One for lovers of stage and screen.
This is an excellent example of a themed crossword, with every clue having a link to stage and screen.
Most of the plays, movies and people mentioned are famous enough to be included in a standard crossword, but there are a couple of more obscure ones which are easy to identify due to tight cluing and via the crossing letters.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RIFF-RAFF |
Leader of the Jets, flashy, is hard to be ignored in film (4-4)
RIFF + RAFF(ish) Riff was the leader of the Jets in West Side Story. Riff-Raff is a 1991 Ken Loach film, starring Robert Carlyle. |
| 6 | MIRAGE |
Film with Gregory Peck in storm on motorway (6)
M1 + RAGE A 1965 thriller. |
| 9 | JOSEPH |
The subject of a musical, opening in Jerusalem, with high hopes (6)
J + *(hopes)
|
| 10 | ON-SCREEN |
Shown in a film concerning partition (2-6)
ON + SCREEN |
| 11 | MYRA |
Ms Breckinridge, perhaps a contrary Mary? (4)
*(Mary) As played by Raquel Welsh in the adaptation of Gore Vidal’s novel. |
| 12 | ROSSELLINI |
Italian film director and composer crossing the Spanish lake (10)
ROSS(EL L)INI Roberto Rossellini, director of movies such as Paisan and Rome, Open City, and the father of actress Isabella Rossellini. |
| 14 | TARTUFFE |
Sleeveless coat on prostitute, a Molière character (8)
TART + (d)UFFE(l) Tartuffe, ou l’Imposteur is a Moliere play from 1664. Remember it vaguely from my University studies. |
| 16 | CLIP |
Extract from film about border (4)
C + LIP |
| 18 | GIGI |
Film produced by two US soldiers (4)
G.I. + G.I. Maurice Chevalier musical.
|
| 19 | SCHILLER |
US producer of singular film that arouses terror? (8)
S + CHILLER I assume this refers to Lawrence Schiller, not exactly a houeshold name, but easy enough to work out from the wordplay and crossing letters. |
| 21 | GALE GORDON |
Actor, TV foil of 13, in orange and gold combination (4,6)
*(orange gold) Gale Gordon was an actor in The Lucy Show, with Lucille Ball (13dn) |
| 22 | EAST |
In verse, a stage play by Berkoff (4)
Hidden in versE A STage An excellent &lit. as ther play was indeed written in verse. |
| 24 | LIFEBOAT |
Being crazy, no end, about old Hitchcock film (8)
LIFE + B(O)AT(s) A tour de force by the great man. |
| 26 | AVATAR |
Film a king on a vessel (6)
A R on A VAT |
| 27 | ANGELS |
Financial backers of TV hospital drama series (6)
Double definition |
| 28 | RAMPLING |
Actress phoned about phoney limp (8)
RANG around *(limp) Charlotte Rampling, an actress who has appeared in many British and French movies. |
| Down | ||
| 2 | IVORY |
Film director’s trailer about soldiers (5)
IV(O.R.)Y James Ivory, who, with producer Ismail Merchant, was responsible for movies such as Howards End and Remains of the Day. |
| 3 | FRED ASTAIRE |
Film star far steadier dancing (4,7)
*(far steadier) &lit. |
| 4 | ASHCROFT |
Actress rented farm beneath wood (8)
ASH + CROFT As in Dame Peggy Ashcroft |
| 5 | FOOTSTEPS EDITOR |
Arranged do for Tiptoes set film technician (9,6)
*(do for tiptoes set) In the US, he’s known as a foley artist, but in the UK, a footsteps editor is responsible for sound effects in the movies. |
| 6 | MASSEY |
Canadian actor shot in billiards controversy, ultimately (6)
MASSE + (controvers)Y In billiards, a masse is a shot struck with the cue held almost straight up in the air. Raymond Massey was born in Ontario, but his career was in the US, where he starred in many movies. |
| 7 | R.U.R. |
Play game right (1,1,1)
RU (Rugby Union) + R A science fiction play by Czech Karel Capek, famous for introducing the word Robot to the world. |
| 8 | GREEN FIRE |
Conservationist to shoot film (5,4)
GREEN + FIRE Not exactly a famous movie, but gettable via wordplay, Green Fire was a 1954 adventure starring Stewart Granger and Grace Kelly. |
| 13 | LUCILLE BALL |
Little Richard song and dance leaving American actress (7,4)
LUCILLE (song by Little Richard) + BALL |
| 15 | ANIMATION |
The making of cartoons may get one male in a state (9)
A N(IM)ATION |
| 17 | PHANTASM |
Awful ham, pants in horror film (8)
*(ham pants) |
| 20 | ROBOTS |
Bishop in Wesker play and film (6)
RO(B)OTS Roots is a play set in Norfolk, while Robots is a 2005 animated movie about, well, robots. |
| 23 | SWAIN |
A young man who is in love with Lolita in the film (5)
Double definition. Dominique Swain appeared as Lolita in the 1997 film version of the Nabokov novel. |
| 25 | EVE |
Actor, Trevor, in The Verdict (3)
Hidden in ThE VErdict Trevor Eve appeared on TV as Eddie Shoestring, and in Waking the Dead, but he wasn’t actually in The Verdict. |
Thanks Falcon and loonapick
My records show that this is the 28th puzzle that I have done by this setter … and that this is the first with a theme involved. It was also his hardest, requiring a lot of internet research to find or verify the solutions.
I must admit that this is probably my least favourite type of puzzle, where for me anyway, it was working out some word play and then using Wiki to validate that the work or the person existed. I used the exercise to read up on each of the movies, plays or people that I hadn’t previously heard of – just to expand the knowledge (now to remember them all !!!)
Must admit that there were some nostalgic moments with I Love Lucy and Charlotte Rampling, but I would estimate that more than half of the answers were new learning for me.
RIFF-RAFF was the only one unparsed – didn’t know the movie, am unfamiliar with West Side Story (for some reason have never seen it) and did’t spot RAFF(ISH). It was my last one in along with James IVORY (who I didn’t know) and MYRA Breckinridge (that I did).
Thanks Falcon and loonapick.
Very similar experience to Bruce.
Needed 4G and Wiki to verify 1 6 12 14 19 21 22 and 24 across plus 6 7 8 17 and 20 down – so solvus interruptus while I was on the tube!
I wasn’t familiar with the 1997 version of Lolita so needed your help to parse SWAIN fully.
My Wiki check against “Schiller producer” also threw up Rob, Jesse, Zack, and Luke. Wonder which of these Falcon had in mind?
Not a favourite type of puzzle for these reasons but horses for courses.
Falcon’s clues are so precise that the solve was easy enough with the right aids.
So no complaints.