‘Out of the Labyrinth’ production stills, November 1974 – Gordon Stainforth

Gordon Stainforth

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‘Out of the Labyrinth’ production stills, November 1974

The film involved a huge amount of research. In the summer of 1974 I went to Vienna to see many of Beethoven’s actual lodgings.

While in Vienna I started to develop the script. By the end of August I had decided that the interior location would have to be three adjoining rooms.

Tony Britton in ‘Out of the Labyrinth’
One of the biggest problems was finding a suitable location. Incredibly, at the very last moment, a near-perfect location was found: Ranger’s Lodge in the middle of Hyde Park, only a few hundred yards from the RCA Film School.

With just four days to go before the start of the shoot on November 19, I started planning how the shots would work in the Ranger’s Lodge.

I did a rough storyboard of the whole film …
Some of the shots involved giving the cameraman, Peter Ormrod, very complicated diagrams (right)

Peter Settelen, Tony Britton, Peter Ormrod

Tony Britton, once in his wig and costume, looked superb. I gave him a huge number of portraits to study, plus very detail notes on Beethoven’s character.
Gordon setting up a shot with Tony Britton and Peter Settelen, who played Karl, Beethoven’s nephew.

Peter Ormrod lighting a candle after setting up a very clever mock candlelight effect using an overhead ‘pup’ which projected a pool of light through a tube of white cardboard. The light in turn bounced off the papers on the table

Gordon after directing the big central meal scene.
Peter Ormrod shooting Beethoven on his deathbed. The house had no heating, so much of the time we were wearing outdoor clothing, being typical cold, damp November weather

Anton Schindler, who was Beethoven’s factotum in the last year of his life, was played by Jonathan Burn

After completion of photography at the Ranger’s Lodge there were two location shoots. First, for the castle where Karl made his suicide attempt, I used Benington Castle near Stevenage in Hertfordshire
The dream scenes of Beethoven and Karl dancing in the hills were shot at Forty Green near Beaconsfield. Here, Tony Britton, already fully dressed, is putting oil in his Bentley at a garage in Hillingdon

Beethoven attending to his Bentley at a garage on the A40.

On location near Forty Green in Buckinghamshire. L-R: Peter Ormrod, Gordon, Tony Britton, Peter Settelen, and Pat Whittaker (Sound Assistant)
Peter Ormrod, Tony Britton, Gordon, Peter Settelen, Pat Whittaker

Beethoven and his nephew prancing in the fields

Pencil drawing by Carl Friedrich August von Kloeber
Beethoven’s study in the Schwarzpanierhaus, by Johann Hoechle, 1827

Beethoven walking, sketches by Johann Lyser

Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven drawing by Stephan Decker, 1824

See also:

Tony Britton as Beethoven gallery

Tony Britton as Beethoven gallery

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