The Clandestine Marriage (film)

The Clandestine Marriage is a 1999 British film adaptation of the 1766 play of the same name by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. Directed by Christopher Miles, the film features a cast including Nigel Hawthorne, Joan Collins, Timothy Spall, and Samuel West. The story centers on a wealthy merchant, Sterling, his daughters, and the complicated romantic entanglements that ensue when one daughter is secretly married to a penniless young man of higher social standing. The film explores themes of social class, wealth, deception, and the pressures surrounding marriage in 18th-century England. It is a comedy of manners, aiming to satirize the social conventions and pretensions of the time. The film was released in the UK in 1999 and received mixed reviews.