Hennessy (or Fifth of November; To Kill A Queen)
Directed by Don Sharp, Written by John Gay, Produced by Peter Snell
Set in the Seventies, Niall Hennessy is an Irishman who believes in peace, but who has had connections to the IRA. During a street riot in Belfast, Hennessy’s wife and daughter are accidentally killed by a British soldier. He plots revenge, setting out to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Hennessy decides to destroy the British Parliament, with the Queen in attendance during the State Opening. 103 min, colour, cert PG
The biggest controversy surrounding this film was the use of actual footage of the Queen. The shot of the Queen looking to one side was edited into the film to make it appear that she was reacting to the disturbance as Hennessy is finally subdued by police. This was deemed too disrespectful and the major distribution and exhibition companies at the time refused to show Hennessy.
Further Infomation
Genre
Thriller - Theatrical
Company
Hennessy Film Productions, American International Productions
Release Year
1975Period Set
1970WRITER(s)/ DIRECTOR(s)/ PRODUCER(s)
Writer
John Gay (original story by Richard Johnson)
Director
Don Sharp
Producer
Peter Snell
ACTORS
Rod Steiger - Niall Hennessy
Lee Remick - Kate Brooke
Richard Johnson - Insp. Hollis
Trevor Howard - Cmdr. Rice
Peter Egan - Williams
Eric Porter - Tobin
Ian Hogg - Gerry
Stanley Lebor - Hawk
John Hallam - Boyle
Patrick Stewart - Tilney
David Collings - Covey
John Shrapnel - Tipaldi
Hugh Moxey - Burgess (M.P.)
Margery Mason - Housekeeper
Paul Brennan - Maguire