It’s awards season and film lovers world-over have been watching the EE BAFTA Film Awards and getting ready for the Academy Awards, to see if their favourite films and talent have made the cut.
We’ve been swept up by film fever here at The Savoy and are celebrating our ongoing collaboration with the EE BAFTA Film Awards by showcasing some of the talents that have been our guests as a result of the collaboration with this illustrious annual event. Visit us over the coming month and you’ll see the stairwell to the American Bar adorned by some great photography from our longstanding relationship with the awards.
But our links with film go way back; here are some of our favourite filmic stories from The Savoy’s archive:
- When Marilyn Monroe visited Britain for four months in 1957 to film The Prince and The Showgirl, the press conference was held at The Savoy. The Hollywood duo were all smiles at the conference despite the atmosphere between them during filming being reported as incredibly tense
- It was at The Savoy Grill that Vivien Leigh first set eyes upon Laurence Olivier, declaring to her dining companion that that was the man she was going to marry; despite them both being already married to others!
- Screen legend Charlie Chaplin used to visit The Savoy on an annual basis, booking the same suite for four weeks each August for many years. One member of staff was such a fan that on showing him around his room he got a little flustered and tried to exit via the wardrobe. With typical Savoy aplomb he apologised, saying ‘Just checking’ before leaving Chaplin and his family to enjoy the suite.
- More recently The Savoy has been itself a star of the silver screen; you may remember the press conference scene from Notting Hill, when Julia Roberts as Anna Scott finally declared she would like to stay in Britain ‘indefinitely’ thanks to the charms of Hugh Grant’s William Thacker
- Bringing us bang up to date is The Savoy’s role in this year’s BAFTA nominations; See How They Run, a pacey whodunit, is nominated in the Best British Film category and our stylish interiors were the backdrop for much of the film’s intrigue and investigation!
So if you’d like to tread in the steps of the stars, make your way to The Savoy and raise a glass to your favourite film or actor this season in suitably glamorous style!
