Countess Alice, The (BBC-2 1992, Wendy Hiller, Zoe Wanamaker)

In drama The Countess Alice Freelance journalist Nick Black is less than thrilled when “Albany” magazine asks him to do a “Then and Now” feature on the elderly members of a celebrated set of society aristocrats.

However, he warms to his task when he meets Alice, Countess Von Holzendorf, an engaging 80-year old Englishwoman who married a Prussian count in 1935 and spent the war in Germany. She now lives a life of genteel poverty in London with her middle-aged daughter, Connie.

Undeterred by her mother’s opposition, Connie makes a trip to East Germany to visit the former family home. When she goes to the family graveyard she is shocked to find certain unexpected graves. On her return she confronts Alice with her unnerving discovery.

production details
UK / BBC Two / 1×90 minute episode / Broadcast 1 July 1992

Writer: Allan Cubit / Executive Producer: George Faber / Producer: Colin Ludlow / Director: Moira Armstrong

Series: Screenplay Season 7 Episode 1

cast
Wendy Hiller as Alice
Zoe Wanamaker as Connie
Duncan Bell as Nick
Patricia Quinn as Margot
Lucinda Fisher as Jane
Sylvia Barter as Tilly
Madge Ryan as Beattie
Chris Stanton as Vicar
Martin Wimbush as Jeremy
Hannah Cresswell as Debbie
Terence Donovan as Himself
Sarah Crowden as Sarah
James Appleby as Cab Driver
Jane Van Hool as Vivian