denmark 15 August 1986;
Sweden 22 August 1986;
West Germany 26 May 1988.
Description Pinter adaptation of Russell Hoban's 1975 novel. Neara (Glenda Jackson) is a successful children's book author with a bad case of writer's block, so she looks to aquatic life for inspiration. At a London aquarium, she chances on William (Ben Kingsley), a diffident bookseller with an enthusiasm for turtles. Musing over the hopelessly confined state of a group of tank-dwelling sea turtles, Neara and William, with the help of sympathetic zookeeper George (Michael Gambon), conspire to break the turtles free from captivity.
Language English

Linked Productions

No linked Production have been added to this production record yet.

Linked People

John Irvin (1940)

Creative | Director


Russell Hoban (1925 - 2011)

Creative | Author (original novel)


Richard Johnson (1927 - 2015)

Production | Producer


Peter Snell

Production | Executive Producer


Bernard Sofronski

Production | Executive Producer


Geoffrey Burgon

Creative | Music


Peter Hannan

Creative | Cinematographer


Peter Tanner

Creative | Film Editor


Susie Figgis

Creative | Casting


Leo Austin

Creative | Production Designer


Diane Dancklefsen

Creative | Art Director


Judith Lang

Creative | Art Director


Elizabeth Waller

Creative | Costume Designer


Sue Black

Creative | Assistant Makeup Artist


Stevie Hall

Creative | Hairdresser Supervisor


Maxie McDonald

Creative | Property master


Graham Tew

Production | Property buyer


Dave Weston

Technical | Stagehand


David Hildyard

Technical | Sound Recordist


Mary Hillman

Creative | Chief Makeup Artist


Tracy Smith

Creative | Assistant Hairdresser


Christabel Albery

Production | Production supervisor


Peter Cotton

Creative | Second Assistant Director


Michael Zimbrich

Creative | Assistant Director


Mick Davis

Technical | Construction manager


Dawn King

Technical | Art department runner


Chris Joyce

Technical | Assistant sound editor


Teddy Mason

Technical | Sound Editor


Dave Pearson

Technical | Boom operator


John Pitt

Technical | Sound maintainance


Rupert Scrivener

Technical | Dubbing mixer


Mike Tucker

Technical | Boom operator


Craig Chandler

Technical | Optical effects


Terry Chapman

Technical | Camera grip


Eddie Collins

Technical | Camera operator


Gary Cross

Technical | Electrician


Nicholas Cullmann

Technical | Clapper loader


Jason Lehel

Technical | Focus puller


Brian Martin

Technical | Best boy


Reg Parsons

Technical | Gaffer


Ian Pleeth

Technical | Still Photographer


Egil Woxholt

Technical | Underwater camera operator


Stephen Cornish

Technical | Wardrobe master


Keith Mason

Technical | Second assistant editor


Kant Pan

Technical | Assistant editor


Henry Lowther

Creative | Musician


Graham Bradstreet

Production | Production accountant


Lesley Cross

Production | Continuity


Joy Helman

Production | Unit Publicist


Pauline Hume

Creative | Title Designer


Faye Perkins

Production | Production secretary


David E. Van Houten

Production | Publicity designer


Faye Villalba

Production | Production runner


Cliff Lanning

Production | Runner


Linked Organisations

The Samuel Goldwyn Company (Distributor | Est. Unknown)

Characters

Harriet Sims (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Harriet Walter (1950)

Johnson (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Richard Johnson (1927 - 2015)

Man In Bookshop (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Harold Pinter (1930 - 2008)

Miss Neap (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Eleanor Bron (1938)

Neaera Duncan (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Glenda Jackson (1936)

Publisher (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Nigel Hawthorne (1929 - 2001)

William Snow (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Ben Kingsley (1943)

Lorry Driver (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Gary Olsen (1957 - 2000)

Mr Meager (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Michael Aldridge (1920 - 1994)

Mrs Inchcliff (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Rosemary Leach (1935 - 2017)

Sandor (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Jeroen Krabbe (1944)

Girl at Zoo (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Rom Anderson

Garage Attendant with Bucket (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Tony Melody (1922 - 2008)

Assistant Keeper (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Peter Capaldi (1958)

American Woman (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Barbara Rosenblat (1950)

American Man (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Chuck Julian (1932)

Zoo Waiter (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Neil Conrich

Taxi Driver (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Dave Hill (1945)

Policeman at Square (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Mark Jefferis

Fisherman (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Robert Keegan (1924 - 1988)

Woman at Bookshop (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Pauline Letts (1917 - 2001)

Second Publisher (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Jeremy Nicholas (1947)

Man at Tube (Turtle Diary) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Ronnie Walsh

George Fairbairn (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Michael Gambon (1940 - 2023)

Linked Awards

No award have been added to this production record yet.

Resources

Turtle Diary Trailer, 1985 (URL)

Type: Trailer

External Link: Turtle Diary Trailer, 1985

Original trailer.

Sheila Benson, 'Freedom Makes Waves in 'Turtle Diary'', Los Angeles Times, 14 February 1986 (URL)

Type: Review

External Link: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-14-ca-8108-story.html

Vincent Canby, 'Screen: 'Turtle Diary', with Pinter Screenplay', The New York Times, 14 February 1986 (URL)

Type: Review

External Link: https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/14/movies/screen-turtle-diary-with-pinter-screenplay.html

Interview with Harriet Walter, conducted by Harry Burton, 23 October 2020 (Video)

Type: Interview

External Link: https://youtu.be/l97JOHVnSJU

Sources

No sources have been added to this production record yet.