Shadey (1985, Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Macnee) – Classic Movie Review 9972

Anthony Sher stars in director Philip Saville’s grotesque and repellent 1985 British black comedy Shadey about a broke car mechanic, Oliver Shadey (Sher), who uses his mind-reading powers to pay for a sex-change operation.

Fine stage actor Sher struggles with the title role, laughs are at a premium in Snoo Wilson’s screenplay, and, in a remarkable cast, only Katherine Helmond makes a mark as a version of her usual wacky woman persona, Lady Constance Landau.

Also in the cast are Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Macnee, Leslie Ash, Bernard Hepton, Larry Lamb, Jesse Birdsall, Olivier Pierre, Jon Cartwright, Stephen Persaud, Basil Henson, Jonathan Scott-Taylor and Jenny Runacre.

It premiered at the London Film Festival on 18 November 1985 and was distributed by Mainline Pictures in the UK, followed by a VHS release by Virgin, and by Skouras Pictures in the US. But it has been only rarely shown on TV and has long been unavailable on video, DVD or streaming.

Shadey is directed by Philip Saville, runs 106 minutes, is made by Channel Four Films and Larkspur Films, is released by Mainline Pictures and Virgin (UK) and Skouras Pictures (US), is written by Snoo Wilson, is shot by Roger Deakins, is produced by Otto Plaschkes, and is scored by Colin Towns.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9972

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