IF two film producers get their way, a movie based on one of Victor Hugo’s novels could be filmed in Jersey.
David Shanks and Joy Mellins are trying to gain financial backing from Jersey’s government and private investors to help produce Toilers of the Sea, which is based on Les Travailleurs de la Mer – a tale about a shipwreck set in Guernsey. FULL STORY HERE
We all know Bergerac was filmed in the Island back in the day. But here are six other movies or television shows which have been filmed in Jersey. (And one which didn’t quite make it to screen)
1. Fierce Creatures
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John Cleese wrote and starred in Fierce Creatures, a tale of a new manager attempting to restore the fortunes of a failing zoo by doing away with all the animals apart from the ferocious ones. Scenes were shot at Jersey Zoo in 1995.
2. Force 10 from Navarone
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Extras are pictured here taking a break during filming scenes for Force 10 from Navarone in the grounds of La Hague Manor, St Peter’s Valley, in January 1978. This British-American war film was a follow-up to the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone and tells the story of two British commandos and members of an American sabotage unit attempting to eliminate a German spy who has infiltrated a group of Yugoslav partisans. The film also starred Richard Kiel (who played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) and Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed in Rocky). They are pictured here at the Hotel de France.
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3. Being Julia
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Bruce Greenwood and Annette Bening starred in Being Julia (2004), a comedy drama set in the 1930s, part of which was made in Jersey. The film includes scenes shot at Bouley Bay and La Rocque.
4. Enemy At The Door
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ITV series Enemy At The Door (1978-1980) followed life in Guernsey under German occupation. However, the series was more often filmed in Jersey, including this scene on the north coast.
5. Southern Softies
Fierce Creatures was not the only film to shoot scenes at the Zoo. Comedian Graham Fellows (aka John Shuttleworth) filmed part of his whimsical spoof Southern Softies in the Channel Islands in 2007. He is seen here talking to keeper Richard Johnstone-Scott.
6. The Goodies
Picture: Bob Ritchie
The Goodies – Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor – are pictured filming on location at St Catherine’s Breakwater on 24 October 1972 for their new television series. In the sketch pictured, The Goodies (on the raft) set sail to search for treasure but are shipwrecked and marooned on a desert island where they meet beautiful native girls – played by Fort Regent swimming pool attendants Margaret Lee, Pat Hingston and Angela Johnson. Jersey was chosen, said production assistant George Clarke, because of the warm weather and suitable locations. The Goodies created and performed their eponymous comedy show from 1970 to 1982.
… and then there was the one which didn’t quite make it…
Keith Cavele Picture: MATTHEW HOTTON
A decade ago a little-known movie producer called Keith Cavele secured £200,000 of investment from the government for his film, Knights of Impossingworth. It was, he said, a ‘fantasy film’ and he claimed to have an A-list celebrity waiting in the wings – if only enough money could be cobbled together to start filming. There was an outcry over the vast sum paid out to Mr Cavele’s company, Canbedone Productions, and there was probably the obligatory ‘lessons will be learned’ report into the saga. We emerged from the whole sorry episode knowing only one thing for sure – it was, quite literally, a ‘fantasy film’.
