Red Joan

The closing credits note the real-life Melita Norwood incident as having "inspired" the film. At the end of this movie, the reporters outside of Joan Stanley's (Dame Judi Dench's) home ask, "How much money did you get?" She answers, indignantly, "Nothing." In reality, Norwood stated, "I did what I did, not to make money, but to help prevent the defeat of a system which had at great cost given ordinary people food and fares which they could afford, a good education, and a health service." (New York Times report 13.9.99.) At that time, the U.K.'s newly elected Labour (Socialist) government under Prime Minister Clement Attlee (shown and played in this movie by Robin Soans), had introduced its first publicly (taxpayer) funded welfare state. On the first day of the new parliament, Labour members sang the socialist anthem the Red Flag.

Call boxes from that era had two buttons. 'A' and 'B'. 'A' being pressed if the call is answered and 'B' for return of money if not answered. When Joan makes a call from a public phone box, the person answers the phone and Joan immediately has the conversation without first pressing button 'A'. The person would have been unable to hear her without her first doing that.

Features Le cuirassé Potemkine (1925)