Gosford Park (2001) Michael Gambon Sir William McCordle Kristin Scott Thomas Lady Sylvia McCordle Camilla Rutherford Isobel McCordle Maggie Smith Constance, Countess of Trentham Jeremy Northam Ivor Novello Bob Balaban Morris Weissman Charles Dance Raymond, Lord Stockbridge Alan Bates Jennings Helen Mirren Mrs Wilson Eileen Atkins Mrs Croft Derek Jacobi Probert Emily Watson Elsie Richard E. Grant George Clive Owen Robert Parks Ryan Phillippe Harry Denton Stephen Fry Inspector Thompson Kelly MacDonald Mary Maceachran Geraldine Somerville Louisa, Lady Stockbridge Tom Hollander Lieutenant Commander Anthony Meredith Natasha Wightman Lady Lavinia Meredith James Wilby The Honorable Freddie Nesbitt Claudie Blakely Mabel Nesbitt Laurence Fox Lord Rupert Standish Trent Ford Jeremy Blond Directed by: Robert Altman Produced by: Jane Barclay, Sharon Harel, Robert Jones It is November 1932. Gosford Park is the magnificent country estate to which Sir William McCordle and his wife, Lady Sylvia, gather relations and friends for a weekend shooting party. They have invited an eclectic group including a countess, a World War I hero, the British matinee idol Ivor Novello and an American film producer who makes Charlie Chan movies. As the guests assemble in the gilded drawing rooms above, their personal maids and valets swell the ranks of the house servants in the teeming kitchens and corridors below-stairs. But all is not as it seems: neither amongst the bejeweled guests lunching and dining at their enormous leisure, nor in the attic bedrooms and stark work stations where the servants labor for the comfort of their employers. In this luxurious setting, we're made witness to a series of events which bridge generations, class, sex, tragic personal history--and culminate in a murder... (or is it two murders?). ========== Set in the 1930's the story takes place in an old fashioned English country house where a family has invited many of their friends up for a weekend shooting party. The story centers around the McCordle family, particularly the man of the house, William McCordle. Getting on in years William has become benefactor to many of his relatives and friends. As the weekend goes on and secrets are revealed, it seems everyone, above stairs and below, wants a piece of William and his money, but how far will they go to get it? ========== Sir William McCordle is a wealthy but uncouth industrialist-turned-aristocrat, with a large house in the English countryside, complete with staff. It is a world where everything runs in order - both upstairs, where Sir William and his much younger wife Lady Sylvia indulge in a very comfortable existence of shooting, dinners and parties, and downstairs, where the servants work endlessly under the command of the butler Mr. Jennings, and the house keeper Mrs. Wilson. Whether they like it or not, everyone knows their place. But a shooting party will change all of that, with friends of the McCordles and their servants arriving from outside to upset the order. And so begins a complicated tale of secrets, lies, deceit, betrayal, revenge, bitterness, hatred, money and love - and that's all before the murder. ========== When William McCordle is found sitting at his desk with a knife in his chest, few people grieve. He and his wife Sylvia are hosting a weekend shooting party. There are a variety of guest including Sylvia sister and her husband, Lord and Lady Stockbridge; film star Ivor Novello and a Hollywood producer; an aunt who is dependent on McCordle for her allowance; and a variety of business associates all wanting something or other from the man. Downstairs at Gosford Park, there is a beehive of activity, but if truth be told, few among the servants will miss McCordle. Some of the women used to work for him in his factories and he was known to take advantages of his female employees. When the police announce that the victim died of poisoning and was only stabbed after he was dead, there is yet another mystery to solve. Beneath the surface, everyone in the house has secrets - but which would be a motive for murder?