Wedding in White
(Mariage en blanc)
Year: 1972
Language: English
Format: 35mm Colour
Runtime: 103 min
Director:
William Fruet
Producer:
John Vidette
Writer:
William Fruet
Cinematographer:
Richard Leiterman
Editor:
Tony Lower
Sound:
George Mulholland
Music:
Milan Kymlicka
Cast:
Doug McGrath,
Paul Bradley,
Leo Phillips,
Donald Pleasence,
Doris Petrie,
Carol Kane
Production Company:
Dermet Productions Ltd.
Set in a small prairie town during WWII, Wedding in White offers a bleak vision of oppression, brutality and male chauvinism.
Two soldiers, Jimmie (Bradley) and his friend Billy (McGrath), decide to spend their leave at Jimmie’s family home. One night, Billy rapes Jimmie’s little sister, Jeannie (Kane), a pretty, timid teenager, and after the two soldiers leave, she discovers she is pregnant. Her father (Pleasence), a drunk and overbearing bully, beats her and threatens to throw her out of the house. In the end, he forces Jeannie to marry his old friend (Phillips), a man in his fifties.
The film's relentless sense of emotional pressure (which many viewers find overwhelming) is derived from its claustrophobic staging, taut script and fine performances, which capture the narrowness of the characters' lives. Wedding in White won three Canadian Film Awards (best feature, art direction and supporting actress), and remains a key example of English-Canadian cinema of the period.